In Wuhan, a Chinese New Year in the shadow of the coronavirus
Audio 01:02
A shopping center in Wuhan, Hubei province, January 1, 2021. AFP - NOEL CELIS
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4 min
In China, the health authorities, who fear an increase in the number of contaminations, ask the inhabitants to stay at home for the Lunar New Year, as in Wuhan, the cradle of the pandemic, where the traditional festival of “10,000 families” n will not take place this year.
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"
The feast of 10,000 families
[
Wan Jia Jian
]
for the Lunar New Year this year?"
You don't think about it,
”said a taxi driver to
our correspondent in China
,
Stéphane Lagarde
.
This secular tradition of the Baibuting district in Wuhan has also become one of the symbols - along with the wholesale seafood market - of an epidemic that has definitely marked people's minds.
Sheltered from the grapefruit trees, we play chess, we play sports, we sing, but we avoid remembering the 40,000 people who gathered here last winter.
Authorities were still censoring information, as viral pneumonia began to fill hospitals.
"
Large gatherings promote the transmission of the virus
," explains a local shopkeeper, who is not ready to forget.
It's a beautiful tradition, but after what happened last year we don't dare to organize the same parties as before.
It was a big party before.
In a year or two, we'll see.
For the moment it is not possible
”.
The National Health Commission has just recommended that families avoid gathering for the Chinese New Year.
Reinforced restrictions
On January 9, China also tightened restrictions in two cities south of Beijing, already under quarantine, in the hope of stemming the most serious Covid-19 outbreak in six months in the country.
As the Chinese New Year approaches, celebrated in February, the city of Shijiazhuang has suspended metro traffic until further notice.
For their part, residents of Xingtai are prohibited from leaving their homes for a week.
China succeeded last spring in stemming the epidemic which has since spread across the globe.
The country has officially counted 4,634 dead, according to the latest toll recorded in May.
► See also: China: vaccination is accelerating in mega-cities before the Lunar New Year
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