Along the embankments and bridges, citizens waved flags and chanted “Wuhan, let’s go!” and sang a capella renditions of China’s national anthem.
The lockdown of Wuhan, which served as a model for countries battling the coronavirus outbreak around the world, has finally ended after 11 weeks. Chinese authorities are allowing residents of Wuhan to travel in and out of the sprawling city, which was the epicentre of the virus outbreak. From Wednesday midnight, the city’s 11 million residents are permitted to leave without special authorisation as long as a mandatory smartphone application powered by a mix of data-tracking and government surveillance shows they are healthy and have not been in contact with anyone confirmed to have the virus recently.
The occasion was marked with a light show on either side of the Yangtze river, with skyscrapers and bridges radiating animated images of health workers aiding patients, along with one displaying the words ‘heroic city’, a title bestowed upon Wuhan by president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. Along the embankments and bridges, citizens waved flags, chanted “Wuhan, let’s go!” and sang a capella renditions of China’s national anthem.
“I haven’t been outside for more than 70 days,” said an emotional Tong Zhengkun, who was watching the display from a bridge. Residents in his apartment complex had contracted Covid-19, so the entire building was locked down. He couldn’t go out even to buy groceries, which neighbourhood workers brought to his door. “Being indoors for so long drove me crazy,” he said…Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment