Another Chinese city, 500 miles from Wuhan, locked down over virus

China imposes a lockdown Sunday on a major city far from the epicenter of a coronavirus epidemic, as its death toll from the disease soars to 304 and the first fatality outside the country is reported in the Philippines.

The events add to deepening concern about the potential for the virus to spread further and more rapidly, as governments around the world closed their borders to people from China.

Struggling to contain the virus, authorities virtually shut down the eastern city of Wenzhou on Sunday — some 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Wuhan, the metropolis at the heart of the health emergency — closing roads and confining people to their homes.

Ten days after locking down Wuhan, authorities impose similar draconian measures on Wenzhou, a coastal city of nine million people in Zhejiang province, part of the eastern industrial heartland that has powered China’s economic rise over recent decades.

Only one resident per household is allowed to go out every two days to buy necessities, and 46 highway toll stations have been closed, authorities announce.

The city had previously closed public places such as cinemas and museums, and suspended public transport.

Zhejiang has 661 confirmed infections, with 265 of those in Wenzhou, according to the government.

This is the highest tally for any province in China after ground-zero Hubei.

— AFP