Coronavirus: tens of thousands say goodbye to Wuhan as city ends 11 weeks of lockdown
- An estimated 55,000 people left by rail alone on Wednesday, while 100 commercial flights took off for the first time since January 23
- Wuhan residents are keen to get their lives back on track, but some are fearful of the ‘silent carriers’ who could start a second wave of infections
An estimated 55,000 people left the city by train alone on the first day the railways reopened, heading to all parts of the country, from Shanghai to Beijing, Shenzhen to Chengdu, according to the local railway authority. More than 100 commercial flights also took off from the city, the first departures since runways, like the roads and railways, were closed down on January 23.
At a toll booth on Gongjialing Highway, Dong Lijun waited for a pickup truck he had ordered to take him back to Jiangxi province, where he runs a construction business.
The 43-year-old said he was delighted to be leaving the city and had been eagerly awaiting his departure since last month, when officials in Jiangxi told him he would be allowed back into the east China province as long as he observed the health checks on his return.
“I was really relieved when I heard that,” Dong said. “Finally I can leave.”
