SimoneGallimore
China: Shantou City was the first place outside of Hubei Province to declare a partial blockade to prevent pneumonia, but removed the order shortly thereafter.
The government of Shantou, Guangdong Province, China today said it does not ban vehicles or residents from entering the city, but will strengthen quarantine measures such as disinfection to prevent acute pneumonia. spread by a new strain of the corona family (nCoV).
Wuhan Street, Hubei Province, China is deserted after the ban on non-essential means of circulation Photo: Reuters
This announcement is in contrast to the earlier statement that non-essential vehicles will be banned from entering this 5.6 million population from the night, and public transport such as buses, ferries and Taxi is also suspended.
Shantou officials, in their first statement, said the restrictions were aimed at "making the best effort possible to do well in the prevention and control of disease, and at the same time halting viral channels."
The first outbreak of pneumonia caused by nCoV virus in Wuhan city, capital of Hubei province, 1,100 km from Shantou, then spread to at least 30 localities in China, killing 56 people and nearly 2,000 people. infection.
The Guangdong Provincial Health Commission confirmed 98 cases of nCoV virus infection across the province, including two in Shantou. Cases have also occurred in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Singapore, Nepal, France and Vietnam.
Wuhan government issued the order "inside and outside the country" from January 23, and banned non-essential vehicles from circulating in the city center. The same measure was quickly taken in other parts of Hubei province, affecting about 56 million people.
The large-scale blockade, along with widespread quarantine activities, raises questions about the necessity of allegedly extreme measures and impacts on civil liberties. The government's continued censorship and internet review can also make people more afraid of the disease.
Some doctors have found that restricting traffic or closing crowded places is too little and too late when the nCoV virus has spread throughout Asia and spread all the way to the US.
