Return to Wuhan one year after the onset of Covid-19: “It’s nice to see this city where we live almost normally”, testifies Arnaud Miguet

“It’s nice to see this city where we live almost normally”, testifies on franceinfo Arnauld Miguet, the correspondent in China of France Televisions who is back in Wuhan a year after the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. The anniversary date is not celebrated or commemorated, he explains, as there is a slight rebound in the epidemic in the country. “There is some nervousness in the air. People are wearing masks again since it is again recommended to wear them in the city.”, says Arnauld Miguet.

franceinfo: One year after the start of this pandemic, what does Wuhan look like?

Arnauld Miguet: Wuhan looks like a city free from Covid-19. Today there is no special celebration or commemoration. We don’t talk much about it in the media. There are still exhibitions to mark the occasion. A documentary was released in theaters, people in Wuhan and elsewhere in China got to see it, it’s called Day and night in Wuhan and recalls this fight of doctors and volunteers against the epidemic. But today, nothing in particular, people go about their business. There is some nervousness in the air. People wear masks again since it is recommended to wear them again in the city so everyone is masked. There is nervousness in the air because there are cases of Covid-19, there is a rebound in this China which thought has almost got rid of it. Today there are 107 new contaminations. Officially, it was 103 yesterday. So, even in Wuhan, we especially do not want to relive this terrible black winter of the year 2020. So everyone is very careful, but there is no trumpet or fanfare. It’s a day almost like any other

Is the information given by the Chinese authorities reliable? Should we be wary of it?

You should always be wary of it. China is not an example of transparency. That said, today, the Chinese authorities have the roadmap, have the instructions to fight against Covid 19. We can doubt, obviously, there will always be questions about the veracity of these figures. On the assessment that was given at the time, on the number of deaths in Wuhan.

“Today, as soon as there is a case, the authorities sound the alarm to take the measures that are being taken in China and which are still draconian measures, but which seem to be of some effectiveness since the country still knows relatively few cases of Covid-19, ie containment. “

Arnauld Miguet, the correspondent in China of France Télévisions

to franceinfo

There are people in a province around Beijing and in Beijing as well, who are now in confinement, who cannot leave their homes. So the method is confinement, tracing, isolation of patients and all-out tests. Again, in Beijing, in Shanghai, there are a few cases. A whole part of the districts where we found contaminations are currently being tested. So today the Chinese authorities are doing things, saying things. This was not necessarily the case in Wuhan in December and January, the Chinese authorities have recognized a certain delay in ignition. But today, the Chinese seem to have the manual to fight this epidemic. When we see the figures elsewhere in the world, it would still seem that China is almost rid of the Covid-19, but the Covid-19 is still there and it is still circulating in the country.

Have you yourself been confined for several months, have you seen Wuhan a dead city, seeing this city living must have a funny effect?

It’s nice to see this city where we live almost normally, where we see the world before, even if people still wear masks as a precautionary principle, it’s nice to see this city cleared of Covid-19.

“It’s a martyred city. It’s a city that has known the darkest hours, where it all began, where no one knew the disease. Today, we go out, we dance, we laugh, we go. in restaurants and it is also ultimately a message of hope for the rest of the world. “

We can win this battle against Covid-19 and ultimately, it is the illustration of a city that is often presented as the showcase of Chinese success for propaganda.