Unprecedented tough action in modern medical history: China quarantines, bans 40 million people from traveling because of the corona pandemic

China is trying to calm public anger over its response to the spreading pandemic of the corona virus. A very tough measure has just been launched, the Chinese government has decided to make an unprecedented move in history: Prohibit traveling with 40 million people during Tet.

Specifically, the government has asked domestic travel agents to stop selling domestic and foreign tour packages. Before that, they also surprised all public transportation stops in cities near the epidemic center.

The move comes as the corona virus continues to spread, while the number of deaths continues to increase.

The pressure is even greater when this frightening epidemic is compared to the SARS that claimed 800 lives 17 years ago. Although praised by the world for its fierce reaction, the Chinese people criticized the travel ban.

In addition to prohibited areas in the epidemic area, the authorities also shut down many places across the country due to health concerns. New year events were canceled, Shanghai Disneyland Park also declared it closed indefinitely and cinema chains stopped showing.

It is worth mentioning that this comes to the peak of the year-end holiday spending period and it of course will greatly affect China’s economic stability. Statistics in 2018 showed that Chinese tourists spent $ 130 billion abroad so this ban will also significantly affect the economies of other parts of the world.

“This is unprecedented in China and probably in modern medical history. It is a terrible legal measure,” said Yanzhong Huang, director of the Center for Health Research at Seton Hall University. , New Jersey.

Currently, the World Health Organization has not yet considered the corona virus as a global pandemic, although the number of infections in China has increased to more than 800 as of January 23. At least 1 patient is a child, about 10 years old.