In the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak nearly three years ago and where thousands died, residents cautiously greeted a relaxation of lockdown measures by authorities this week.
In the city center, few people were in shops and restaurants and the subway was only partially filled as many residents remained wary of a possible new flare-up of infections.
The teeming metropolis bore the brunt of the pandemic in its early stages in early 2020, when authorities ordered the entire city of 11 million to be sealed off in a military-style lockdown for more than two months - a traumatic chapter that has not been forgotten by some.
"We know the country is reopening but we ourselves haven't let down our guard," said one Wuhan cornershop owner. "We're taking precautions, protecting ourselves because it (the virus) is spreading quickly."
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Outside a fever clinic attached to Wuhan's central hospital where Li Wenliang, a whistleblower doctor, had worked and first raised awareness of the mysterious virus before succumbing to it himself, a queue of more than 100 people sought treatment, marshalled by workers in white hazmat suits.
{{/usCountry}}Outside a fever clinic attached to Wuhan's central hospital where Li Wenliang, a whistleblower doctor, had worked and first raised awareness of the mysterious virus before succumbing to it himself, a queue of more than 100 people sought treatment, marshalled by workers in white hazmat suits.
{{/usCountry}}Two Wuhan pharmacies visited by Reuters had sold out of fever medication a day ago, while customers asked for vitamin C or cough medicine in vain with stocks depleted.
"This has never happened before, not even at the start of the outbreak in 2020," said one Wuhan pharmacist surnamed Liu.
Health authorities in Wuhan reported 229 new COVID cases on Thursday, while health authorities in Beijing reported more than 16,000 cases nationwide on the same day.
Beijing has also been quiet amid a reluctance of some businesses to drop COVID curbs. Enduring anxieties about the coronavirus are likely to hamper a speedy return to health for the world's second-largest economy.
"For Wuhaners, there's always this tendency to resort to panic buying, whether it is medicine, or food. It's fair to say that's because we were traumatised from the first wave, and that experience stays with us," said Li, a 31-year old manager who works for a real estate company in Wuhan.