Beijing: China tightened restrictions at the locked-down epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak on Tuesday, forbidding feverish people in Wuhan from visiting hospitals outside of their home districts.
The measure comes a day after authorities sealed off residential compounds in the central city, where the deadly novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a market selling wild animals. Wuhan has been under effective quarantine since January 23 when the government suspended transport links out of the city in a bid to contain the virus, which has so far killed 1,016 people and infected more than 42,600 across China.
In order to “contain the spread of the epidemic”, Wuhan residents with fever symptoms are only allowed to seek treatment at designated facilities in the district they live in, the city’s health commission said on Tuesday. People diagnosed with pneumonia who require observation must remain at the clinics, or at alternative premises provided by the facilities, the commission said in a notice.
Meanwhile, all residential compounds will be placed under “sealed management”, while buildings with known or suspected virus cases must be placed under even stricter watch, the Wuhan government said in a notice on Monday.
The notice said the city — the capital of Hubei province had “entered a key stage” in its fight against the virus. (AFP)
