Chinese authorities expanded a lockdown to three major cities and banned about 25 million residents from unnecessary travel. Officials also canceled all large gatherings in most major cities, including the Lunar New Year Festival.
Chinese health leaders initially ordered a travel lockdown on Wuhan — the source region of the novel coronavirus — on Wednesday, Breitbart News reported. The action impacted at least 11 million people who were not able to travel via highways, buses, trains, or airlines.
On Thursday, the zone expanded to two additional cities — Huanggang and Ezhou. These two cities are neighboring the city of Wuhan and add about 14 million residents subject to the controls placed by Beijing to help control the spread, the Washington Post reported.
“The announcement Thursday came as authorities expanded travel restrictions imposed on Wuhan to surrounding municipalities, shutting down travel networks and attempting to quarantine about 25 million people — more than the population of Florida,” the Post stated.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is meeting today, Thursday January 23, to determine if a global health emergency should be declared. Yesterday’s meeting ended in a 2-2 tie.
A Chinese news source places the death toll at 18. All but one occurred in the Hubei Province. One death occurred in Hebei. The news agency reported 644 confirmed cases, 422 suspected cases, and 30 cured patients.
The Post reports 13 bus stations, three main railway stations, the entire subway system, and almost all city bus services in Wuhan were closed on Thursday. Half of the city’s 566 flights were also canceled, along with 251 ferry sailings on the Yangtze River.
Chinese companies also reportedly placed travel restrictions on their employees. Remote work will last for 14 days if they traveled home for the holidays.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face
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