Massive crowds in Wuhan, where the coronavirus originated, rang in the New Year in the streets at midnight Friday, Reuters reported.
Hundreds followed tradition by celebrating before the old Hankow Customs House Building, a popular New Year’s Eve site in Wuhan, Reuters reported.
“I’m so so so incredibly happy,” Yang Wenxuan, a 20-year-old student and tourist said, according to Reuters. “This is my first time in Wuhan. But it (the countdown) was so spectacular.”
“I hope that I can successfully obtain my bachelor degree and I hope I can find a boyfriend,” Yang said, according to Reuters.
People hold balloons as they gather to celebrate the arrival of the new year, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Wuhan, China December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
A number of police and crowd controllers were at the celebrations, Reuters reported. Some of the security staff were spotted informing people they must wear their masks should they want to remain at the gatherings, which seemed peaceful.
Police officers stand guard as people gather to celebrate the arrival of the new year during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
The World Health Organization (WHO) China Country Office learned Dec. 31, 2019, that there were “cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China,” according to an organization statement. The cases were later discovered to be a unique coronavirus and designated as COVID-19, according to a WHO timeline. (RELATED: WHO Director General Responds To Pompeo’s Comments That He Was ‘Bought’ By China)
People pose for a selfie as they celebrate the arrival of the new year during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China January 1, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
A team of WHO plan to visit China in January to investigate the causes of the coronavirus, Reuters reported. A House Foreign Affairs Committee’s audit from September, which expanded a report in June, said the virus outbreak could have been stopped if the WHO and China hadn’t concealed the start of the pandemic.
A police officer walks past barriers as people gather to celebrate the arrival of the new year during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
The city has been mostly free of the virus for the most part for a while, but was locked down in 2020 from the end of January to April, Reuters reported. Some groups in the city’s population have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, while other cities, Beijing included, have seen a small increase in cases, according to Reuters.
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