County in Central China goes into coronavirus lockdown as country tries to get back to work amid fear of second wave

(SCMP) – Henan province in central China has taken the drastic measure of putting a mid-sized county in total lockdown as authorities try to fend off a second coronavirus wave in the midst of a push to revive the economy.

Curfew-like measures came into effect on Tuesday in Jia county, near the city of Pingdingshan, with the area’s roughly 600,000 residents told to stay home, according to a notice on the country’s official microblog account.

Special approval was required for all movement outside the home, it said.

After months of restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus, China has reported a decline in domestic cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. On Wednesday, the National Health Commission reported 36 new infections – all but one imported cases.

Chinese leaders are eager to restart the economy but have stressed that it must be balanced with containment measures.

According to the Jia county notice, residents must have special permits to leave their home and must have their temperature taken and wear face masks for those trips.

All businesses have been shut down, except utilities, medical suppliers, logistics companies and food processing firms. All shops except supermarkets, hospitals, food markets, petrol stations, pharmacies and hotels have been closed.

In addition, only people with special permits can go to work and cars can only be used on alternate days, depending on their plate number.