Police remove barricades as the city is reopened at 00:00 on April 8. /Xinhua
Central China's city of Wuhan has been back to normal on Wednesday with its main intercity highways reopened and public transportation resumed.
Home to over 11 million people, the city was put on temporary lockdown on January 23.
Zhong Nanshan, head of the COVID-19 panel of experts, during an interview on the pandemic. /Xinhua
Li Lanjuan, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, explains therapy of a confirmed COVID-19 case. /Xinhua
Over the past two months, over 330 medical teams made up to over 40,000 doctors and nurses from across the country were sent to Wuhan to back local medics. National medical professionals Zhong Nanshan and Li Lanjuan hurried to the front line to give scientific medical advice for confirmed cases, and an ad hoc professional panel was organized and released treatment protocols to the world with a continuous update.
Emergency specialty field hospitals – Huoshenshan Hospital and Leishenshan Hospital – were built just in 10 days, offering 2,600 more beds. A total of 16 public venues were also converted within one month into temporary hospitals to fill in a shortage of hospital beds, offering over 60,000 additional beds.
"We've never used the temporary hospitals converted from existing public venues. This is a milestone in the country's public health," Wang Chen, professor in respiratory and critical care medicine, said.
Soldiers also took part in the battle against the disease with a high velocity. On the eve of the Spring Festival, the first medical team from the Chinese People's Liberation Army arrived in Wuhan and joined in local medical workers. Over 10,000 from the army supported local medics in total. To meet the increasing demand, the army sent 400,000 medical masks and 8,000 hazmat suits to Wuhan.
A community worker in Wuhan's Jiang'an District carries 100 pieces of medicine for residents, February 24. /Xinhua
Community workers and volunteers carry out a health check in Jiang'an District, Wuhan, February 9. /Xinhua
A deliveryman delivers parcels to a residential community in Jianghan District in Wuhan, February 9. /Xinhua
On February 16, a three-day check was started in communities citywide, aiming to transport all confirmed patients to hospitals, conduct a test on all suspected cases, quarantine all direct contacts and ensure a closed-off management at community.
Gui Xiaomei, a neighborhood director from Qingshan District in Wuhan, said she had been working round the clock to help 5,235 households each day.
Over the past two months, people in Wuhan were advised to stay home and not to gather. During the Spring Festival, people had to send greetings through phones instead of visiting relatives or friends.
"This was a memorable Spring Festival. In each corner of the city, people defend their homeland with the same hope," Chen Ying told Xinhua, explaining how people were united at this moment to fight against the pandemic.
Police officers salute before entering a venue-converted temporary hospital in Wuhan, February 25, 2020. /Xinhua
Over 63,000 police officers together with 56,000 assistant policemen have been on duty to ensure order and safety in the city.
People from all walks of life and the international community lent a helping hand to the city. Local restaurants and cafes volunteered to offer meals and coffee to medics while residents and deliverymen helped transportation of goods. People outside of the city collected medical masks and equipment that were in shortage because of huge demand. According to Hubei Province Red Cross Society, over 1.7 billion yuan worth of supplies were received as of April 4.
The country flew its national flag at half-mast on April 4, this year's Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day) with all nationals mourning for the deceased who lost their lives in the fight against the pandemic.
People mourn for the deceased in the fight against COVID-19 on Yiyuan Square in Wuhan, April 4. /Xinhua
"People in Wuhan made a huge sacrifice. Each of the deceased should be remembered," a support doctor said in the memorial service held on April 4.
According to Hubei's health authority, there were no reported confirmed cases on April 7. The central transportation hub is back to normal on April 8 with an estimated 55,000 people leaving Wuhan by train and the rate of operation of business has reached 97.2 percent.