Never did I imagine that the hardest part about reporting on a city lifting its lockdown would be trying to get out of it.
Passengers waiting to board a Beijing-bound train at Wuhan railway station on April 15, 2020. PHOTO: AFPThat was the first of several agonising waiting spells, not knowing when I might get approved or rejected or the length of my eventual stay in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province. At the Wuhan Third Hospital, one of several designated testing centres, the queue spilled out of the main lobby onto the street outside, while curious onlookers stood and watched.
For some reason, I thought of sanitising my hands that I'd just coughed into and reached for the sanitiser bottle.Test done, ticket requested, interviews completed, all that was left to do was wait.