Wuhan resumes train, subway service; final restrictions to be lifted on April 8

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Wuhan, China's COVID-19 ground zero, is returning towards normalcy. It has re-opened for business and the subway service has also been resumed following over two months of suspension. 

Travel controls on most of Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, were lifted on March 23 while the subways and long distance trains resumed on March 28. 

The final restrictions preventing people from leaving the city of Wuhan are scheduled to come to an end on April 8.  

The central Chinese city of Wuhan, once at the epicenter of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, has gradually begun its journey towards normal life after a couple of months of lockdown as the authorities have lowered virus risk evaluation from high to medium.

The necessary precautions still remained in place as the commuters of the subways and trains were required to have their body temperatures checked before entering metro stations. They were also required to sit in between empty seats. 

The markets in the city of 11 million inhabitants have reportedly opened on March 30 but customers were scarce as they waited for things to improve further in the days to come.  

According to the reports, around 70% to 80% of shops on the mall were found open but many of them imposed restrictions on how many people could enter while the shopkeepers set up dispensers for hand sanitiser and checked customers for signs of fever. 

Wuhan’s bus and subway services are generally availed by thousands of people while commuting in and out of the manufacturing and transportation hub of central China.