Covid-19: Chinese mayor derided after detention threat for Lunar New Year returnees
- Mayor of Dancheng county in Henan province had threatened quarantine and detention for those arriving from medium or high-risk areas
- Backlash joined by state media, with Xinhua saying trips to hometowns are justified and CCTV querying the legal basis for quarantine and detention
Widely shared video footage of Dong Hong, mayor of Dancheng county in Henan province, showed him saying at a meeting that “anyone returning home from medium or high-risk areas will be quarantined and then detained”.
Neighbourhoods in China reporting local cases are marked as medium or high-risk areas so that targeted Covid-19 restrictions can be applied.
Previously, local media reported that a villager from Dong’s county was detained for returning from a medium-risk area in Shanghai without having a Covid-19 test or updating his travel history with the authorities.
Dong told media outlet Shangyou News that his comments were well intentioned. He said he had heard of people insisting on returning home from high-risk areas, and that “even the death penalty can’t stop those people from returning”.
“That’s why I said during a meeting that those who do not obey local prevention policies and maliciously return home will be quarantined and detained,” he said. “I only meant to ensure public safety.”