COVID-19 lockdown in China

The last train on the Wuhan Metro before the lockdown

Map of locked down administrative divisions of Hubei

In mid-December 2019 the Chinese Government acknowledged an emerging cluster of people, many linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, were infected with pneumonia with no clear causes. Chinese scientists subsequently linked the pneumonia to a new strain of coronavirus that was given the initial designation 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Some of the first symptoms appeared on 10 December, and 24 cases were later discovered to have connection to the seafood market.[17]

On 10 January 2020, the first death and 41 clinically confirmed infections caused by the coronavirus were reported.[18]

By 22 January, the novel coronavirus had spread to major cities and provinces in China, with 571 confirmed cases and 17 deaths reported. Confirmed cases were also reported in other regions and countries, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

According to Li Lanjuan, a professor at Zhejiang University's school of medicine and member of the high-level expert team convened by the National Health Commission, she had urged a lockdown on Wuhan on several occasions between 19 January and 22 January 2020 as a last resort to contain the epidemic.[19]

At 2 am on 23 January, authorities issued a notice informing residents of Wuhan that from 10 am, all public transport, including buses, railways, flights, and ferry services would be suspended. The Wuhan Airport, the Wuhan railway station, and the Wuhan Metro were all closed. The residents of Wuhan were also not allowed to leave the city without permission from the authorities.[20][21] The notice caused an exodus from Wuhan. An estimated 300,000 people were reported to have left Wuhan by train alone before the 10 am lockdown.[22] By the afternoon of 23 January, the authorities began shutting down some of the major highways leaving Wuhan.[23] The lockdown came two days before the Chinese New Year, the most important festival in the country, and traditionally the peak traveling season, when millions of Chinese travel across the country.[20][23]

Following the lockdown of Wuhan, public transportation systems in two of Wuhan's neighboring prefecture-level cities, Huanggang and Ezhou, were also placed on lockdown.[20] A total of 12 other county to prefecture-level cities in Hubei, including Huangshi, Jingzhou, Yichang, Xiaogan, Jingmen, Suizhou, Xianning, Qianjiang, Xiantao, Shiyan, Tianmen and Enshi, were placed on traveling restrictions by the end of 24 January, bringing the number of people affected by the restriction to more than 50 million.[1]

• 23 January, transport in Wuhan, Huanggang and Ezhou severely restricted, including closure of public transit, trains, airports, and major highways
• 24 January, travel restrictions enacted in 12 additional prefecture-level cities in Hubei
• 13 February, the Chinese government has issued extension of order to shut down all non-essential companies, including manufacturing plants, in Hubei Province until at least 24:00 20 February.[24]
• 20 February, the Chinese government has issued extension of order to shut down all non-essential companies, including manufacturing plants, and all schools in Hubei Province until at least 24:00 10 March.[25]
• 13 March: Huangshi removes controls and permits on road traffic within its urban area;[6] Qianjiang does the same for its entire administrative area.[7]
• 14 March: Hubei Sanitation and Health Committee (卫生健康委员会) Vice-chairperson Liu Dongru (柳东如) announces that only Wuhan remains a "high-risk area",[26] and that the entirety of the rest of the province is considered medium- or "low-risk areas". Any low-risk township-level divisions, in addition to those medium- and high-risk divisions with no confirmed active cases, could lift their blockades and other mobility controls.[27] Per China News Service reporting, by 14 March, besides the aforementioned Huangshi and Qianjiang, Yichang, Huanggang, Suizhou, Xiantao, Jingzhou, Jingmen, Shiyan, Xiangyang, Tianmen and Shennongjia had announced "measures to lessen controls" and for industries to incrementally resume work and production.[27]
• 17 March: Jingzhou removes its permit requirements for transport, resuming normal transport operations, and also removes entry/exit controls on xiaoqu.[28]
• 18 March: The Hubei taskforce to control COVID-19 (湖北省新冠肺炎疫情防控指挥部) announces that, with the exception of exit/entry into Wuhan and the province as a whole, all anti-COVID-19 traffic checkpoints within the province are to be removed.[29]
• 22 March: Wuhan loosens its two-month lockdown.[30]
• 25 March: Hubei lifts the lockdown outside of Wuhan,[31] although people will still need to confirm their "Green Code" health classification, designated by Alipay's monitoring system,[31] to travel.[32]
• 8 April: Wuhan lifts its lockdown, resumes all transportation,[33] with residents intending to leave the city facing similar "Green Code" requirements as those in the rest of the province.[32][34]

On 1 February in Huanggang, Hubei implemented a measure whereby only one person from each household is permitted to go outside for provisions once every two days, except for medical reasons or to work at shops or pharmacies. Many cities, districts, and counties across mainland China implemented similar measures in the days following, including Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Harbin, and the whole of Jiangxi.

Closed management in Jintan District, Changzhou, Jiangsu, where citizens are allowed outside for purchasing once every two days with permit.

Some areas took road closure measures to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Pictured is a road closure notice on Tianhe Road, Yucheng Neibourhood, Yuhuan, Zhejiang.

A slogan for road closure in Lyushunkou District, Dalian, Liaoning.

Residents in Wuhan had to buy daily necessities and food across the fence gate due to their community lockdown.

Many areas across China have implemented what is called "closed management" (Chinese: 封闭式管理; pinyin: fēngbìshì guǎnlǐ) on a community-basis. In most of the areas where this came into effect, villages, communities, and units in most areas would only keep one entrance and exit point open, and each household is allowed limited numbers of entrances and exits. In some places, night-time access is prohibited, effectively a curfew, and in extreme cases, access is prohibited throughout the day.[62] People entering and leaving are required to wear masks and receive temperature tests. In some areas, vouchers are issued to the public, with vouchers and valid credentials. There are also areas where people are allowed to declare on WeChat mini-programs or public accounts and some apps at the same time.[63] Courier and food delivery personnel are usually prohibited from entering. Control in communities with confirmed cases is more stringent.

