Partygoers in thousands thronged a water park in Wuhan over the weekend from the central Chinese city, where the novel coronavirus was first reported. With pictures of the event going viral on social media, many around the world have been left surprised. The visuals of people in swimsuits and goggles having a blast during an electronic music festival at the Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park is one of the signs of the city returning to normalcy post the havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The water park reopened in June after Wuhan’s 76-day lockdown came to an end upon intensive restrictions to try and contain the spread of the coronavirus. Local media states that the park is offering discounts to female visitors at half price and has also capped the attendance by 50 percent of normal capacity.
The event saw a performer take to the stage at the front of the water while waving towards the crowd, who waved back at him, with some clicking photographs on their phones covered in plastic pouches around their necks. Another performer on a water jet board provided entertainment to those who had gathered by hovering over them with sparks shooting from his back. A few in the crowd in the water park had been wearing life jackets, while a majority of them were to be seen not wearing face masks as a DJ played on stage.
The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan late last year after which the virus spread its wings as an outbreak across the world, claiming 700,000 lives to date, while leaving economies of nations crippled. Wuhan, a city with a population of 11 million, had its lockdown lifted in April, with no new domestically-transmitted coronavirus cases officially reported in Hubei province since mid-May.
The Hubei government, where Wuhan is the capital, in order to boost the economy has been offering free entry to more than 400 tourist sites in the province. Apart from the few infrequent outbreaks and the recent severe flooding, China has brought the domestic epidemic to a control considerably.