two years after the first death of the Covid-19, the inhabitants of Wuhan remain traumatized

Today, in Wuhan, there is no particular concern from the population regarding the Omicron variant of Covid-19. It has certainly arrived in China, but for the moment there are only a few cases: no more than thirty across the entire country of 1.4 billion inhabitants. Life in Wuhan is therefore absolutely normal. Dn the streets, many residents have lost the habit of wearing a mask which is not compulsory outdoors. There are even tourists, hundreds of visitors who come every day from all over China to admire the famous thousand-year-old tower of the yellow crane, emblem of the city.

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The epidemic and the year 2020 seem far away. Two years ago, China announced the first death from Covid in the world: it was in Wuhan, on January 11, 2020. The 11 million inhabitants of the city then underwent very strict confinement for two and a half months. , experienced for many as a trauma. Wuhan is by far the city where there were the most deaths in China, without knowing exactly how many.

“Two years after the epidemic, I am happy, from the bottom of my heart, said Lin, a Wuhan woman. It’s almost normal here. Life is back on track and I cherish this life. Especially for a Wuhan woman who lived in confinement for more than three months without leaving home “.

A normal life, but Wuhan still retains the visible scars of 2020. The famous seafood market, is still there, hidden by signs. And then there is this trauma, all these memories of 2020 that some cannot erase. “I don’t particularly want to remember this period which is marked in gray, declares this young father. Lately I’ve been to Shenzhen for a professional exchange and my colleagues asked me to share some feelings I had in Wuhan during the epidemic. I wanted to cry while speaking, it was very hard “.

These sequelae affect both adults and children. Beibei is a teacher in a kindergarten in Wuhan. “None of us forgot the epidemic, she explains. Children still often write about this period in their diaries. They can’t seem to forget. Me, I had a very bad experience of this confinement. Living in fear, I gained weight, it’s amazing! A few days ago we had new cases, I am really worried about the return of the epidemic because I do not want to relive such an experience again. It’s such an unpleasant feeling. ”

Besides the trauma, there is also the pride in showing that the ordeal has been overcome. Words that correspond well to the strong rise of nationalism at the moment in China: “When Wuhan was closed, everyone was terrified. If you look at this two years later, I think the government’s policy was very good and fast, says a young girl. China is strong and I trust my country. We are no longer afraid of the epidemic, we can overcome it completely. “

On the occasion of this second anniversary, some dissenting voices are still trying to speak out to denounce the management of the crisis by the authorities and demand accountability for the number of deaths which remains undetermined to date in Wuhan. Very closely watched by the police, few of them take the risk of speaking out, like Zhang Yi who denounces the disappearance of certain whistleblowers. “In the empty streets, the ambulances parading one after the other at full speed, with screaming sirens … Two years later, it’s still in my head. I still think of those violent images”, testifies the citizen journalist.

“Fang Bin filmed a video in the hospital. When he entered, he saw three corpses in the funeral vehicle. In ten minutes, he walked around the hospital, there were ten corpses in total. Currently , we do not know where the courageous Mr. Fang Bin from Wuhan is. He was the first to warn the world of this tragic epidemic “, recalls Zhang Yi.

So there is the trauma, the dissent and … the anger as well. Like that of Zhang Hai who lost his father, died of Covid in a hospital in Wuhan. “I have sued the provincial government, the local municipality and the hospital. But to date I have no news, whether it is from the Wuhan courts to the Supreme People’s Court.”, he says.

“Two years later, the attention paid by the public to this subject has waned and the authorities take the opportunity to take retaliatory measures against us, adds Zhang Hai. I am prevented from going out, I am being watched …. One of my most important demands is that the government apologize to the victims. Now I’m the only one asking for a trial. The other families have been under a lot of pressure and I understand them. ”

And proof that the authorities do not rule out a return of the epidemic, the huge temporary hospital built in 2020 in the suburbs of Wuhan in a record time of 10 days is closed but it is still there, ready to operate in case .

#Wuhan Two years after the outbreak of the epidemic, the Huoshenshan Provisional Hospital, built in ten days in 2020, is closed but still there, ready to operate just in case. pic.twitter.com/JYyomEq4dS

– Seb Berriot (@SBerriot) January 10, 2022