Million locked down in Wuhan over just four Covid-19 cases
The Chinese city where Covid-19 originated imposed its first lockdown for more than two years yesterday after confirming just a handful of new infections.
Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, shut down a district of almost one million people after detecting four asymptomatic Covid cases, as China continues its stringent ‘‘zero-Covid’’ policy.
The authorities ordered the 970,000 residents of Wuhan’s district of Jiangxia to enter a three-day restriction during which it will ban many large group events and dining at restaurants, close various public entertainment venues, agricultural product marketplaces and suspend bus and subway services.
It is the city’s first lockdown since the start of the pandemic in 2020, when a city-wide shutdown was imposed from January to April after the first coronavirus cases were discovered.
The mandate was imposed after the authorities confirmed two cases of Covid-19 infection during regular testing and found another two from the screening of close contacts of those affected.
Despite criticism from health experts that the policy is unsustainable, the Chinese government is continuing to impose mass testing, sudden restrictions on business activities and people’s movements, and strict quarantine measures to stop the spread of the virus.
In contrast to most other countries’ relaxing of pandemic controls, China’s harsh lockdowns for even small outbreaks, and the uncertainty of when measures could come in, have dented the economy, business confidence and people’s willingness to travel.
US embassy staff in China are among those complaining about the zero-Covid policy, which according to The Washington Post, had ‘‘trampled on the rights of US diplomats to an extent previously unknown’’ and forced them to ‘‘live in constant fear’’.
At least 16 American diplomatic personnel or their family members have been sent against their will to Chinese government medical quarantine centres ‘‘which can resemble prisons’’, the paper said.
– The Times