‘Unlockdown’ lessons from Ground Zero
WUHAN: Companies in Wuhan are asking employees to draw blood or have their throats swabbed before returning to work, reflecting the high level of anxiety that remains in the Chinese city – the place where the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) originated – as it emerges from a months-long lockdown.
Wuhan’s reopening, starting April 8, is being watched by other countries for lessons on how resumption of normal life after a lockdown is possible. While people are rushing out of the city after the 76-day lockdown, with resumption of trains, flights and buses, the Chinese government is trying to get shoppers out and about to boost the economy. The challenge: widespread fear among citizens of a second wave of infections.
Workers at Kone Elevators Co were queuing in front of their office building in Wuhan’s eastern district to take tests to determine if they have Covid-19 or antibodies
that fight the disease. The tests were being conducted by a private medical organisation with the fees covered by Kone. On Thursday alone, an estimated 6,000 tests were conducted at the company. State-owned enterprises, construction operators and other labour-intensive businesses have also set up testing centres run by private companies. As companies were allowed to resume work, they were caught between pressure from the government to kick-start activity and the risk of resurgence of the disease. Memories are still vivid of how rapidly the virus overwhelmed the city, crippling its hospitals with desperate patients who could not get tested.
PEOPLE RUSH OUT
Thousands of people booked train tickets out of Wuhan; flights are resuming. Cars queued at toll booths to get onto the highways out of town. But the lockdown’s end doesn’t mean Wuhan has returned to normal. A web of restrictions and fear of a resurgence in infections means many can’t – or won’t dare to – go anywhere. With Wuhan’s economy crushed by the virus, the government’s priority is on getting people back to work. Some apartment blocks will require residents to prove they are leaving the premises to return to work before they are allowed out.
GETTING SHOPPERS OUT
In a bid to jump start consumption, authorities in some places distributed vouchers, asking companies to give people paid time off and offering subsidies on larger purchases such as cars. Domestic media played up stories of officials venturing out to enjoy local delights such as bubble tea, hot pot and pork buns.
In Zhejiang, companies were encouraged to give employees an extra half day of paid leave once a week in the hope they’ll use the free time to shop and spend.
CAR SALE BOOM
If the stream of visitors to auto dealerships in Wuhan is any guide, the recovery of the car business in China and perhaps the world could be rapid. The strength of pent-up demand took some car dealers by surprise, with daily sales now running at levels seen before the economic freeze. “I was pretty shocked,” said Zhang Jiaqi, a sales representative at an Audi AG dealer in the Wuchang district of Wuhan, which is now recording purchases matching year-earlier levels. “It’s like a boom after a twomonth dormancy. I thought sales would be frozen.”
Across China, the world’s biggest car market, vehicle sales have been picking up since early February, albeit from almost zero. The revival may give some comfort to manufacturers from Audi’s parent, Volkswagen AG, to General Motors Co and Toyota Motor Corp, after sales slumped around the world as governments responded to the pandemic. The anecdotal evidence from Wuhan indicates that while consumers may be cautious about the return to normal life, they’re willing to make some big purchases. Pan Fei, a marketing director at the Wuchang Audi dealership, said some customers appear more motivated than before the crisis because they see personal vehicles as safer than public transport. Demand at the store is now skewed toward smaller models such as the A3. At a nearby Cadillac dealership, sales representative Xia Tianyi said foot traffic and orders have returned to pre-shutdown levels. The showroom has seen a pickup in first-time buyers, with health care professionals among purchasers, Xia said.
WET MARKETS OPEN
Cars lined up this week at the entrance to the Baishazhou wet market, one of the biggest in Wuhan. A sign hovered overhead: “No slaughtering and selling live animals.”
Baishazhou and other wet markets are at the centre of a global debate about whether they should be allowed to operate, given another market in Wuhan was one of the first places where the virus was detected. US officials are ramping up pressure to shut them down. Scientists believe the deadly illness jumped to humans from wild animals, most likely via an intermediary species like bats. Close contact with wild animals at the market, which has been closed since January, has been widely blamed for the outbreak.