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Ask HN: Have things returned to normalcy in China?

7 points by mailarchis ↗ HN
China now has less than 4000 active cases as per https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

Have people started going back to work? Are people socializing now? Has there been a change in consumption? What has changed since the outbreak?

3 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 20.6 ms ] thread
eric1990
80% of people go back to work except for wuhan city. The school is not open. I come from Hefei, China
mailarchis
Thanks for your reply. What has been the impact on small businesses and the service sector? Are there some changes that you see that will remain for a while
mstaoru
I'm in Shanghai.

Residential compounds still don't let outsiders in (deliveries, friends etc - but not too strict). Many shops, banks, coffee shops still check the temperature. Some places also ask to show "health code" which is a mini-app (PWA-kind of thing in Wechat / Alipay ecosystem) that gathers your travel info and gives you a red-yellow-green rating. Schools, most museums, parks, theaters are still closed.

I still cannot enter Wework because I have a personal contract. Only companies allowed, and need to fill some forms.

Certainly, the biggest visible change is eating out. I'm in the F&B industry and we see reports of 60-75% drop in demand for eating out. Delivery is booming though.

The biggest news of today is closing the borders to all foreigners, and also impossible to get a hotel room if you are a foreigner, even with a valid visa.