Advertisement
Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaPeople & Culture

Exclusive | Chinese county goes into coronavirus lockdown as country tries to get back to work amid fear of second wave

  • Authorities order residents of Jia county to stay home after reports of cases linked to the area’s hospital
  • All but a few essential businesses and services shut temporarily, according to government notice

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Curfew-like measures have come into effect in Jia county, near the city of Pingdingshan, in Henan province. Photo: Handout
Guo RuiandEcho Xie

Henan province in central China has taken the drastic measure of putting a mid-sized county in total lockdown as authorities try to fend off a second coronavirus wave in the midst of a push to revive the economy.

Curfew-like measures came into effect on Tuesday in Jia county, near the city of Pingdingshan, with the area’s roughly 600,000 residents told to stay home, according to a notice on the country’s official microblog account.

Special approval was required for all movement outside the home, it said.

After months of restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus, China has reported a decline in domestic cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. On Wednesday, the National Health Commission reported 36 new infections – all but one imported cases.

Chinese leaders are eager to restart the economy but have stressed that it must be balanced with containment measures.

During his recent inspection trip to Zhejiang province, President Xi Jinping emphasised that China must take careful steps to get life back to normal and warned officials to ensure “no loopholes” to prevent a return of the epidemic that has sickened more than 82,000 and killed over 3,300 people in mainland China alone.
Advertisement