コロナ死者初確認から１年　復活誇る武漢、流行止まらぬ世界

【武漢ＡＦＰ＝時事】中国はちょうど1年前のきょう、武漢で新たなウイルスによる初の死者を発表した。あれから12か月、新型コロナウイルス感染症（COVID-19）による死者は世界各地で増え続け、その数は190万人を超えた。（写真は中国・武漢市内の様子）
　しかし感染拡大が始まった武漢では、新型ウイルスは封じ込められている。何事もなく迎えた１１日、通勤者らは自由に移動し、公園や川沿いの遊歩道は歩行者らでにぎわった。人口１１００万人の同市は、同ウイルスの「爆心地」というレッテルを拭い去ろうと決意している。
　まだ症例報告が少なかった２０２０年１月１１日、中国は未確認のウイルスによる初の死者が出たと認めた。亡くなったのは、初期段階で多くの感染者が関係していたことで知られる生鮮市場の常連の男性（６１）だった。
　返り咲いた武漢は今、その復活を誇りにしている。ある住民は同日「今武漢は、中国、そして世界全体で見ても最も安全な都市だ」とＡＦＰに語った。大勢が集う公園では、朝日の下でペアになって踊る人々の姿が見られたが、マスク着用者は数人だった。
　１１日には国内の新規感染者数が、河北省を中心に昨年７月以来最多の１０３人に上ったと報告された。中国当局は、局地的に見られる感染拡大の阻止に動いている。規制強化に伴い、来月の春節（旧正月）休暇に多くの人が計画している旅行に悪影響が出るのではないかという懸念が高まっている。
　とはいえ１日当たりの感染者数で見ると、米英や多くの欧州諸国に比べるとほんのわずかにとどまっている。また死者数は、中国の公式統計では４６３４人とされている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/01/12-11:21）

One year ago, China announced the first death from a new virus in Wuhan -- 12 months later, Covid-19 has claimed 1.9 million lives in an unrelenting march across the world.
But in the central Chinese city of 11 million where the first known outbreak started, the virus has been extinguished.
On Monday morning, the anniversary slipped by unmarked in Wuhan -- commuters moved freely to work while parks and riverside promenades buzzed with walkers in a city determined to banish its tag as the coronavirus ground zero.
In a sparse report on January 11, 2020, China confirmed its first death from an unknown virus -- a 61-year-old man who was a regular at the now-notorious Wuhan wet market linked to many of the early cases.
The world would soon become grimly familiar with the disease that killed him as Covid-19.
Little is still known about the first victim, including his name, while the market where the first reported clusters of cases were traced back to has remained closed, surrounded by boarding.
Independent experts are yet to be granted access to the market or retrace in detail those early days of the virus in Wuhan.
The city has now bounced back and is proud of its revival.
Wuhan is the safest city in China now, even the whole world, 66-year-old resident Xiong Liansheng told AFP on Monday, as dozens of couples danced in a busy park in the morning sunshine, some wearing face masks.
Commuters headed to work and others strolled along the riverfront -- a sharp contrast to the countries still under strict lockdowns and restrictions.
The Wuhan people's awareness of epidemic prevention and control is very high -- even my two-year-old grandson will wear a mask when going out, said Xiong.
China has faced criticism at home and abroad over its initial handling of the virus, including attempts to silence whistleblowers and failure to report cases for days in early January.
Two weeks after confirming the first death, Wuhan and the surrounding province were put under lockdown.
Chinese authorities are trying to stamp out a series of local outbreaks, reporting 103 new infections on Monday -- the highest figure since July last year -- most in northern Hebei province.
Transport links have been cut and schools closed in an effort to contain the cluster.
There are also mounting fears that travel plans for hundreds of millions of people for the Lunar New Year next month may be ruined as virus controls tighten.
But it is a fraction of the daily infections in the United States, Britain and many European countries.
China's official toll stands at 4,634 deaths from Covid-19.