Thousands welcomed the new year in Wuhan, China following the easing of restrictions but despite a new surge in COVID-19 cases.
Wuhan residents hope that 2023 would be better for them three years into the pandemic.
Wuhan was the ground zero of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In the past year, I feel that COVID-19 was very serious and some of my family members have been hospitalized,” a resident told Reuters.
“I hope they will be healthy in the new year. This is the most important thing,” the resident added.
“Those restrictions were in place for too long, so perhaps people were pretty unhappy. It had been a long time since things were lively and vibrant,” another one added.
China is set to ease restrictions on its international borders beginning January 8.
