At this very time last year, the whole world was waking up to a new disease and had no idea that we would need to come to terms with a whole new way of life because of it. The first few cases of COVID-19 were first detected in Wuhan, China. A year later, are things back to normal in this town? Looking back on 2020, what do expats living in China have to say?
Of the 86 000 people infected with COVID-19 in China, more than 68 000 were found in the province of Hubei. A year ago, the city of Wuhan found in the province of Hubei was, indeed, waking up to a new reality: a disease which seems to be attacking the pulmonary system, highly contagious and was killing its residents, albeit curable in most cases. From then on, things took a turn for the worse: on the 23rd of January Wuhan and other cities in the province of Hubei went into full lockdown 30th of January the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a state of emergency of international concern.
On the 23rd of January and until the 8th of April, the city of Wuhan was isolated from the rest of the country. All forms of public transport were closed and no one was allowed to leave unless given the permission. By mid-February, all non-essential businesses were also closed. While lockdown officially ended on the 8th of April, it was not until August that all activities went back to normal in the city of Wuhan.
“It was almost unreal at first seeing the long lines at food trucks, being able to go back out to the food market, to the arcades. It was hard to go back out at first, everyone was a little shy. It was a new world, but very quickly, everyone was back to the good old habits,” says Amy, an American expat living in Wuhan.
Today, the city of 11 million inhabitants are going to malls, concerts, parks and pools sometimes without masks and definitely not maintaining social distancing. “In this part of the world, masks have always been the norm. Today, even more people are wearing masks but it is not a “new world”. You would think that people would still be weary of social distancing but it seems to be a distant memory, quite frankly. It seems like we have just woken up from a bad dream”, says David, a French expat living in the suburbs of Wuhan. He adds that although the restrictions were thought to be stringent at first, he is happy that the epidemic was contained and he can now enjoy the city with his wife and newborn.
While some are enjoying their newfound freedom, the end of lockdown has particularly been a relief for business owners across the country. While several expats have had to pack up and leave with the economic crisis, others have tried to live through the lockdown and crisis. A French chef and restaurant owner who used to operate in Shanghai explains to Reuters that with the lack of activity, he almost considered leaving the country. “I am relieved, today, however that things have truly gone back to normal. And with the end of year activities looming, things should really take a turn for the better”.
