Re-Opening42
China implemented blockade, lockdown and strict quarantine in various cities during the COVID-19 epidemic. In order to prevent the further spread or the possible resurgence of the epidemic while trying to minimise the negative impacts on economic activities, China has taken a gradual and decentralised approach to the resumption of production, schooling and work, both during and after the epidemic.
The closure of Wuhan was just before the Chinese Spring Festival holiday. Affected by the epidemic, the Spring Festival holiday was extended from 30 January to 2 February. All provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions were free to decide the time to resume production, schooling and work according to the local epidemic conditions. Among them, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi (except the city of Xi’an), Xinjiang (except the city of Shihezi) and Tibet, which were less affected by the epidemic at that time, resumed economic activities right after the end of the Spring Festival holiday on 3 February. Beijing, Hainan and Sichuan decided to adopt flexible work arrangements, allowing enterprises to decide when and how to restart production and to what extent. Most of the other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, with the exception of Hubei, decided to resume economic activities on or after 10 February.43 As of 23 February, in more than half of the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the Mainland, over 50% of the above-scale industrial enterprises had resumed production. In Hubei, enterprises were allowed to resume production after midnight on 10 March.44 However, we should not simply identify resumption of work with a quick return to normal because many critical links in the supply chains, both domestic and international, have been disrupted.
With the end of the epidemic, Hubei and Wuhan re-opened. As of 00:00 on 25 March, the blockade in Hubei outside of Wuhan was removed. Traffic resumed and people were allowed to leave Hubei (except Wuhan) with the “Green Code” of Hubei health code (Green means the person is healthy.) As of 00:00 on 8 April, Wuhan removed the lockdown and restored external traffic. People with “Green Code” are allowed to move in and out of Wuhan.45
On 16 April, the Wuhan municipal headquarters for the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control announced an upward revision of the cumulative numbers of confirmed cases and deaths by 325 and 1,290, respectively. Of the newly reported deaths, 965 (1,290–325) were COVID-19 patients who were thought to have been cured and hence discharged from hospitals, but subsequently died at home.
On 2 May, Hubei lowered its emergency response level from I to II (still in place as of this writing). By this time, all 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions had already reduced their emergency response from Level I to lower levels.46
The time line of the events under “The Re-Opening” is presented in Table 2-4.
Table 2-4: The Re-Opening
| Date | Events |
| 3 February 2020 | Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi (except Xi’an), Xinjiang (except Shihezi) and Tibet resumed regular economic activities. Beijing (before 10 February), Hainan and Sichuan adopted flexible arrangements. |
| 10 February 2020 | Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Neimenggu, Shandong, Shanghai, Shanxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang and the city of Xi’an in Shaanxi resumed economic activities. |
| 15 February 2020 | The city of Shihezi in Xinjiang resumed economic activities. |
| 23 February 2020 | In more than half of the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, the resumption rate of above-scale industrial enterprises exceeded 50%. |
| 10 March 2020 | All enterprises in Hubei were allowed to resume production after midnight. |
| 16 April 2020 | Wuhan announced an upward revision of the cumulative numbers of confirmed cases and deaths by 325 and 1,290, respectively. |
| 1 May 2020 | Hubei lowered its emergency response from Level I to Level II (still in place as of this writing). |
| 2 May 2020 | All other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions ended their Level I emergency response for public health emergencies. |
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1Note that there are time zone differences among China, Switzerland (where the World Health Organization is located) and the United States, so that the reported dates may not be exactly the same.
2http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/xwzx_28/gsgg/202004/t20200430_1199576.shtml.
3http://wjw.wuhan.gov.cn/xwzx_28/gsgg/202004/t20200430_1199576.shtml.
4World Health Organization (2020a).
5http://hb.people.com.cn/n2/2019/1231/c192237-33678978.html.
6http://k.sina.com.cn/article_1653603955_628ffe7301900uene.html.
7http://hb.people.com.cn/n2/2020/0101/c192237-33680870.html.
8https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-04-2020-who-timeline---covid-19.
9These experts were drawn from Tongji Hospital, Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan Infectious Diseases Hospital and Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
10https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/MN908947.
11http://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2020-01-09/1399306.html.
12https://virological.org/t/novel-2019-coronavirus-genome/319.
13https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-04-2020-who-timeline---covid-19.
14http://wsjkw.gd.gov.cn/zwyw_yqxx/content/post_2876057.html.
15http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2020-01/20/c_1125486727.htm.
16http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2020-01/20/c_1125486899.htm.
17https://github.com/canghailan/Wuhan-2019-nCoV.
18https://github.com/canghailan/Wuhan-2019-nCoV.
19http://health.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0129/c14739-31564362.html.
20http://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2020-01-21/doc-iihnzhha3859486.shtml.