In China, millions put on lockdown
BEIJING: Chinese authorities on Thursday moved to lock down three cities with a combined population of more than 18 million and suspended public transport in two more in an unprecedented effort to contain the deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds of people and spread to other parts of the world during the busy Lunar New Year travel period.
The open-ended lockdowns -unmatched in size – took place on a day when officials said one more person had died due to an infection from the virus. The death of an 80-year-old man reported from Hebei, a province neighbouring capital Beijing, was the first death outside the Hubei province – which is largely regarded as the epicentre. In all, 18 people have died due to the disease with 634 infected in China.
The train station and airport in Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have first spread to humans, were shut down, and ferry, subway and bus services were halted.
Normally bustling streets, shopping malls, restaurants and other public spaces in the city of 11 million were eerily quiet. Police checked all incoming vehicles but did not close off the roads.
Authorities announced similar measures would take effect on Friday in the nearby cities of Huanggang and Ezhou. In Huanggang, theatres, internet
cafes and other entertainment centres were also ordered closed.
Public transport was also reported to be shut in Zhijiang and Qianjiang provinces.
In the capital, Beijing, officials cancelled “major events” indefinitely, including traditional temple fairs that are a staple of holiday celebrations, in order to “execute epidemic prevention and control”.
The Forbidden City, the palace complex in Beijing that is now a museum, announced it will close indefinitely on Saturday.
Chinese officials have not said how long the shutdowns will last. While sweeping measures are typical of China’s communist government, large-scale quarantines are rare around the world, even in deadly epidemics, because of concerns about infringing on people’s liberties. And the effectiveness of such measures is unclear.
“To my knowledge, trying to contain a city of 11 million people is new to science,” Gauden Galea, the World Health Organization’s representative in China, said in an interview. “It has not been tried before as a public health measure. We cannot at this stage say it will or it will not work.”
Jonathan Ball, a professor of virology at molecular virology at the University of Nottingham in Britain, said the lockdowns appear to be justified scientifically. “Until there’s a better understanding of what the situation is, I think it’s not an unreasonable thing to do,” he said.
During the devastating West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014, Sierra Leone imposed a national three-day quarantine as health teams went door-to-door searching for hidden cases. Frustrated residents complained of food shortages amid deserted streets.