List by the time of official announcement:

As of 12 February 2020, a total of 207 cities (including 26 provincial capitals and sub-provincial cities) have announced the implementation of closed management, including at least 9 first-level administrative regions (4 municipalities, 4 provinces, 1 autonomous regions, a total of 156-second-level administrative regions) and at least 51-second-level administrative regions in other provinces and cities; of which, 2 secondary administrative regions upgraded to fully closed wartime control.

Strict surveillance measures were enforced at airports, seaports, and border crossings to prevent the disease from spreading to countries or territories in the region. Accordingly, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and some ASEAN countries (notably Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam) implemented thermal monitoring of passengers arriving at their major international airports, while flights from and/or to Wuhan ceased operating. Activity through gateways in Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam were put under extra supervision from the Government and medical staff. North Korea banned international flights and foreign visitors, and Papua New Guinea banned travelers from all Asian countries.

An analysis of air travel patterns was used to map and predict patterns of spread and was published in the Journal of Travel Medicine in mid-January 2020. Based on information from the International Air Transport Association (2018), Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Taipei had the largest volume of travelers from Wuhan. Dubai, Sydney, and Melbourne were also reported as popular destinations for people travelling from Wuhan. Using the validated tool, the Infectious Disease Vulnerability Index (IDVI), to assess the ability to manage a disease threat, Bali was reported as least able in preparedness, while cities in Australia were considered most able.[114][115]

As a result of the outbreak, many countries including most of the Schengen Area, Armenia, Australia, Iraq, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the United States imposed temporary entry bans on Chinese citizens or recent visitors to China, or ceased issuing visas and reimposed visa requirements on Chinese citizens.[116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127]

Countries and territories in the region, including Hong Kong, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Russia, and Vietnam responded with border tightening/closures with mainland China.[128] On 22 January, North Korea closed its borders to international tourists to prevent the spread of COVID-19 into the country. In 2020, Reuters reported: "The vast majority of tourists to North Korea come from China."[129]

On 22 January, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that it would be moving the matches in the third round of the 2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament from Wuhan to Nanjing, affecting the women's national team squads from Australia, China PR, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand.[130] A few days later, the AFC announced that together with Football Federation Australia they would be moving the matches to Sydney.[131] The Asia-Pacific Olympic boxing qualifiers, which were originally set to be held in Wuhan from 3 to 14 February, were also cancelled and moved to Amman, Jordan, to be held between 3 and 11 March.[132][133]

On 23 January, the United States Department of State ordered evacuation of all non-emergency U.S. personnel and their family members from Wuhan.[134] On 27 January the United States CDC issued updated travel guidance for China, recommending that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China as a whole. The CDC has directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to check individuals for symptoms of COVID-19.[135]

On 29 January, British Airways cancelled all their flights to mainland China as a reaction to the spread of COVID-19.[136] Lufthansa followed hours later by also suspending all their flights.[137] Lion Air and Air Seoul also suspended all their flights.[138] The same day, Czechia stopped issuing Schengen Visas to Chinese citizens.[139]

On 30 January, Belgium, Greece, and Italy closed all Schengen Visa application centers in China.[140][141][142] The same day, Egyptair announced suspension of flights between Egypt and Hangzhou starting 1 February 2020 with those to Beijing and Guangzhou scheduled to be suspended starting 4 February 2020.[143]

On 31 January, Italy closed all passenger air traffic between Italy, China and Taiwan. The Italian Civil Aviation Authority NOTAM notified that, effective 31 January, all passenger flights from China, including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and Taiwan were suspended on request of the Italian health authorities. Aircraft that were flying to Italy when the NOTAM was published were cleared to land.[142][144]

On 1 February, Belgium, Czechia, Greece, Italy, and all other Schengen countries' visa application centers closed, with the exception of France, which suspended the issuing of visas to Chinese citizens.[116]

On 3 February, Qatar Airways took the decision to suspend flights to mainland China due to significant operational challenges caused by entry restrictions imposed by several countries.[145] Qatar Airways was the first carrier in the Middle East to do so.[145]

Though some airlines cancelled flights to Hong Kong as well, British Airways, Finnair, and Lufthansa did not, and American Airlines continued operating a limited service to the area. Hong Kong's four airlines halved the flights to mainland China.[146] The following airlines have so far reduced or cancelled flights to and from China:[147][148][149][150][151][152][153][154]

On 31 January, the United States declared COVID-19 a public health emergency. Starting 2 February, all inbound passengers who had been to Hubei in the previous 14 days were put under quarantine for up to 14 days. Any U.S. citizen who had traveled to the rest of mainland China was allowed to continue their travel home if they were asymptomatic, but would be monitored by local health departments.[155]

On 1 February, Vietnam suspended all flights to and from China.[150]

On 2 February, India issued a travel advisory that warned all people residing in India to not travel to China, suspended E-visas from China, and further stated anyone who had traveled to China starting 15 January could be quarantined.[156] New Zealand officials announced that New Zealand would deny entry to all travelers from China and that citizens would be ordered to self-isolate for 14 days if they returned to New Zealand from China.[157] Indonesia and Iraq followed by also banning all travelers that visited China within the past 14 days.[157]

On 3 February, Indonesia announced it would ban passenger flights and sea freights to and from China starting on 5 February. In addition, imports of live animals were subject to the same restriction. Minister of Trade Agus Suparmanto said: "We will obviously stop live animals imports from China and are still considering banning other products".[158][159][160] Turkey announced it would suspend all flights from China until the end of February and begin thermally scanning passengers coming from South Asian countries at airports.[161][162]