China taking tentative steps back to normality
After weeks of insomnia under quarantine, Yu Fanglin, 24, is now sleeping much better at night. He has been longing to visit the park his flat in Wuhan overlooked as winter melted into spring and flowers began to bloom.
“I wanted to see cherry blossoms. I wanted to bike or run ... I also wanted to meet my friends. Any friend. I would be so happy if a friend in Wuhan could just sit by my side and talk to me. I felt so lonely,” he said.
His anxiety is now subsiding as China slowly eases strict quarantines across the country, all the way to
Wuhan, ground zero of the pandemic. In the capital of Beijing, parks and tourist attractions have started to open their doors again while industry gradually grinds back into gear.
This week, China announced travel restrictions were finally being lifted in Hubei province and its main city of Wuhan. Yesterday, the first pedestrian train for months arrived carrying people in to the city. Duan Wushuang, 24, was headed the other way. She rushed to register for approval to leave Hubei after travel restrictions were lifted this week, finally returning a few days ago to Beijing, where she works for an online video platform.
As per city rules, Ms Duan is isolating for two weeks. “I was a bit worried when the shutdown began, since I didn’t know how long it would last,” she said. “Then the quarantine was prolonged for another 14 days, and again, and again. I just got used to it.”
Others, like David Wang, 50, ran out to buy fresh produce from local farmers when the rules changed. “I’m used to a daily habit of eating leafy vegetables every day, but haven’t had them for so long,” he said.
“We only kept produce that could last a while, like potatoes.”
Although life is gradually returning to a more normal pace across China, doubts persist. The government has reported zero new local transmissions daily for much of the last week – a far cry from mid-February when Hubei province, the outbreak epicentre, recorded its biggest one-day jump with 15,000 new cases.
But there is concern about the accuracy of the data, and whether it reflects the true scale of the outbreak, especially as hospitals were quickly overwhelmed and many patients were turned away. Some later died of what doctors strongly hinted was the coronavirus. Asymptomatic cases aren’t being counted even if patients
Online footage has emerged that shows citizens of Hubei province apparently clashing with police after being stopped from crossing a bridge to Jiangxi. Protests were apparently sparked over fears that some travellers could spread the virus.