China: Thousands gather for New Year celebrations in Wuhan despite COVID-19 surge

In the deemed origin city of coronavirus, Wuhan, thousands of people gathered on Saturday night to commence their New Year amidst the COVID-19 wave that surged in December. Many people released traditional balloons in the sky, abiding by Chinese rituals. People, dressed in colourful costumes and dresses followed the basic COVID-19 prevention rules and wore masks during the celebration, Reuters news agency reported. The fresh Covid wave has infected thousands of people, according to UK-based health firm Airfinity, killing swathes of the population.

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Police officials, SWAT, and other security workers were monitoring the jam-packed crowd before the old clock tower at Hankou Customs House, Wuhan. The police officials tried to warn people not to stand in huge crowds, but nobody cared to listen after the ease of the 'zero-Covid' policy. 

In Shanghai, a city that witnessed a heavy and lengthy lockdown during the first two waves of the pandemic, many people visited the Bund, a historic riverside pathway.

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People also travelled from various parts of the country to participate in the celebrations. However, many visitors claimed that the pavement was 'not as busy as last year'. 

A nearby restaurant had 20 per cent more bookings on New Year's eve than on regular days. 

In the pool of mixed public opinions, people also mentioned that after the ease in restrictions, many people are afraid to come out as there has been an increase in the number of cases. However, people hoped this year would be better and more normalised than the previous two.

(With inputs from agencies)

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