The resumption of flights from Nanjing’s airport yesterday garnered most of the headlines, but there was also another reopening not so far away, one arguably more important. For yesterday also saw 140,000 Nanjingers released from lockdown.
Some 36 days after the mute button was pressed on the subdistrict of Nanjing that is Lukou, the bayonet railings linking it with the rest of the world were lifted. And as midnight struck on 26 August, Lukou Subdistrict ended its 7-day transition period, transferring to normalised epidemic prevention and control. Code for “becoming like the rest of Nanjing”.
The excitement was palpable. Vehicles queued on either side of the Lukou exit on Nanjing’s airport expressway. Their eager headlight beams joined the thousands of lights still on in people’s homes, revealing the mood of every sleepless citizen looking forward to the moment.
Near the head of that queue was Jiang Sixian. She had come to Lukou from Qixia District to socialise on 20 July. Little did she know she would spend the next month and a bit living in her friend’s factory.
“I feel like I went to prison for 36 days, but my only crime had been to have a meal with friends. Now I’m home. I’m so excited I want to cry!”, Jiang told Nanjing Daily.
After the outbreak at Lukou International Airport, Lukou was listed as a closed area on 21 July. The small town of nearly 50,000 households and about 140,000 people had suddenly been put quite literally behind bars.
Locked up in their own homes, the people of Lukou depended on government handouts to survive. In the beginning, the service was sloppy and attempts at group buying online were thwarted.
But finally, 19 August came and Lukou was adjusted from being a medium-risk area to low risk; the 7-day transition period began.
During the past week, local residents have been getting out to breathe freely the fresh air. In each community without a confirmed case, every household was permitted one person to go out and make purchases daily. For this purpose, supermarkets happily reopened their doors.
And then, as yesterday dawned, the local farmers’ market in Lukou resumed business, as did nearly 30 pharmacies. Unlike the rest of Nanjing, however, for the time being, catering enterprises are limited to providing takeout services only. No dine in for Lukou people just yet.
Not that Ms. Jiang is probably feeling much like eating out.
