China is lifting lockdowns

Reopening society after months of lockdown is a careful balancing act. People are understandably eager to leave their homes and enjoy freedoms previously denied to them, but unless governments are careful, there is a high risk that coronavirus will return for a second wave. China, the first country to be hit by the virus and also the first to impose strict lockdown measures, has been gradually reopening its country over the past week, so it’s no surprise that people are leaping at the chance to take advantage of their newfound freedoms. The volume of visitors at some popular attractions, however, is raising concerns that “normal life” might be resuming too fast.

Photographs have emerged of massive crowds at the Huangshan Mountains in Anhui province, and not everyone is taking it as a sign of encouragement. On the one hand, the crowds are a good indication that people are more than willing to travel, congregate, and enjoy life post-coronavirus, and that the months-long lockdown hasn’t stoked a crippling agoraphobia. On the other hand, the large crowds are prompting concerns and questions that China lifted their lockdown too early and that tourist sites aren’t equipped to properly manage bottlenecks.

Health precautions are being taken, however. At the Huangshan Mountains and other sites, visitors are being asked to show their health status on an app, wear surgical masks, and have their body temperatures taken before being allowed entry. Parks like the Huangshan Mountains have also been dramatically reducing their maximum capacity by as much as 60 percent, meaning photos of seemingly out-of-control crowds may just be the result of poor crowd management rather than a representation of overwhelming visitor numbers.

Benjamin Cowling, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Hong Kong University, told CBS News, “I think China is keeping a close eye on COVID-19 detections and may need to tune the social distancing measures that are needed to keep COVID-19 contained. For now, it may be OK to relax some measures, but those measures should be tightened if case numbers pick up.”

In Wuhan, where the lockdown lasted 11 weeks, restrictions are slowly being relaxed after a sustained decline in new infections. Starting Wednesday, outbound travel bans were lifted, and airports and train stations reopened. Much like a city transitioning from war to peacetime, Wuhan celebrated by illuminating bridges and skyscrapers with inspiring messages, and people gathered by the river to sing the Chinese national anthem. Expecting anything less from this harrowed city would be unreasonable, and it is an inspiring sight to behold — especially for other countries that are further behind and still under strict lockdowns.

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