Eleven weeks ago, where the pandemic started, Wuhan was sealed off from the outside world. Now the restrictions are lifted - but the strict measures to prevent the virus are not.
Wuhan (dpa) - More than two and a half months after the closure of the Chinese metropolis of eleven million Wuhan, the place of origin of the pandemic has been reopened. For the first time since the beginning of January, China no longer reported any new deaths on Tuesday.
For weeks, according to official information, there have been only a few new infections every day and, above all, only "imported" cases for Chinese people returning home and other travelers from abroad.
At midnight (6:00 p.m. CEST), checkpoints on the streets of Wuhan were lifted, where the new coronavirus broke out in late November or early December. It then spread to China and around the world. As the city government announced on Tuesday, normal traffic with cars, buses, trains, planes and ferries will be resumed "in an orderly manner".
The responsible authorities were called upon not to slacken in the prevention and control of the virus named Sars-CoV-2. The flow of people should be monitored at the local level. Fever should also be measured and mouth protection worn. Kindergartens, schools and universities remained closed for the time being. It was said that it would have to be decided on a scientific basis when classes would resume.
The eleven million residents should continue to pay close attention to prevention. Notwithstanding the opening of Wuhan, they should "not leave their living environment, the city and the province of Hubei if possible". "Opening traffic flows does not mean that prevention and control are removed," the instructions said. "Opening the gates to the city doesn't mean that apartments are opened." Local authorities would have to ensure that there were no new infections. Only those who have recently had no contact with infected people are allowed to travel.
Nowhere in China have so many infections and deaths been reported as in Wuhan, whose hospitals were completely overwhelmed in late January and February. Of the more than 80,000 officially reported infections in China, 50,000 were in the metropolis alone. Similarly, of the more than 3,300 deaths listed across the country due to the lung disease Covid-19, more than 2,500 were complained of in Wuhan. However, it is assumed that by no means all cases have been counted in the official statistics.