Hundreds of thousands of residents of a small Chinese town have been in lockdown since Tuesday because of a single confirmed case of corona infection.
According to the Wugang authorities, the approximately 320,000 residents are not allowed to leave their homes until Thursday noon and are only allowed to travel in emergencies with official approval.
Located in Henan Province, the city is home to one of China’s largest steel companies, Wuyang Iron
Authorities in the nearby city of Zhumadian on Tuesday announced a similar three-day lockdown in the city center after two people there tested positive for the coronavirus.
In contrast to the residents of Wugang, however, those affected are allowed to leave their homes in “urgent cases”. In addition, one member per household is allowed to buy groceries every two days.
According to data from the Japanese bank Nomura on Monday, almost 250 million people in China are currently subject to some form of corona protection measures – more than twice as many as last week.
