Authorities have all but shut down Wuhan, a city of 11 million and a
major transport hub, at what is normally the busiest time of year -
the Lunar New Year holiday - when millions of people travel home to
visit their families.
Millions of people in surrounding cities are virtually stranded
after public transport networks were shut to stop the spread of the
virus, believed to have originated at a Wuhan market illegally
selling wildlife.
On one high-speed train carrying a Reuters journalist that stopped
in Wuhan station on Friday afternoon, about 10 passengers got off
and nobody got on before the train resumed its journey to Changsha.
Although it stopped there, Wuhan had been removed from the train's
schedule.
"What choice do I have? It's Chinese New Year. We have to see our
family," said a man getting off the train who gave his family name
Hu.
Wuhan's airport is not closed, but nearly all flights have been
canceled. Three international flights arriving on Friday would leave
with no passengers, an airport official said.
China's biggest ride-hailing company, Didi Chuxing, shut down all
services in Wuhan from midday on Friday, adding that service
resumption depended on government orders.
"Please reduce going out as much as possible, and look after
yourselves and your families," the company told its drivers in a
statement.
A traffic control map on Baidu maps - China's equivalent of Google
maps - showed a swathe of highways into and around the city closed.
Police at one highway checkpoint said special permission would be
needed to leave the city.
Police also checked incoming vehicles for wild animals.
FACE MASKS, CANCELED PLANS
Lying on the banks of the mighty Yangtze River and historically
prone to devastating floods, Wuhan stretches across 8,500 square
kilometers (3,300 square miles) - five times the size of Greater
London - and includes rural areas as well as the sprawling urban
conurbation.
Some images circulated on social media showed packed hospital
corridors, as people - all wearing face masks - waited for
consultations. Hospitals made public appeals for supplies.
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The government has pledged to ensure the city is properly equipped,
and on Friday flew in two planes with 32 tonnes of supplies, mostly
medical gear and masks.
China's second-largest e-commerce firm, JD.com Inc, said it was
donating one million medical masks and other supplies like
disinfectant.
"My family has hoarded much food, and when we need something, we go
downstairs to a supermarket nearby with masks on," a 30-year-old
city resident who works in financial services told Reuters via
social media, declining to provide her name.
Authorities have warned against price-gouging.
Zou Tianjing, 30, an alcoholic drinks distributor, said she was
resigned to spending the Lunar New Year at home, reading and
watching movies.
"A lot of people did not realize how serious the situation was. Just
the day before, people were wearing masks but would still go to
bars," she said, speaking on Thursday.
Hugo Guo, a 22-year-old university student who had returned home to
Wuhan for the holiday, said the restrictions were not having much of
an impact on him, although all his dinner plans with friends and
family had been canceled.
"I'm most worried about whether I will be able to return to school
at the right time," he said, referring to the start of term next
month at his university in Shanghai.
One foreign resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
transport lockdown was causing problems though he was able to get
around, albeit slowly.
"I can go anywhere I want to go. I just can't leave Wuhan."
(Reporting by David Stanway and Martin Pollard; Additional reporting
by Huizhong Wu and Roxanne Liu in Beijing, Engen Tham in Shanghai
and Shanghai newsroom; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Tony
Munroe)
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