In Qibao, an old river town on the outskirts of Shanghai, officials have deploye...
SHANGHAI - In Qibao, an old river town on the outskirts of Shanghai, officials have deployed more than 2,700 staff and volunteers to check temperatures and monitor traffic as they work to contain the coronavirus that has now killed more than 2,000 in China.
In a recent speech, President Xi Jinping told local governments to “protect the normal economic and social order” while at the same time promising to punish officials found to be negligent in the fight against the outbreak. “We can’t allow any of those people who have had contact with the disease to come here and contaminate our many neighborhoods or our local people,” said Tang Xin, a 43-year-old volunteer working 12-hour shifts at one of the checkpoints.
Yin Xin, a city government spokesman, told a briefing on Wednesday that residential areas should set up medical stations, report people with high temperatures and enforce 14-day quarantines for those returning from major infection zones. “There are a few reasons why Qibao is stricter than elsewhere,” said a retired resident who gave his surname as Yu. “First there are lots of people coming from other places. Also, regulation and management is much better in the big city than here.”So far, Qibao has no confirmed infections, but local officials are anticipating more than 100,000 people will be making their way back after the extended Lunar New Year holiday, some of whom could be carrying the disease.
“Qibao is special geographically, and is very close to the Hongqiao transportation hub so there are a lot of people coming in, so it has to be a bit stricter,” said Zhang Tian, a 40-year old teacher and resident.
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