Coronavirus: Wuhan celebrates end of lockdown with dazzling light show
China has lifted an 11-week lockdown in the city of Wuhan, celebrating the occasion with a light show over the Yangtze River.
The closure of Wuhan, the in Hubei Province where coronavirus was first identified late last year, started on 23 January and lasted 76 days.
According to official figures, Wuhan has had more than 50,000 coronavirus cases and more than 2,500 deaths as a result of the disease, roughly 80 per cent of all deaths in the country.
On Wednesday, people in the city of 11 million people were allowed to travel, provided they have a smartphone application confirming good health and showing they had not been in close contact with anyone who has contracted the virus.
It is expected that more than 50,000 people will leave the city by plane and train on Wednesday - either to go home or to jobs outside Wuhan.
Once the travel restrictions stopped at midnight on Wednesday, traffic quickly began to leave the city.
Yan Xiangsheng, a district police chief, said that almost 1,000 vehicles went through a busy highway toll on the outskirts of the city between midnight and 7 am.
Back in the city, Tong Zhengkun, a Wuhan resident, watched the light display from a bridge, saying: “I haven’t been outside for more than 70 days. Being indoors for so long drove me crazy.”
His apartment complex was shut after other residents tested positive for Covid-19 and food was dropped off at his door by neighbourhood workers.
On the same day that the lockdown in Wuhan ended, a city in northern China restricted the movement of its citizens.
The number of infected cases rose to a daily high of 25 in the northern province of Heilongjiang, leading authorities to impose restrictions in Suifenhe City which are similar to those experienced in Wuhan.
Residents must stay inside and one family member can leave once every three days to buy food and other necessities, the state-owned television network CCTV said.
Agencies contributed to this report
Read more
When can we really expect coronavirus to end?
Everything you need to know on supermarket delivery slots
The dirty truth about washing your hands
Which countries around the world has coronavirus spread to?
Listen to the latest episode of The Independent Coronavirus Podcast
