108mn in north-east China face lockdown

SHANGHAI: Some 108 million people in China’s northeast region are being plunged back under strict lockdown conditions as a new and growing cluster of coronavirus infections causes a backslide in the nation’s return to normalcy.

In a reversal of the reopening taking place across the nation, cities in Jilin province have cut off trains and buses, shut schools and quarantined tens of thousands of people. The strict measures have dismayed many residents.

“People are feeling more cautious again,” said Fan Pai, who works at a trading company in Shenyang, a city in nearby Liaoning province that’s also facing renewed restrictions.

“Children playing outside are wearing masks again” and health care workers are walking around in protective gear, she said. “It’s frustrating because you don’t know when it will end.”

While the cluster of 34 infections isn’t growing as quickly the outbreak in Wuhan, China’s swift reaction reflects its fear of a second wave after it curbed the virus’s spread at great economic cost. Overall, Jilin province’s total number of cases stands at 127; badly-hit Hubei province had 68,000. BLOOMBERG