Wuhan Consul General: "Lockdown Lifted... Control and Management Will Become Stricter"

Lockdown in Wuhan Lifted at Midnight on the 8th... "Restrictions on Foreigners' Movement Likely to Continue"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, the origin of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), will lift the city lockdown from 0:00 on the 8th, but signs indicate that control and management will be further strengthened.

Kang Seung-seok, Consul General in Wuhan, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 7th, "The lockdown of Hubei Province will be lifted first, and the lockdown of Wuhan City will also be lifted from 0:00 on the 8th, two weeks later. However, signs of strengthened control and management are appearing throughout the city. Even if the city lockdown is lifted, COVID-19 prevention will not be relaxed. On the contrary, daily life may become tighter."

For example, ahead of the lifting of the Wuhan lockdown, large iron fences have been installed around apartments where foreigners reside, and movements to separate and strengthen management of residential areas called Xiaoqiu (小區) have been detected in various places.

Consul General Kang also conveyed that even if the Wuhan lockdown is lifted from tomorrow, foreigners’ movement within Wuhan is expected to continue to be restricted for the time being.

He explained, "Wuhan citizens can move using a 'green health code' that proves they are healthy, but foreigners currently cannot register for the green health code using their passports due to system issues. They must carry a health certificate separately issued by a hospital to move, but the issuance is complicated, and there are places where even this is not accepted. For the time being, movement will continue to be restricted, and they will have to endure inconvenience."

Since Wuhan was abruptly locked down on January 23, Korean residents left Wuhan via chartered flights, but as the Wuhan lockdown continued and foreign entry was banned, most have not been able to return to Wuhan.

Consul General Kang said, "Including expatriates, international students, and short-term business travelers, about 840 people left at that time, but even if the Wuhan lockdown is lifted, it will be difficult for them to re-enter Wuhan for the time being due to the foreign entry ban. Cases of overseas importation of COVID-19 patients, asymptomatic infections, and re-positive cases after treatment continue to emerge, so the Chinese government does not seem likely to ease restrictions easily. In China, the prevailing view is that if COVID-19 is perfectly controlled locally, restrictions will be lifted after being declared at the major political event, the Two Sessions (Lianghui)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.