New Cases Of COVID-19, Districts In Wuhan Impose Strict Restrictions: 900.000 Residents Banned, Businesses Closed And Transportation Stopped

JAKARTA - China's central metropolis of Wuhan temporarily shut down some businesses and public transportation in a district of nearly one million people on Wednesday, as the city where the pandemic first emerged raised alerts after several new COVID-19 infections.

The Jiangxia district of Wuhan, with more than 900.000 residents, said its main urban areas should enter three-day restrictions from Wednesday, during which they will ban many large group events and dining in restaurants, close public entertainment venues, agricultural products markets, and small restaurants until clinic. Suspending bus and subway services.

Local authorities also urged residents not to leave the area for the next three days, while at the same time preventing travelers from entering.

The order came quickly after Jiangxia authorities said late Tuesday they had detected two cases during routine testing and found another two from screening individuals who had close contact with the infection.

China, which has invested heavily in "dynamic COVID zero" policies, relies on mass testing, rapid restrictions on business activity and movement of people, and strict case quarantines to block nascent clusters from expanding.

The strategy has helped Wuhan and other areas of the country to keep the number of cases under control, but harsh lockdowns during major outbreaks and fears of potential repeated restrictions whenever new cases are reported have hurt the economy, business confidence and people's willingness to travel.