A year has passed since Wuhan, the first city in the world to be overrun by the virus, was placed under a 76-day lockdown in response to COVID-19 on January 23rd. Citizens are now able to conduct their lives without the threat of the virus looming over them. The city is bustling with people visiting restaurants, daily transportation, karaoke rooms, reunions, and more activities previously taken for granted with unmasked faces. Wuhan was able to spend their New Year's Eve outside on the streets while millions of others remained in lockdown. However, the joyous celebrations and return to daily life threaten to bury the emotional pain that lurks in the population. At least 3,869 of its residents have died from the virus, which has claimed over 2 million lives worldwide. Many grievers who lost family or friends have turned to blame their government for their mistakes in early attempts to regulate the virus. Yang Min believes that if the severity of the outbreak had been announced earlier, her daughter might still be alive. Her daughter had gone to the hospital on January 16th to receive treatment for her breast cancer where she had presumably caught the virus. She died on February 6th, after being transferred to Jinyintan Hospital, a place designated for coronavirus patients. Yang has since gone to multiple local officials to demand accountability but was told that the government had released an online notice on December 31st.
While the virus continues to rage on in multiple other cities, I believe the recovery of Wuhan can give hope to others that the pandemic will come to an end. Although the days where I could safely walk around without a mask feel like a distant memory, hearing about the city functioning like it had before the pandemic does help me feel like our current state won't last forever. However, I do also agree that the pain and harmful effects of the pandemic that affected Wuhan shouldn't be swept under the rug in favor of focusing on only its recovery. We should honor the lives that have been lost while we celebrate the success of Wuhan.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/24/asia/wuhan-one-year-on-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/world/asia/wuhan-china-coronavirus.html
How does the news about Wuhan make you feel?
Do you believe that the virus will come to an end soon?
How can we celebrate the end of COVID-19 without forgetting its traumatic effects?
I am actually shocked by the image and news of Wuhan going entirely back to normal, and am curious as to whether all of the people living there have been vaccinated, therefore allowing so many activities to resume. If that is the case, then I am excited that normalcy seems to have been restored there, however do have multiple reservations about how safe that still is with the rest of the world being in the worst stages of the pandemic. I definitely don't want to be pessimistic about the situation, but I don't think that the virus will end very soon, as billions of people still need to be vaccinated and new strains have emerged as well which will need to be researched. Covid will be present in all of our lives from this point on similar to how the flu is, however it is because of the emerging vaccines and hopefully treatments as well that its risk will go down significantly, helping end the pandemic. Once the pandemic does end however, I think that we should definitely go spend time with people we've missed such as family, friends, and other significant figures in our lives, but also remember those who sadly lost their lives during this time, and the incredible people who dedicated their lives to helping others recover, such as medical personnel and frontline workers.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if the decline in cases had anything to do with vaccinations, but I think it was more due to the case numbers declining because of strict quarantine measures. I agree that the virus will most likely continue for a long time, even with the vaccinations being developed as it would be hard to get everyone vaccinated, especially since many fear the long-term effects. I agree that we should raise more appreciation for frontline workers and medical personnel, and we should also acknowledge the essential workers that are still working despite the conditions we are all in.
