Click to Translate to English Click to Translate to French  Click to Translate to Spanish  Click to Translate to German  Click to Translate to Italian  Click to Translate to Japanese  Click to Translate to Chinese Simplified  Click to Translate to Korean  Click to Translate to Arabic  Click to Translate to Russian  Click to Translate to Portuguese  Click to Translate to Myanmar (Burmese)

PANDEMIC ALERT LEVEL
123456
Forum Home Forum Home > Main Forums > Latest News
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - 500million in lock down
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Now tracking the new emerging South Africa Omicron Variant

500million in lock down

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message Reverse Sort Order
pheasant View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: May 20 2006
Location: Florida
Status: Offline
Points: 9851
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pheasant Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: 500million in lock down
    Posted: February 14 2020 at 3:17pm
I don't understand, almost 1/2 a billion people in essentially a quarantine, and this is nothing to worry about?

I'm in disbelief....can we get a link please.


   
Back to Top
carbon20 View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: April 08 2006
Location: West Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 65816
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 14 2020 at 1:10pm
SHARE
Coronavirus COVID-19 sees 500 million people in China under lockdown
Posted7 hours ago, updated20 minutes ago
A single passenger sits on an otherwise empty subway train.
Beijing trains were almost empty on the first day 'back to work' for China after the extended Lunar New Year holiday.(ABC: Steve Wang)
Around 500 million people in China are currently affected by policies put in place restricting movement, to contain the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Key points:
A shutdown on the scale of China's current response is unprecedented
Some economists are forecasting major economic consequences of the outbreak
Chinese authorities expect that 160 million people will soon return to their home cities
That's more than the entire population of the United States and is equivalent to roughly 6.5 per cent of the world's population.

As of Friday, at least 48 cities and four provinces in China have issued official notices for lockdown policies, with measures ranging from "closed-off management", where residents of a community have to be registered before they are allowed in or out, to restrictions that shut down highways, railways and public transport systems.

A man stands alone on an otherwise empty escalator.
Transport restrictions and official advice to stay home has dissuaded many from travelling back to work.(ABC: Steve Wang)
Beijing expects returnees to self-quarantine
The capital Beijing on Friday imposed a 14-day self-quarantine on people returning to the city from holidays to prevent spread of the virus, threatening to punish those failing to comply.

The Chinese virus outbreak has showed no sign of peaking, with health authorities reporting more than 5,000 new cases.

The virus is killing about 2 per cent of those it infects, but is able to spread faster than other respiratory viruses that have emerged this century.

China's National Health Commission said it had recorded 121 new deaths on the mainland on February 13, taking the accumulated total infected to 63,851 people.

The lockdowns began with Wuhan — the epicentre of the outbreak and where half the world's confirmed coronavirus cases are.

Coronavirus: What you need to know
A man is wheeled on a hospital bed.
Here's a rundown of all the facts about coronavirus, and how you can make sure you're protected.

Read more
After the city's borders were closed on January 23 and all incoming and outgoing flights cancelled, other nearby cities in Hubei province also implemented their own policies restricting the movement of people.

But not every city or province is facing Wuhan-like restrictions.

Citizens cannot leave the cities of Wuhan, Huanggang, Ezhou and a few others in Hubei province, while Shanghai and Beijing have only put movement restrictions in place for some smaller communities such as building blocks or neighbourhoods.

Many cities have reduced public transport lines and routes, while a few have closed intra-city public transport entirely.

Across Beijing and in cities around the nation, many small shops run by out-of-towners remain locked up.(ABC: Steve Wang)
Altogether, 80.41 million people have been affected by shut bus or metro lines.

Some communities have instituted curfews or only allow people to exit and enter at particular times.

There is even a restriction where only a certain number of people from a household can leave their residence at any one time.

Shutdown is having a major impact on the economy
Such measures have had major consequences for retailers and restaurants.

A report published by the China Cuisine Association said scare over the epidemic has cost the catering sector 500 billion yuan in lost earnings during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, with 93 per cent of restaurants shutting down operations.

Restaurants have struggled to cope with the impact of a virus that has infected tens of thousands of people worldwide and sent dozens of cities into lockdown.(AP: Mark Schiefelbein)
The Government extended the Lunar New Year holiday to keep factories and offices closed.

Cinemas, temples and other tourist sites were shut down to prevent crowds from forming. Group tours were cancelled and businesspeople told to put off travel.

China's vast manufacturing industries cannot function without workers in factories.

But as some businesses reopen, Beijing has told anyone who still can work from home to stay there.

Coronavirus to see business slump
Across Beijing and in cities around the nation, many small shops run by out-of-towners remain locked up — transport restrictions and official advice to stay home dissuading them from travelling back to work.

Read more
Economists are forecasting the shutdown will have major consequences for the Chinese economy, with some expecting its slowest growth rate since the global financial crisis.

The Chinese carmakers' association said auto sales in China were likely to slide more than 10 per cent in the first half of the year because of the epidemic.

Michael Pettis, a finance professor at Peking University, recently told the ABC that China's Government will likely nevertheless press on with a GDP target of 6 per cent.

"What we may see is GDP growth for the first quarter down substantially, but then in subsequent quarters they'll likely significantly increase spending," he said.

Xu Yahua, an official from China's transport ministry, said the government expects 160 million people to start returning to their cities of residence next week.

President Xi Jinping warned top officials last week that efforts to contain the virus had gone too far and were threatening the economy, sources said.

China on Friday reported another sharp rise in the number of people infected with a new virus, as the death toll neared 1,400.(AP: Zhang Yuwei Via Xinhua)
A World Health Organisation-led joint mission with China will start its outbreak investigation work this weekend, focusing on how the new coronavirus is spreading and its severity, WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The mission will also seek more details on how, where and when the more than 1,700 health workers infected contracted the new virus, WHO officials said.

With thousands of flights to and from China cancelled, the International Civil Aviation Organisation forecast global airline revenue could fall by US$4 billion ($6 billion) to US$5 billion ($7.4 billion) in the first quarter.

But the WHO has told the International Olympic Committee there is no cause to cancel or relocate the Tokyo Olympics, which start in July, the head of the IOC's Coordination Commission said.

WATCH
Duration: 57 seconds57s
Authorities are apparently using drones to chastise residents
More on the coronavirus outbreak:
What the updated coronavirus travel alert level and additional border measures will mean for you
Student evicted from Perth house due to landlord's fears of coronavirus outbreak
The WHO has declared a global emergency for just the sixth time. Here's what that means
Australian lab recreates coronavirus, helping vaccine push
What exactly is coronavirus, and should you be concerned?
Wires/ABC

Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down