Virus lockdown reaches coastal city as deaths climb

DPA, 02ND FEBRUARY, 2020 - China’s eastern port of Wenzhou on Sunday became the first city outside central Hubei province to impose quarantine measures due to the new coronavirus outbreak, which claimed its first recorded fatality outside China.

Wenzhou, a city of 9 million on China’s east coast, is some 700 kilometres from Wuhan, the city in Hubei where the virus first broke out in December.

Families will only be permitted to send one family member out of the house every two days to buy necessities, according to city authorities. Residents have been advised not leave their homes except to seek medical treatment or related reasons. Wenzhou in Zhejiang province joins the 14 cities in Hubei that remain on lockdown as deaths from coronavirus reached more than 300 nationwide on Sunday.

Widespread travel restrictions have been unable to stop the spread of infections, with the number of confirmed cases standing at 14,380.

The Philippines on Sunday reported the first fatality outside China from coronavirus.

A 44-year-old Chinese man died on Saturday after falling ill in late January. He had travelled to the Philippines from Wuhan via Hong Kong with a Chinese companion on January 21. More than 100 people have fallen ill with the virus in about two dozen countries across the globe. German authorities announced on Sunday that at least two people repatriated from Wuhan by the army were confirmed to have the disease.