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Joy, relief as exodus from Wuhan begins
WUHAN, China, April 8, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Voicing joy and excitement from behind face
masks, tens of thousands of people fled Wuhan on Wednesday after a 76-day travel ban was
lifted on the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic first emerged.
Previously quiet train and bus stations bustled as an exodus began from the city of 11
million, with some passengers wearing hazmat suits.
Hao Mei, a single parent from the nearby city of Enshi, said her two children had been
home alone since she got stuck in Wuhan, where she works in a school kitchen.
“You have no idea! I was already up around 4 am. I felt so good. My kids are so
excited. Mum is finally coming home,” the 39-year-old told AFP as she waited to board a
train.
“At the start of the lockdown, I cried every night. I was really miserable, because my
little girl is still young, she’s only 10.”
Up to 55,000 people are expected to leave Wuhan on Wednesday just by train, according
to government estimates.
Buses and cars were also on roads out of the city on Wednesday morning, after
barricades on its outskirts were dismantled with the ban on outbound travel being lifted
at midnight.
– World-first lockdown –
Wuhan led the world with an unprecedented quarantine lockdown on January 23 in a bid to
stop the spread of the then-mysterious respiratory virus.
Chinese disease-control officials said in January that the virus likely leapt from
wildlife to humans at a Wuhan market that sold wild animals for food.
The rest of surrounding Hubei province quickly followed Wuhan, cutting tens of millions
of people off from the world.
As the virus spread rapidly around the globe, many countries were forced to impose
similar draconian measures that have forced around half of humanity into some form of
lockdown.
But while the pandemic continues to worsen in many other parts of the world, with the
global death toll surpassing 80,000, the quarantine measures have appeared to pay off in
Wuhan and other parts of China.
Its officially reported number of deaths and overall infections has plummeted in recent
weeks.
China’s ruling Communist Party — accused of a slow-footed response and an initial
attempt to cover up the outbreak — has portrayed its subsequent containment efforts as a
huge success.
“Wuhan deserves to be called the city of heroes,” blared an announcement over the one
of the city’s train station PA system’s on Wednesday.
“Wuhan has lost a lot in this epidemic, and Wuhan people have paid a big price,” a 21-
year-old man surnamed Yao, who was heading back to his restaurant job in Shanghai, told
AFP.
“Now that the lockdown has been lifted, I think we’re all pretty happy.”
Restrictions began to be eased for residents of Hubei, which has suffered the majority
of China’s officially reported 3,300 deaths, about two weeks ago.
Authorities, however, waited until Wednesday to allow normal traffic out of Wuhan amid
lingering fears elsewhere in China that people from the city pose a risk.
Those fears were clearly evident throughout Wuhan despite the buzz of excitement.
At the city’s Hankou train station a robot whizzed through crowds of passengers,
spraying their feet with disinfectant and playing a recorded message reminding them to
wear face masks.
Passengers also had to submit to temperature checks and show a green “health code” on
their phone, meaning they are considered healthy, allowing them to travel.
Part of the “health code” approval is based on their neighbourhood having been declared
virus-free.
Many travellers from Wuhan will also face two-week quarantines in their destination
provinces.
Various restrictions on movement within the sprawling metropolis will also remain in
place to guard against a second wave of infections.
The state-run People’s Daily newspaper warned Wednesday that opening up “does not mean
releasing control”.
Officials have said schools in Wuhan will remain closed and citizens are being
discouraged from leaving the city, or even their own residential neighbourhoods.
Government estimates said nearly half the people expected to leave Wednesday were bound
for the southern economic powerhouse of Guangdong province, a magnet for migrant workers.
BSS/AFP/MMA/1040HRS