Government officials in China’s southern city of Shenzhen recently launched “blanket searches” for people who may have recently traveled to the city from neighboring Hong Kong in an effort to contain allegedly imported cases of the Chinese coronavirus, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Wednesday.
The Chinese Communist Party has ordered local authorities in Shenzhen to crack down on “illegal border crossings” from Hong Kong into Shenzhen and “step up controls after positive [coronavirus] cases were found among Hongkongers,” according to the SCMP.
Residents of Shenzhen districts known to draw travelers from Hong Kong, such as Shatou and Shuiwei, “have been ordered to stay at home and been subjected to regular [coronavirus] tests and checks in [an] effort to stop [the virus’s] spread,” the Hong Kong-based newspaper reported.
A March 2 report by Science magazine on China’s coronavirus response revealed that “[a]partment compounds [in Shenzhen] face lockdowns if even one resident tests positive. Most people must get tested every 48 hours.”
“Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, recently closed museums, libraries, many parks, and beaches in response to an uptick in cases,” the publication noted.
A worker at a television manufacturing company called Express Luck cleans a cafeteria at their factory in Shenzhen, in southeastern China on September 29, 2021. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
A Shenzhen resident surnamed Liu told the SCMP on March 2 he “had been locked down at home since February 22 after a positive case in his area.” Liu said he lived in the Shatou residential area of Shenzhen’s Futian district, which is located in the heart of the city.
Hong Kong’s coronavirus caseload has surged in recent days. The development incited rumors this week that local government officials were planning to impose a city-wide lockdown on all of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents sometime in March. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on March 2 her administration is not planning a “complete” lockdown of the city, though she alluded to the possibility of a partial lockdown sometime in the near future.
“Whenever I’ve been asked about it, I have said we’re not imposing a wholesale city lockdown. As we know in some places, imposing a lockdown means no entry and no exit. This won’t be the case for Hong Kong,” Lam told reporters.
A worker at a television manufacturing company called Express Luck checks his mobile phone during a break at their factory in Shenzhen, in southeastern China on September 29, 2021. (NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
“But in terms of limiting the movement of individuals to a certain extent in order to reduce the flow of people, we’ve done this in the past, and we believe it’s necessary when carrying out a mass testing exercise,” she added.
Hong Kong’s government locked down at least six residential buildings across the city for Chinese coronavirus testing on March 1.
“Residents of Chun Hin House at Ching Chun Court, Pok Man House at Pok Hong Estate, Heng Kin House at Tin Heng Estate, Kit Yat House at Yat Tung (II) Estate, Tak Sui House at Tak Long Estate and Shing Tai House at On Tai Estate must get tested and stay at home until further notice,” Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.