Editorial | Wuhan battle won, but war is not over
- The city where Covid-19 was first detected is gradually easing its lockdown restrictions, but complacency must not be allowed to set in
The scars also run deep; of China’s almost 80,000 cases, about two-thirds were in Wuhan and the losses of family and friends and the trauma will never be forgotten. But shops are slowly reopening and companies getting back to work, while people are again socialising. The return of traffic jams and crowds at train stations and the airport are proof of how welcome the lifting of travel restrictions are. Strict pandemic control measures remain in place, though, and the threat of a resurgence of the coronavirus from asymptomatic cases and infections coming from outside present new challenges.
But lessons have been learned. The wearing of face masks and other protective gear, widespread temperature checking and hand-sanitising and a reluctance of people to come too close to one another show awareness of the continuing risks. The end of the lockdown of China’s eighth-largest city signals the time has come for economic activity to resume. Governments elsewhere fighting Covid-19 can take heart from Wuhan. But even when it seems the battle is being won, there can be no room to let the guard down.