The Chinese authorities have ordered the confinement of a neighborhood in the city of Wuhan where some 900,000 people live, in a clear example of Beijing’s unwillingness to give up its ‘zero-case’ policy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic despite the social and economic constraints it entails.
As of Wednesday, all residents of Hanyang district will have to stay indoors, a health spokeswoman told Bloomberg. Another official explained that the measure will last at least until Sunday and will also involve the closure of non-essential establishments.
The confinement, which has already led to the installation of barriers on the district boundaries, comes after the confirmation on Tuesday of 18 cases of coronavirus.
The recent congress of the Communist Party of China served, in addition to granting President Xi Jinping a third term, to reaffirm the policy of ‘zero cases’. The Asian giant, where the virus allegedly originated in 2019, remains the most restrictive country at this point in the world.
