Hubei city lifts coronavirus lockdown… for a couple of hours

While the coronavirus situation in Hubei province is looking pretty rosy at the moment, one city has backtracked after getting a bit too optimistic.
On Tuesday evening, Qianjiang, a city of about 1 million people in central Hubei, announced that it was lifting Covid-19 outbreak-inspired traffic restrictions, resuming public transport, and letting people head back into work, becoming the first major city in the province to call off its lockdown.
However, on Wednesday morning, the city government quickly reversed this directive, announcing that strict traffic and personnel controls will continue so that “complete victory” can be achieved over the virus.
The government of Qianjiang has previously received praise for how it has handled the epidemic, opting to go into lockdown way back on January 17, six days before Wuhan did the same, just as early reports of the virus outbreak had started to emerge.
Just 198 coronavirus infections have been reported in Qianjiang, the second-fewest total of anywhere in Hubei, behind only a rural forestry district.
Qianjiang’s decision to lift its lockdown came as the president arrived in Wuhan for the first time since the epidemic began, a visit that sent the clearest single yet that the Chinese government believes it has this outbreak under control.


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