As part of the fight against the deadly coronavirus pandemic that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, authorities have closed four Chinese cities.
Wuhan was effectively quarantined on Wednesday. Now three more nearby metropolises – Huanggang, Ezhou and Chiba – are also closed, according to The Guardian. Along with 11 million in Wuhan, about 20 million people are now physically isolated from the world.
In addition, Beijing officials have canceled festivals that were scheduled for the Lunar New Year, The Guardian reported. It is also an attempt to prevent the spread of the 2019-nCoV virus among travelers visiting tourist attractions. There are already over 633 confirmed cases of the disease, 95 of which are critically ill and at least 17 have died.
But experts aren't even sure the extreme measures will lead to anything more than frightened residents: The Japan Times reports that quarantined Wuhan residents feel helpless.
“As far as I know, trying to constrain a city of 11 million is new to science,” Gauden Galea, China's spokesman for the World Health Organization, told the Associated Press. 'Until now, this has not been considered a public health measure. At this stage, we cannot say if this will or will not work. '
Meanwhile, the general unease in the cities is not surprising. Business Insider reports that authorities are placing individual patients in plastic boxes for transportation at airports or ambulances.
【全副 装备 运送 病人】
广东 惠州 发现 疑似 感染 新型 冠状 病毒 病人 ， 在 救伤 车 运送 期间 ， 医护人员 都 做足 了 准备 ， 病人 几乎 是 被 完全 密封 着。 # 新型 冠状 病毒 # 武汉 # 广东 pic.twitter.com/tyGnQ5oV4K– 自由 亚洲 电台 (@RFA_Chinese) January 21, 2020
“When I saw the news, when I woke up, I felt like I’d go crazy,” a teacher from Wuhan told The Guardian. 'It's too late now. Government measures are insufficient. '
Sources: Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP
