Hubei district launches wartime control order to better fight virus

Zhangwan district in Shiyan, Hubei province, launched the nation's first wartime control order for better controlling the ongoing novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak Wednesday night, the district's prevention and control command said.

In the 14 days starting Thursday, residents are not allowed to get in or out of buildings that are all under full close management. But those engaged in the epidemic control work and responsible for people's livelihoods, including medical workers, medicine or supply providers and food deliverers, are exceptions, according to a notice posted by the command on its official account on WeChat.

Vehicles not used for the epidemic control cannot pass in and out of the district's communities, it said, adding all life necessities will be distributed and delivered by the community committees. If residents urgently need medicines, the committees will offer shopping service or buy for them, it said.

Each community, village and township in the district has a 24-hour working shift, and those who break into warning or guard facilities set in communities or buildings will be detained, it said.

The order issued by Zhangwan district, which has an area of 657 square kilometers and a population of 415,000 as of 2018, is stricter than measures taken in other parts of the city, where residential communities are closed off with tightened entry restrictions but residents could still go in and out of buildings or their residential compound for express deliveries or grocery shopping after a body temperature check.

Xiao Xu, deputy head of the district, explained in the notice that the measure is trying to further find potential sources of the disease, all confirmed cases and people who had close contact with the patients, and then to help them get quarantined and receive medical treatment.

Whether the wartime control order needs to be extended or canceled ahead of the schedule will depend on the situation of the district's epidemic control, the notice added.