Coronavirus: Is China out of quarantine?
China has lifted quarantine measures in some provinces but life is not yet back to normal as the government fears another outbreak of coronavirus.
On Tuesday 31 March, China lifted the lockdown measures put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus back in January. “The war against this epidemic has reached a new stage. We must return to normal … Take off your masks and let your dreams soar!” the chairman and CEO of biotech company Sinocare, Li Shaobo, said on one of the country's official web pages according to The Guardian. The businessman had gather the employees of the company together in a car park to take the masks off.
China's numbers have been declining for some time now and on Wednesday they reported just 36 new cases of the virus. That doesn't necessarily mean things are back to normal though as the crisis has sent shock-waves through society and the economy.
They might be officially out of lockdown but the country has struggled to get back up an running again with one county in China bringing back self-isolation measures to prevent another outbreak of the virus. 600,000 residents were told to stay at home in Jia county according to Politico.
Some cinemas in the country have been ordered to close again along with karaoke bars and restaurants. A Chinese expert advising the government says the country might have the virus under control by the end of April but says that he is not sure if there will be another attack according to the South China Morning Post.
"With every country taking aggressive and effective measures, I believe the pandemic can be brought under control. My estimate is around late April,” said Zhong Nanshan, an expert in respiratory disease. "After late April, no one can say for sure if there will be another virus outbreak next spring or if it will disappear with warmer weather … though the virus’ activity will certainly diminish in higher temperatures."
China have been accused of massaging numbers to make it look like they had it under control. They have experienced over 80,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths since the virus started to spread around the start of 2020. Over 75,000 of those cases have now recovered.
Wuhan residents who are slowly getting their lives back to normal have been asked to share their experiences with the world. The messages all have a similar theme: stay at home, stick together and stay strong.
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