Major Chinese Cities Begin Partial ‘Residential’ Coronavirus Lockdowns

At least four Chinese cities have sealed off local residential districts in recent days as part of an effort to contain a nationwide resurgence of the Chinese coronavirus, the state-run Global Times reported on Wednesday.

“Several Chinese cities have temporarily sealed off parts of city areas to curb the spread of the latest COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] flare-ups, including Lanzhou in Northwest China’s Gansu Province and multiple cities in Central China’s Henan Province,” the newspaper reported on July 13.

Lanzhou ordered four of its districts (Anning, Chengguan, Qilihe, and Xigu) to obey stay-at-home orders beginning on July 11, with the edict expected to last at least one week. The lockdown stipulates that one family member from each affected Lanzhou household is allowed to leave home once a day for essential purposes, such as buying groceries. However, any resident attempting to conduct such business must present a negative Chinese coronavirus test result taken within the previous 24 hours before being granted permission to venture outside his or her home.

Lanzhou is the second-largest city in northwest China. The provincial capital is home to an estimated 3.8 million inhabitants.

Three cities in central China’s Henan Province (Zhumadian, Zhengzhou, and Pingdingshan) also imposed local Chinese coronavirus lockdowns this week.

“Zhumadian has sealed off its downtown area for three days from 12 pm on Tuesday [July 12]. Zhengzhou has carried out rounds of mass testing and Pingdianshan [Pingdingshan] implemented a three-day close-off management from 12 pm on Monday [July 11],” according to the Global Times.

Zhengzhou’s “mass testing” event almost certainly requires participating residents to obey movement restrictions during the process. Previous mass testing schemes for the Chinese coronavirus across China, notably in Shanghai, have required residents to lock down while they await their diagnostic results and, if they test positive, report immediately to a state-run quarantine facility.

Zhengzhou is the capital and largest city of Henan province and boasts a population of roughly 10.4 million. Zhumadian has a population of about 7 million, while Pingdianshan is home to an estimated 5.2 million residents.

China’s largest city-wide lockdown to contain a Chinese coronavirus epidemic took place in Shanghai from March 28 to June 1. Though Shanghai’s government claimed that the stay-at-home order was lifted on June 1, various residential complexes and districts across the city remained sealed off throughout June and July. The metropolis’s official 65-day lockdown applied to all 25 million-plus Shanghai residents. The order included blanket business closures, including weeks-long shutdowns of entire factories for major multinational companies. The interruption severely dampened the Chinese financial hub’s economy and caused negative repercussions to the global supply chain, as Shanghai is home to the world’s busiest shipping container port.