Hubei villages go on lockdown to contain outbreak

All villages in Hubei province will be enclosed starting Friday to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, leaving only one guarded emergency road connecting each community, the local epidemic control department said on Friday.

The situation of the epidemic at the local village level remains serious and with many pressing concerns, the department said in an online statement. Past prevention measures have not been implemented consistently and effectively in some areas, leading to the spread of the virus among village residents.

Some issues included bureaucracy, lax regulations, incomplete surveys, late notification to locals about confirmed cases, inadequate quarantine measures and crude methods of self-insulation that blocked villagers from seeking help for medical and emergency needs.

To contain the virus and ensure better management, the department is placing all villages in the province on lockdown, and all connecting roads should be blocked with physical obstacles like wires, barricades or buffers. Only one emergency passage guarded by dedicated personnel shall remain open, it said.

Groceries and other daily necessities will be brought and distributed collectively by village representatives, thus limiting individual villagers' need to go outside. All public gatherings will be banned and nonessential public spaces will be shut down, and violators of these rules will be seriously dealt with according to laws and regulations.

Local officials who do not fully comply with or implement the enclosure rules and cause the spread of the infection in families or communities will also be punished, it added.

By Friday afternoon, all disease prevention personnel at the village level should be mobilized and remain on 24-hour active duty. "The team will not disband so long as the infection is still going," it said. Anyone who deserted their post will be seriously punished.