A Positive Coronavirus Update—Life In China Returning To Normal—As Flights To London Resume

For anyone looking for some positive headlines regarding the most talked about topic online, they may seem few and far between.

Just one new case of COVID-19 was reported on Monday this week in China domestically as parks restaurants and even domestic tourism begins to recover. 

I recently wrote about how life in Hong Kong and Singapore is continuing with a large amount of relative normality compared to the lockdown situations being experienced in Europe and the U.S.

In nearby China, which was the centre of the outbreak, life is also returning to relative normality. Air China is even operating a daily scheduled flight from Beijing to London Heathrow again. 

The last temporary Coronavirus hospital has now closed in Hubei province as there are not enough new cases to justify keeping them open.

Rates of new infections of COVID-19 continue to decline in China from data released by the World Health Organization and the Chinese government. 

Restrictions on movement and travel are tentatively being relaxed now in China as life begins to return to normal.

Apple has reopened all of their 42 mainland China stores having previously shuttered them as the virus spread rapidly.

The consensus is that the worst has passed in China and after two months of widespread quarantine people are able to catch up with friends again.

The central province of Hubei where Wuhan is located was the epicentre of the virus and even their airports are starting to prepare to reopen.

Beijing and Shanghai airports are beginning to get back towards regular domestic capacity. 

Numbers from China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention say that 69,000 of 81,000 cases have already been discharged in the country and 13 out of 34  provinces have cleared their remaining cases.

Educational institutions are now allowed to resume classes this month in areas of “low risk of infection” including Tibet, Guizhou, Qinghai and Xinjiang.

The arrivals board for Beijing airport still shows large amounts of canceled international flights but some flights are operating to destinations including Seoul, Osaka, London and Dubai.

However, the effects on livelihoods could last for many years, with lots of businesses facing bankruptcy in the period of quarantine. Unemployment in China jumped to 6% and economic output in one of the worlds fastest economies was at its lowest level since 1998 according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

It may be too early to do a victory lap just yet, but for anyone around the world looking for signs of positivity and hope, Asia would be a good place to turn to.