Hundreds of people in China have fallen ill and 26 have died from the new coronavirus strain
As Chinese officials take unprecedented measures to contain the spread of a new respiratory virus of unknown potency, 33 million people at the epicenter of the outbreak are under lockdown and Lunar New Year celebrations around the country have been canceled.
The coronavirus disrupted one of the largest holiday migrations in the world, leaving many Chinese stranded with suitcases while scrolling for news updates. On the social media platform Weibo, Wuhan residents described living in a state of siege, with dwindling food supplies at home and fears that running out of surgical masks would prevent them from going out.
Linfa Wang, a virologist at Duke-National University of Singapore who recently visited Wuhan, said he could not think of a time when a large city had been shut down to contain a virus whose lethality has not yet been established. But he said Xi’s statement signals to local officials that they must take decisive action, including being open with the public.
“Health issues involve regime legitimacy,” Thomas said. “Not-so-successful reforms can feed into, ‘Can we actually trust the government to tell us about it?’ The response has been good.”
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