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Thousands of people gathered shoulder to shoulder with no face masks in sight, frolicking on rubber floats and clapping at a music festival.
It’s not a very 2020 image, but it was the scene this weekend in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where Covid-19 first appeared late last year.
Photos of revelers at Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park – who appear far removed from the epidemic the rest of the world continues to fight – have now gone viral.
These are different worlds from the images that came out of Wuhan during the world’s first Covid-19 lockdown in January – a ghost town with no residents and vehicles.
The lockdown was lifted in April and there have been no cases of national transmission in Wuhan or Hubei province since mid-May.
A slow return to normal
Wuhan entered a then unprecedented lockdown on 23 january – at a time when the virus had killed 17 people and affected more than 400.
It was a week after China confirmed human-to-human transmission of the virus had taken place, which had not been proven before.
The city of 11 million people has been cut off entirely from the rest of China as thousands of people have been tested and quarantined over the next few months. All large public gatherings have been canceled and people have been told to avoid gathering.
By March, the lock slowly began to fade.
One resident of each household was allowed to leave their residential compound for a maximum of two hours.
Malls began to reopen, public transportation began to operate, and people slowly began to exit – even though social distancing was still in place and masks had to be worn.
April 8, Wuhan’s lockdown has officially been lifted.
The couples rushed to get married, having put their plans on hold for months.
For a while, it seemed like life was getting back to normal when schools reopened, businesses slowly emerged, and public transport resumed.
But on May 12, six new cases of the virus were recorded. The city quickly put in place ambitious plans to test its entire population of 11 million. The epidemic was quickly brought under control.
By June, the night markets – which see street stalls set up along side streets – have been allowed to reopen.
And a month later, in July, life has really started to return to normal in most parts of China. In most places, cinemas have been allowed to reopen, some parks, libraries and museums have also been allowed to open at half capacity, and larger gatherings have been allowed to take place.
Today, it seems that life has returned to normal in Wuhan. Images of revelers attending the HOHA Electric Water Music Festival this weekend only proved the point. Organizers even offered half-price tickets for women in an attempt to attract more visitors.
Wuhan Happy Valley – the theme park that owns the Maya Water Park – reopened on June 25, but according to its deputy general manager, it didn’t start drawing more visitors until August.
The park currently receives around 15,000 visitors on weekends, he said, about half the number of people he saw at this time last year.
On Chinese social media, some commentators expressed surprise that an event of such magnitude was allowed to take place in Wuhan. There was also an alarm on Twitter and Facebook.
But Wuhan has not had a local coronavirus case since mid-May, and around 9.9 million people in the city have been tested for the virus. There is no ban for large gatherings.
However, Sanjaya Senanayake, associate professor of infectious diseases at the Australian National University, said while the majority of the city’s residents had been tested there was still a risk of the virus being introduced from elsewhere.
“The problem is, we haven’t eradicated Covid-19, and what that means is that as long as it’s not eradicated there is always the risk of having introduced it, either from abroad or elsewhere, “he told the BBC.
He cites the example of New Zealand, which had not had a locally transmitted case for more than three months – before a new spike in cases was reported earlier last week.
“A study from London came out suggesting that around 10-20% of people with Covid-19 are responsible for around 80% of cases,” he said.
“So if you bring large groups of people together you really have to be careful. Even if a person is infected with the virus, you are going to have a hard time.”
Meanwhile, the virus continues to rage elsewhere. There have been over 21 million cases worldwide. Countries like South Korea – which appear to have successfully contained the virus – are facing a new wave of cases.
So it may be a long time before other countries feel confident to allow the resumption of crowded events.
All images are subject to copyright.
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