Recovering, but still reeling: Wuhan businesses, tourism one year after the COVID-19 outbreak

WUHAN: It’s packed at the Dragon Boat restaurant on a Sunday night, and a line of diners is waiting to enter. For Mr. Wu Cheng, the 28-year-old owner, it is a welcome sight.

But while business is improving, crowd levels are only 70 to 80 percent of what they were before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Once the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, Wuhan today stands in contrast to several cities around the world, which have closed bars and restaurants again due to the resurgence of the virus.

The city of 11 million provides the bulk of COVID-19 cases and deaths in China, but has not reported a case of local transmission since May.

“The pandemic has changed people’s opinion about consumption,” said Wu, a native of Wuhan. “Some may still mind going out to places like restaurants where there are crowds.”

To allay this concern, the restaurant has reduced the number of tables in its facilities, from 19 to 15, to create more space between diners. But this has affected billing.

Wu believes the restaurant has also lost customers because there are fewer people from other parts of China working in Wuhan.

The city was put under a 76-day lockdown from January to April as authorities tried to contain the growing number of COVID-19 cases.

READ: Careful first steps back to normal for Wuhan residents as COVID-19 lockdown lifted

Wu expects to have a loss of about $ 45,000 this year and has shelved plans to open a second store. Painful decisions were also made to cut costs.

“Many of our former employees called (after closing) to say they were willing to go back to work, but we could only turn them down gently,” Wu said.

“We had no choice because everyone is having a hard time this year. I felt a bit guilty … This was a difficult decision to make.”

OUT OF LIMITS

Business development plans weren’t the only thing Wu needed to make adjustments to. Previously, he and his staff frequented the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market to buy ingredients.

The location is believed to be where the coronavirus first appeared.

Today, tall blue barricades block the public’s view of the market, which remains closed and off-limits.

“My impression of Huanan is that the environment was not very good,” Wu said. “Besides frozen products, they also sold fresh products such as beef, mutton, fish and shellfish.”

Wu said the stalls have since moved to other markets in the city and he still receives ingredients from some of them.

In recent months, Chinese state media have increasingly pushed the narrative that COVID-19 may not have originated in the Huanan seafood market, or even in Wuhan.

Instead, he has suggested that the virus may have been imported from abroad via frozen food and packaging.

The World Health Organization recently said it would be “highly speculative” to say that the virus did not emerge in China.

POST-PANDEMIC CHALLENGES

Wuhan Renshoutang Home for the Aged and Aged is only 500 meters from Huanan Seafood Market. When the news of people sick from a new viral disease began to be more frequent, the alarms were activated.

The nursing home sealed off its facilities on January 20, three days before Wuhan was blocked. For the 600 seniors and 200 staff members who remained in the nursing home, it would be nearly six months before they were allowed out again.

“At that time, what we lacked most and needed most were public medical resources,” said the center’s deputy director, Tian Meng Jie.

“The entire Wuhan health system was practically at its breaking point.”

Aside from the shortage of masks and protective suits, Ms. Tian said that fatigue was also a major concern as staff took on additional duties to care for residents at the facility.

While the pandemic appears to be under control in Wuhan today, the nursing home is taking no chances.

Family visits can now only take place on the ground level, once a week for a limited period of time. Older people are also not allowed to leave the premises except for special reasons.

Tighter measures have caused some residents to choose to leave the nursing home. This, along with the higher costs of preventive measures, means that the facility expects to lose around US $ 760,000 this year.

“Our feeling is that there are as many challenges during the post-pandemic period as there are during the outbreak,” Ms Tian said.

“Before, the whole society was going through this, things were out of their control, but now the pressure of operations and medical care needs to be re-examined.”

RECOVERING TOURISTS

The Chinese authorities are also on the way to lure tourists back to Wuhan.

Campaigns targeting national travelers have been launched. These include free entry to tourist attractions and a new promotional video showcasing the city’s best sights and delicacies.

“This year has not been easy due to the pandemic, and right now, the situation is more stable, and we thought we could take a look at the sights here,” said Xie Xiaowei, a 22-year-old tourist who was visiting. . from Guangzhou.

Chinese authorities have also engaged groups such as the Beijing-based social platform FCN to promote the city. In October, FCN organized a tour to Wuhan for foreigners living in China.

More than 40 people signed up for the trip, which in addition to the usual tourist spots included a visit to Leishenshan Hospital, an emergency facility that was built in less than two weeks, to cope with the overwhelming number of COVID patients. 19 during shoot height.

Foreigners on this tour are also brought to an exhibition organized by the Chinese authorities, showcasing Wuhan and the country’s success in taming the pandemic.

“When the pandemic broke out in Wuhan, there were many opinions around the world and people did not have a very precise understanding of Wuhan,” said Celine Liu, deputy director general of FCN.

“In April, with an improvement in the pandemic situation in China, FCN had the idea to let the world hear Wuhan (for themselves).”

OBSERVE: Businesses in Wuhan are still not out of the woods one year after the COVID-19 outbreak began

“LOTS OF WOLVES, BUT NOT ENOUGH MEAT”

But some businesses that rely on tourism say government assistance may need to continue for a time.

Ms. Wu Xin owns a stall selling local dishes, such as Wuhan’s signature hot dry noodles, at the popular tourist spot Hubu Alley.

She said government-encouraged groups help generate a much-needed step. Without them, the number of tourists may only be about 10 percent of what it was before.

“There have been groups of older people who came and they would say it is only because of the government subsidies. Otherwise they would not dare to visit because it was very dangerous at the time,” Ms. Wu said.

“But I would tell them that Wuhan is not dangerous. The entire population has been examined, it is safe.”

Tourists aside, there is another group of regulars who are conspicuously absent from Ms. Wu’s food stand. Many of the city’s college students must remain on campus, as part of COVID-19 prevention measures.

More than 18 million people visited Wuhan during the National Day holiday in October. But Jiang Shao, 30, who owns a small hotel in Hubu Alley, has observed that those numbers have dropped since the beginning of winter.

“We say there are a lot of wolves, but not enough meat. There are still a lot of hotels, but there aren’t a lot of tourists,” Jiang said.

He attributes this to cold weather, as well as recent reports of new local COVID-19 cases in various parts of China. In a desperate attempt to stay afloat, he has lowered his room rates – you can get one for just $ 8 a night.

“Others in the industry have asked me if I’m still going to make money from this fee. Of course I won’t, but the rooms better be empty,” he said.

“How long can I wait? Right now, we’re doing it through loans. It’s very difficult.”

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