For 6 years, Lai Yun, the owner of a restaurant in Wuhan, started the day by going to the Hoa Nam seafood market to shop, but all changed on December 31, 2019.

"I take my kids to school, have breakfast and walk to the market. It's in a very convenient location," said Lai Yun, who lives away from the South China Seafood Market in Wuhan City, capital of Hubei Province, China.

However, after just one night, the large wholesale market was closed due to the discovery of four strange cases of pneumonia related to this place.

Nearly a year since the outbreak, the pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 1.5 million people worldwide and caused the "nose" of public opinion to point towards the South China seafood market, which is suspected to be the starting point.

Hoa Nam Seafood Market is also stuck in the fierce battle in both science and politics around the origin of nCoV.

Chinese media have recently reported on the detection of nCoV on imported frozen food packages, although scientists do not consider this a source of concern, and studies have shown that COV infections.

"Although China is the first country to report the infection, it doesn't mean the virus originated in China," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Trieu Lap Kien.

In Wuhan, where it is still "under the radar" of being the world's first Covid-19 hotspot, many residents and business owners say they do not believe the virus originated in the city.

"It definitely cannot be Wuhan. Make sure someone brought the virus, or it spreads from some product imported from outside. There are only certain conditions for it to appear here," said one person.

Experts say that Hoa Nam seafood market still plays an important role in investigating the origin of the nCoV so it is difficult to be demolished, although most research will rely on samples collected here from the moment.

Access to markets is still quite limited.

Inside the market, wooden boards lined the front of the shop and the windows.

"Maybe some people are still insecure about the market, but now it's just an empty building. Who is worried about a deserted place?", A contact lens shop employee

Although Wuhan has not recorded any new cases of nCoV infections in the community since May, some people who rely on Hoa Nam market to make a living still struggle to make a living.

"Our goal next year is just to survive," said the 38-year-old.