Dozens of people clashed on the Hubei border after the Chinese government lifted a two-month quarantine on the epicenter of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, highlighting the challenges of undoing the unprecedented measures taken to contain the disease. The conflict began Friday morning on a bridge connecting Hubei and neighboring Jiangxi province as policemen from both sides argued over how to verify if people were allowed to enter Jiangxi, according to local media reports.
Videos of the incident that circulated online showed a chaotic scene as citizens from Hubei joined the fracas, standing on police cars and overturning vehicles. One clip showed the Hubei residents demanding an apology from the Jiangxi police for setting up a checkpoint on the border. Ma Yanzhou, the highest-ranking Communist Party official in the Hubei county involved, was seen shouting into the crowd with a megaphone in an attempt to calm people. Order resumed on the bridge at about 5 p.m. on Friday, according to Beijing News.
The two counties on either side of the clash issued a joint statement on Saturday, saying checkpoints between them would be removed and no special documentation would be needed to cross.
The heightened tensions underscore the pent-up frustrations of people released from lockdowns and the discrimination they may face reintegrating into communities. Hubei residents endured weeks of being cut off from the rest of China before the quarantine was lifted on Wednesday, while many outside the province still fear people who are arriving from there could bring the highly contagious pathogen with them.