Published 17:44 IST, April 9th 2020
Wuhan sees spike in weddings after COVID-19 lockdown was lifted
The central Chinese city of Wuhan where the coronavirus first emerged has seen a 300 per cent increase in weddings after lockdown restrictions were lifted
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While some parts of the world are still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the central Chinese city of Wuhan where the coronavirus first emerged is finally seeing an easing in restrictions. According to reports, people in Wuhan are finally free from months of lockdowns. After easing restrictions, the city has seen a spike in weddings.
300% Spike
As per reports, the marriage registration office in Wuhan reopened its office on April 3 but weddings have only spiked this week. According to data provided by Alipay which is a subsidiary of Alibaba, there has been a 300 per cent increase in the traffic to the government’s marriage registration service. It is yet to be seen if the spike in weddings is a localized phenomenon or if there has been an increase nationally.
Lockdown in Wuhan is lifted
After the 76-day lockdown ban on Wuhan was lifted, the authorities requested the citizens to refrain themselves from stepping out of the house, city and Hubei Province unless very important. From April 7 midnight, Wuhan, which was the epicentre of the coronavirus infection, lifted outbound travel restrictions, opened traffic control checkpoints, and resumed operation of railways, airports, waterways, roadways in an orderly way, as per reports, according to a statement issued by the provincial coronavirus control headquarters.
However, the statement reportedly warned that zero positive cases do not mean that people start risking their lives again and lifting travel restrictions does not mean lifting prevention and control measures. People still need to abide by the rule can take extra precautions to protect themselves from the disease.
The statement reportedly added that the residential communities should continue to closed-off management, and strictly instructed the residents to check their body temperatures and wear a mask. According to reports, the statement added that shopping malls, supermarkets, parks and hospitals which have reopened need to follow certain guidelines which include a limited number of visitors, checking their temperature to avoid cross infections.
Coronavirus outbreak
After originating from China’s “wet markets”, the coronavirus has now claimed over 88,505 lives worldwide as of April 9. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 209 countries and has infected at least 1,518,783 people. Out of the total infections, 330,590 have been recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries and the economy is struggling.
17:54 IST, April 9th 2020