Wuhan shows the world that the end of lockdown is just the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis

All around the world, people are waiting for the announcement that the coronavirus pandemic is contained and they can return to normal life. But the Chinese city at the center of the pandemic has shown that normal might still be a long way off.

When Wuhan officials eased outgoing travel restrictions on April 8, effectively ending the city's 76-day lockdown, residents and local businesses soon learned that city's actual reopening would be painfully slow. Despite the lifting of most strict lockdown laws, many stores are still shut, restaurants are restricted to takeaway and even when citizens go outside they still wear protective equipment and try to avoid each other. The mood on the ground is very different to the official statements. At a press conference on April 8, Luo Ping, an epidemic control official in Wuhan said that some sectors of the city were already back to 100% resumption rate.

In a meeting of the Wuhan government on April 25, they promised a "double victory" of success of the epidemic and economic growth. But even government-controlled media has suggested that plans to get the city back to 100% production by the end of April might be "too optimistic."

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