New Year's party in Wuhan, the city where the first coronavirus death was reported.TINGSHU WANG / Reuters
In early January 2020, the first death from coronavirus was recorded, that of a 61-year-old man in Wuhan (China).
In that city, the origin of the pandemic that has claimed 1,802,206 lives as of this Friday, January 1, the reception of the New Year has been very different from what has occurred in other parts of the world.
The image that opens this article shows New Year's Eve in Wuhan, in contrast to how it was celebrated, for example, at Puerta del Sol in Madrid
The stamp of Madrid is similar to that of Paris, New York or Seoul, where the entry into the new year was not celebrated with congregations in the usual places either.
In Wuhan, where 11 million people live, thousands of people gathered on Jianghan Walking Street in the early hours of 2021.
PHOTO GALLERY: celebrations around the world
"I haven't seen so many people together for years, it's very exciting to see Wuhan like this," the young Yao, who was walking along with his girlfriend along Jianghan, told EFE during the celebration, where there were queues to enter shops and restaurants.
Most were young people without fear of contagion and "wanting to make up for lost time," added Wu, dressed in fake rabbit ears.
After the chimes, the Wuhan people hugged each other and took the required selfies to share on social media.
For some, it was the end of the night, but for others the revelry had just begun: some clubs were already sold out.
Those celebrations could take place because in early April the Chinese government began to lift restrictions in Wuhan.
And it added its last case of covid by local transmission in mid-May, while countries such as the United States, Spain, Germany or the United Kingdom count their daily infections by the thousands.
In the Chinese city, more than 50,000 people were infected and 3,869 died.
The confinement locked up its residents for 76 days.
Information about the coronavirus
- Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the pandemic
- Restrictions search engine: What can I do in my municipality?
- This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in the world
- Download the tracking application for Spain
- Guide to action against the disease
