Masks Off, Gowns On: Wuhan Sheds Covid For Mass Graduation

Students sat without social distancing or face masks, beneath a sign that read: "Welcoming the graduates of 2020 back home".

A huge red banner welcomed more than 11,000 students in Wuhan for a massive graduation ceremony over a year after the city was battered by the first global outbreak of Covid-19. Students in navy gowns and mortarboards sat in crowded rows, without social distancing or face masks, beneath the sign that read: "Welcoming the graduates of 2020 back home. We wish you all a great future." Covid-19 first emerged in late 2019 in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, sending the city of 11 million into one of the world's strictest lockdowns. Restrictions were not eased until April when the city started to re-open after 76 days closed off, although schools remained shut for longer.