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.
The city, located in Henan province, is the headquarters of one of the largest Chinese steel companies, Wuyang Iron & Steel Co. According to the US finance agency Bloomberg, the company exports to the USA, Japan and other western industrialized countries, among others.
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. Despite enormous economic damage and growing disaffection among the people, the authorities in China are still pursuing a strict zero-Covid strategy, with individual outbreaks being dealt with immediately through lockdowns and mass testing.
Source: Nachrichten
