Some people in China’s key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a spike in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activity on Monday, confident of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections.
Among those who gathered to sled or ice skate on a frozen lake in the capital’s Shichahai Lake Park were some upbeat about the opening-up, after China dropped stringent “zero-COVID” measures on Dec. 7 to adopt a strategy of living with the virus.
However, a wave of infections has since erupted nationwide, after borders had been kept all but shut for three years amid a strict regime of lockdowns and relentless testing.
“The epidemic … has given us no opportunity to come and play,” said Yang, one of those in the park, who gave only one name.
“After the end of this lockdown we don’t have to scan the health code anymore nor do we have to check the travel code. So we are free now.”
Zhong, a 22-year-old college student, who was also at the lake, said he did not leave home for two or three weeks after he had been infected.
“Now I can go out and it’s good timing for the New Year’s Day holiday. I want to go around in Beijing, have a look and feel the festive mood.”
Traffic is building again on the capital’s roads as people quickly return to outdoor sites, such as lakes, rivers and shopping malls. But business is still slow at some smaller, confined places such as restaurants, owners said.
“Work production, life and entertainment are all getting back to normal levels,” a man surnamed Wu said by the riverside in the central city of Wuhan, where the pandemic began three years ago.
People who had been infected were not as anxious anymore, added Wu, a tutor at a private education training center.
China’s biggest holiday, Lunar New Year, begins on Jan 21 this year, when the railway network is expected to carry 5.5 million passengers, state broadcaster CCTV has said. ♦
