May 18, 2020
China shuts down city after failed bid to contain second coronavirus outbreak
China's city Jilin is in the midst of a Wuhan-style lockdown after a botched attempt to contain a second wave of coronavirus infections which saw six officials get sacked
by Sofie Jackson
dailystar.co.uk
A bustling city in China with a population of 4.4 million people has announced a new Wuhan-style lockdown after a second wave of coronavirus infections.
Officials in Jilin, the former capital and second-largest city in Jilin Province, put Fengman District on "high alert" yesterday.
The district recorded three new locally transmitted cases and one further death.
It comes one week after Shulan, which is administered by Jilin, went on lockdown and quarantined 8,000 people in a failed bid to contain the second outbreak.
On Saturday, the local government sacked six officials, including Shulan Communist Party Chief Li Pengfei, over their handling of the second wave, which has so far resulted in 18 confirmed cases since May 7.
People undergo mandatory temperature screening at a checkpoint
Fengman District has recorded 12 cases of local infection in the same period and was put on lockdown starting today after a 15-point directive from the local health commission.
The Wuhan-style travel restrictions include bans on all outbound foot and vehicle traffic, as well as the closure of schools and entertainment venues such as cinemas, gyms and restaurants.
Residential districts have been hit with personal restrictions, with each household only allowed to send one member to shop for essentials once a day.
Videos on social media show streets of shops shut down
All shops and the majority of supermarkets in the districts were also shut today, while city officials were also gathering testing kits and protective equipment for health workers.
Pictures and videos shared on social media app Weibo show shutter doors closed and streets barricaded and nearing empty as the restrictions came into place at the weekend.
Officials in full hazmat suits were seen working in the city
Jilin Ice Sports Center was converted into a field hospital within 48 hours and is now ready to accept patients following an order on May 15.
It was still unclear which category of patients would be sent to the winter sports arena.
Last week, a video also showed secondary school pupils being sent home as case numbers grew.
Classes had only just resumed on April 7 after much of China declared victory over the coronavirus outbreak.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/china-shuts-down-city-after-22045886
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