China’s private sector business capital on lockdown as coronavirus takes its toll

Authorities in the east China city of Wenzhou have closed roads and ordered people to stay home as number of confirmed cases hits 265

About 180,000 people from the city work in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, and may have carried infection when they returned home for the Lunar New Year holiday

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The Wenzhou government has closed 46 expressways to help control the spread of the virus. Photo: Weibo

Published: 7:30pm, 2 Feb 2020Updated: 12:47am, 15 Feb 2020

Authorities in Wenzhou, the east China city with the highest number of coronavirus patients outside the epicentre in Hubei province, have imposed strict restrictions on people’s movements, allowing only one resident per household to go out every two days to buy necessities.

The restriction went into effect at midnight on Sunday and will remain in place through Saturday, the municipal government said.

The only exemptions to the rule are people who are ill and require hospital treatment, and those working to fight the outbreak or in other essential public services.

Wenzhou, which is about 900km (560 miles) southeast of the Hubei capital Wuhan, is a major business centre and hub for China’s private sector. It is the second city to impose tight restrictions on residents’ movements after Huanggang, which has the highest number of confirmed cases in Hubei – 1,002 – after Wuhan, which has more than 4,100.

The National Health Commission said on Sunday the total number of infections in mainland China had risen to 14,380, with 304 fatalities.

Wenzhou had 265 confirmed cases as of Sunday, which the city’s vice-mayor Tang Xiaoshu attributed to the fact that about 180,000 of its residents worked or studied in Wuhan, and may have brought the virus back with them when they returned for the Lunar New Year holiday.

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