Wuhan residents welcome in 2023 despite COVID surge

Record ID: 1704813

  • Title: Wuhan residents welcome in 2023 despite COVID surge
  • Date: 31st December 2022
  • Summary: WUHAN, CHINA (DECEMBER 31, 2022 - JANUARY 1, 2023) (REUTERS) PEOPLE AT WUHAN’S HANKOW CUSTOMS HOUSE FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE COUNTDOWN, PEOPLE CHANTING TOGETHER (Mandarin): “THREE, TWO, ONE, HAPPY NEW YEAR!”, PEOPLE RELEASING BALLOONS AS CLOCK CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT, PEOPLE CHEERING, RECORDING ON MOBILE PHONES WUHAN, CHINA (JANUARY 1, 2023) (REUTERS) PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF BALLOONS FLYING WUHAN, CHINA (DECEMBER 31, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WITH BALLOONS WUHAN, CHINA (DECEMBER 31, 2022 - JANUARY 1, 2023) (REUTERS) PEOPLE AT RIVERSIDE IN WUHAN FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE COUNTDOWN, PEOPLE CHANTING TOGETHER (Mandarin): “FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE, HAPPY NEW YEAR!”, PEOPLE RELEASING BALLOONS WUHAN, CHINA (JANUARY 1, 2023) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WATCHING BALLOONS FLYING IN SKY BALLOONS FLYING FRIENDS LOOKING AT PHOTOS TAKEN (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 22-YEAR-OLD NURSE WORKING IN WUHAN, SURNAMED GAO, SAYING: “I have just graduated and only worked for a year. I took online classes (in university) for half a year, so my feeling was that there might have been some employment problems. But for now, I just hope the future will be better.” WUHAN, CHINA (DECEMBER 31, 2022) (REUTERS) POLICE AT ROADSIDE POLICE OFFICER LOOKING ON POLICE OFFICER’S HAND HOLDING MEGAPHONE SPEAKER PEOPLE WALKING WITH BALLOONS BALLOONS WUHAN, CHINA (JANUARY 1, 2023) (REUTERS) GROUP OF FRIENDS TAKING PICTURE, CHEERING TOGETHER (Mandarin): “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 17-YEAR-OLD WUHAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, SURNAMED WANG, SAYING: “In the past year, I feel that COVID-19 was very serious and some of my family members were hospitalised. I hope they will be healthy in the new year. This is the most important thing. Safe and healthy for family members. That will be enough.” WUHAN, CHINA (DECEMBER 31, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING TO RIVERSIDE VARIOUS OF SPECIAL POLICE ON GUARD PEOPLE WALKING TO HANKOW CUSTOMS HOUSE WITH BALLOONS WUHAN, CHINA (JANUARY 1, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) COUNTDOWN EVENT PARTICIPANT, SURNAMED JIN, SAYING: “In fact, I am still afraid when I came out tonight, but I just wanted to come out, because everyone has come out.” JOURNALIST ASKING: “What are you afraid of?” “I fear getting reinfected.” COUPLE KISSING AND CHEERING (Mandarin): “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” WUHAN, CHINA (DECEMBER 31, 2022) (REUTERS) SECURITY PERSONNEL STANDING BESIDE WOMEN WITH BALLOONS
  • Embargoed: 14th January 2023 18:18
  • Keywords: COVID-19 China New Year Wuhan coronavirus countdown health
  • Location: WUHAN, CHINA
  • City: WUHAN, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA001966831122022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Tens of thousands of revellers celebrated the start of the New Year in central Wuhan on Saturday (December 31) amid a heavy security presence in the city where the coronavirus pandemic began three years ago.
    Many released balloons into the sky when the clocks struck midnight as is tradition in Wuhan before grabbing selfies with their friends.
    Some came in fancy dress and almost everyone wore masks amidst the country’s wave of COVID which accelerated after curbs were dropped and has since infected large swathes of the population with deaths now reaching 9000 a day according to UK-based health data firm Airfinity.
    “I am still afraid when I came out tonight, but I just wanted to come out, because everyone has come out. “I’m afraid of reinfection,” said a woman who saw in the new year amongst thousands of packed crowds in front of the old clock tower at Wuhan’s Hankou Customs House.
    The crowds were watched by hundreds of police officers including SWAT and plain-clothed personnel as well as other security personnel on what was the first large-scale gathering on the city's streets since lockdown protests in late November. Following those demonstrations, which took place in cities across the country, China all but abandoned its strict zero COVID policy.
    Police employed loudspeakers at an array of locations which blasted out a short message on a loop telling people not to gather, which most people appeared to either not notice or ignore.
    (Production: Tingshu Wang, Martin Quin Pollard, Xiaoyu Yin)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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