DeleteIm happy to hear that Wuhan is back to normal because it was the birthplace and most dangerous place to be at the time last year. Certain countries are returning back to normal this is good proof that the virus could come to and end soon. The pfizer vaccine is 95 percent effective which are good number and i believe they are currently and slowly being distributed. It might take a while to get them to most of the world but we're making progress. It feels like i havent been in school forever and i'm missing out on one of the most memorable years of my life so i'm defenitely trying to stay optimistic about the extinction of COVID-19. I shouldn't be complaining about the days i'm missing because some people have it a lot worse like losing their loved ones to COVID-19. I think as a celebration without forgetting it's traumatic effects, we should be opimistic and move forward because it will mean no more deaths of loved ones or repetative days.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read through this article and looked closely at the image, I have to admit that I had mixed reactions. My first reaction was envy - I really wish things were normal again and that we could all go outside, even back to school. However, as I thought more about the situation, I started feeling a bit anxious. One of my concerns related to this news is how other countries will respond. Some may decide to follow in Wuhan’s footsteps, but this could be extremely dangerous. Wuhan, and China in general, use strict restrictions and regulations to maintain the safety of their citizens. If, for example, the U.S. does decide to reopen after hearing this news, the COVID situation would get even worse. In response to your second question, I agree with Amitai that the COVID pandemic will not end any time soon. Considering what it’s like in SF right now, vaccine distribution will be pretty slow. Their goal is to have all of SF vaccinated by the end of June, but that would require hospitals to administer 10,000 doses each day. Based on reports published on news sites, the current number that is realistically possible with the number of vaccines we have right now is 3,000 doses. Unless we open a large number of vaccination sites, have a safe protocol, recruit more healthcare workers, and produce more vaccines, I don’t think things will return to normal by the summer.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do think that other countries following the same footsteps regarding lifting restrictions is a reasonable cause for concern, I don't think it will happen. Wuhan had already confirmed their zero case count before lifting restrictions, while many other countries cannot guarantee the same right now. Along with the long time it will take for everyone to receive the vaccine, there isn't much hope for restrictions to fully disappear for a long time. I do hope the day we can walk around outside without masks will be in the near future.
DeleteI, like Farrah, felt envious at first. I miss being able to walk around without a mask and being at school with friends, I think we all do. I also feel extremely happy and proud for Wuhan, a city that "beat" the virus. I think this will certainly be a beacon of light for many and inspire hope that soon they will achieve the same. I agree with Farrah and Amitai that the pandemic will not end in a short amount of time. Things may not recover very soon but progress is made everyday, vaccines are slowly distributed everyday, so I feel rest assured that one day life will return to normal. And once the pandemic is over for us, like Amitai said we should definitely go and spend time with family and friends, and all the things that was limited by the pandemic; but also the lives lost during this time should be honored and remembered. I can't imagine the feeling of losing a family member and I think the medical workers should be respected and acknowledged.
ReplyDeleteI am happy for Wuhan and their success in being able to eradicate COVID from their city, and making it safe once again for residents to resume their normal lives. At the same time, I am also hopeful that this will soon become our future, as we will all be able to return to school and continue other social activities. I believe that the virus will end sometime in the future, as more people have been getting the vaccine, which has been shown to have a 95% effectiveness rate in preventing recipients from getting the disease. According to studies, communities have also been reaching herd immunity, which means people will become immune and unable to spread the disease. However, new vaccine strains have appeared in recent weeks, which means scientists still have to continue to research for more solutions. We can celebrate the end of COVID-19, but at the same time, we should remember the numerous people who have lost their lives or loved ones due to the effects of COVID.
ReplyDeleteThe news in Wuhan makes me both scared and happy at the same time. While obviously this is a good sign that things are calming down, and the situation will soon be under control. I think this is another example at China's rise in power to challenge the U.S. in every way. While I don't doubt that Wuhan is back to normal, I do take their death numbers with a grain of salt. I do think the virus will be defeated soon enough, we can't be stuck in this scenario forever to ensure a productive society, and I think as more and more vaccines are distributed we'll eventually be able to beat the virus out of our lives. As for the last question I think the two go hand in hand. The celebration for the end of Covid-19 will be short lived, and any sensible administration would seek changes to ensure that such an event doesn't happen again. So I think by celebrating we are inherently remembering at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI'm also very happy that Wuhan is back to normal and it gives me hope for the future. Getting out of the pandemic is difficult and the fact that the vaccines are being distributed and more communities are opening back up again definitely gives me hope. I don't know how soon it will be until the pandemic is over but I'm optimistic that progress will become quicker. In terms of balancing relief of the end of the pandemic with remembrance of those who we've lost or those who have lost loved ones, I think it's important that we do both. The pandemic has been tragic but once we're out of it, there should be some celebration while honoring the memories of those who've left us. A lot of people have suffered during this pandemic and hopefully, once it's over, there will be a lot of relief, celebration, and remembrance.
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