On the other side of a coronavirus nightmare, Wuhan wakes up to start again
- Two reporters from the South China Morning Post, who visited the city just as it began its lockdown, return to assess the mood as it reopens
- Doctors, business owners and residents describe their battle to contain a deadly outbreak, and trauma that will take longer to heal
Doctor Hu Weiling lived and worked right through the 76 days of what became a nightmare of disease, death and fear in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Wuhan faced one of the strictest quarantine lockdowns ever attempted for a contemporary city to try to contain the new virus that caused the disease. All road, rail and air services were severed, and police patrols and community watchdog checkpoints kept people indoors unless they had permission to go out.
As the numbers of the sick and dying in Wuhan surged, Hu recalled a moment of watching rain patter on a hospital window and wondering whether the centuries-old city and its 11 million residents would come out the other side of the nightmare.
“I’m glad I survived the battle and we have won a victory,” she said. “I think the city is ready for it … and I hope life could return to normal.”