When the central Chinese city of Wuhan – the original epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic – implemented a lockdown on January 23, it was a bold measure to tackle the outbreak. The lockdown of the city – with 11 million residents – saw its borders closed, incoming and outgoing flights cancelled, public transport halted, public gatherings banned and the movement of people restricted. The move was acknowledged by the World Health Organisation as having “changed the course of a rapidly escalating and deadly epidemic”. Since then, governments around the world have been imposing travel bans and lockdowns with various degrees of severity to curb the spread of Covid-19. Here’s a summary of the situation in China and the other parts of the region: Mainland China China has temporarily suspended entry to almost all foreign nationals holding visas or residence permits to prevent a second wave caused by imported infections. Meanwhile, Wuhan will lift its two-month lockdown on April 8, allowing its residents to leave the city, after the country declared that it has brought the outbreak under control. Researchers said the travel bans and lockdown measures in Wuhan have “delayed the growth and limited the size of the Covid-19 epidemic in China.” On April 1, China decided to lock down Jia county in Henan province, home to about 600,000 residents after reports of cases linked to a local hospital. Residents must have special permits to leave their home and must have their temperature taken and wear face masks for those trips. Hong Kong Hong Kong has closed its borders to all non-residents to stop an alarming surge of coronavirus infections, both imported and spread locally. All transit services at Hong Kong International Airport have also been suspended. All visitors coming from overseas countries by plane will be denied entry to the city. Those entering from the mainland, Macau and Taiwan will also be barred if they have been to any overseas countries in the past 14 days. Yet travellers coming from Macau and Taiwan, including Hong Kong and non-Hong Kong residents, will be allowed in with a 14-day compulsory quarantine. Strict lockdown ‘may be necessary’ with Hongkongers told to stay home Hong Kong residents who have been out of town in the past two weeks will be subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. The city has not gone into a complete lockdown but implemented restrictive measures, such as limiting public gatherings to four and shutting schools, cinemas, gyms, karaoke lounges, nightclubs and other social spots. Singapore All short-term visitors from anywhere in the world are not allowed to enter or transit through Singapore . Work pass holders and their dependents are only allowed into the city state if they provide essential services, such as in health care and transport. From April 9, 11.59pm, all citizens, permanent residents and long term pass holders returning to Singapore will be required to serve a 14-day self-isolation at dedicated facilities. All returnees who left the country from March 27 will bear the full cost of their 14-day stay. Singapore couple arrested for leaking notice of school virus closures Singapore is closing schools from April 8 and most workplaces from April 7. But essential services such as food establishments, markets and supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, utilities, transport and banking services will remain open. It is also banning gatherings of more than 10 people outside work and school – and shutting bars, cinemas and other entertainment venues – until the end of April. The government also introduced penalties for restaurants which failed to keep customers one metre apart and urged residents to stay home and go out only to get essentials. Malaysia Visitors and holders of expatriate, student, dependent, temporary work or Malaysia My Second Home passes are not allowed to enter the country. Malaysian citizens, their spouses and children holding long-term passes and permanent residents can return to Malaysia from abroad and are subject to a 14-day self-quarantine after arriving in the country. But they are not allowed to leave the country for holidays. Malaysia is in partial lockdown , with all houses of worship and businesses, except shops selling food and daily necessities, shut. Mass movements and gatherings across the country are also prohibited, including religious, sports, social and cultural activities. Philippines The Philippines has banned entry of foreign nationals and temporarily suspended visa-free privileges of foreign nationals. All previously-issued visas have been cancelled while the country has stopped issuing entry visas for visa-required foreign nationals. The whole of Metro Manila is under a month-long lockdown with land, domestic air, and domestic sea travel to and from the National Capital Region suspended until April 14. Mass gatherings have also been banned. India , Thailand and South Korea are also under different degrees of lockdown while Taiwan , Indonesia and Japan have yet to impose strict movement restrictions. Sign up now and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020.