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Coronavirus: panic and anger in Wuhan as China orders city into lockdown

A sense of panic has spread in Wuhan as the Chinese city of 11 million people was put on lockdown in an attempt to quarantine a deadly virus believed to have originated there.

On Thursday, authorities banned all transport links from the city, suspending buses, the subway system, ferries and shutting the airport and train stations to outgoing passengers.

Nearby Huanggang and Ezhou suspended buses, subways and ferries and shut the airport and train stations to outgoing passengers.

Related: Where has coronavirus spread?

In Wuhan, supermarket shelves were empty and local markets sold out of produce as residents hoarded supplies and isolated themselves at home. Petrol stations were overwhelmed as drivers stocked up on fuel amid rumours that reserves had run out. Local residents said pharmacies had sold out of face masks.

Few pedestrians were on the street and families cancelled plans to get together for the lunar new year holiday. Special police forces were seen patrolling railway stations. Residents and all government workers are now required to wear face masks while in public spaces.

“When I saw the news when I woke up, I felt like I was going to go crazy. This is a little too late now. The government’s measures are not enough,” said Xiao, 26, a primary school teacher in Wuhan, who asked not to give her full name.

A staff member checks the body temperature of a passenger after a train from Wuhan arrived at Hangzhou Railway Station in Hangzhou.
A staff member checks the body temperature of a passenger after a train from Wuhan arrived at Hangzhou Railway Station in Hangzhou. Photograph: STR/AFP via Getty Images

Some residents posted photos of their newly bought supplies of instant noodles and snacks on social media. “No more going out … so I won’t get sick,” wrote one person on Weibo, adding: “Hope Wuhan can get some support soon.”

Others said the lifts in their apartment complexes were being disinfected and that most of their friends and relatives in the city were also planning on staying in as much as possible.

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At least 571 people have been infected with the coronavirus, which is part of the same family of viruses that gave rise to Sars. It has now reached almost all of the country’s provinces as well as the US, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong. Chinese authorities said on Thursday that 95 patients were in critical condition.

Hong Kong officials announced on Thursday they would turn two holiday camps, including a former military barracks, into quarantine zones for people who may have come into contact with carriers of the Wuhan virus.

Seventeen people have died since the virus was detected in late December, all of them in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital. Many of the deaths occurred in Wuhan, where a seafood market selling wild animals is the suspected source of the virus. Scientists believe it probably jumped from an animal to a human and is now transmissible from one person to another, and could mutate further.

What is the virus causing illness in Wuhan?

It's a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals, or possibly seafood. New and troubling viruses usually originate in animal hosts. Ebola and flu are examples.

What other coronaviruses have there been?

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) are both caused by coronaviruses that came from animals. Chinese authorities initially played Sars cases down, and were subsequently much criticised because the virus spread virtually unchecked to 37 countries causing global panic, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing more than 750. Mers appears to be less easily passed from human to human, but has greater lethality, killing 35% of about 2,500 people who have been infected.

What are the symptoms caused by the Wuhan coronavirus?

The virus causes pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. Antiviral drugs may be used, but usually only lessen the severity of symptoms.

Is the virus being transmitted from one person to another?

China’s health ministry has confirmed human-to-human transmission. As of 23 January the Chinese authorities had acknowledged 571 cases and 17 deaths. Those who have died are known to have been already in poor health - but mild cases may not be reported at all.

How worried are the experts?

There are fears that the coronavirus may spread more widely during the Chinese new year holidays at the end of January, when millions of people travel home to celebrate. At the moment, it appears that people in poor health are at greatest risk, as is always the case with flu. But the authorities will be anxious that the virus will become more potent than so far appears and will be keen to stop the spread.

Sarah Boseley Health editor

“It’s truly an extraordinary development. You have a city of 10 million people being shut down,” said Dali Yang, a professor of political science focusing on China at the University of Chicago. “In many ways the local leadership and the population are definitely not prepared. This is truly an emergency for them.”

On Thursday some residents raced to leave Wuhan before the de facto quarantine was put into effect at 10am, lining up at the airport and at train stations. Local authorities, announcing the emergency measure at around 2am on Thursday, said citizens would be notified later when the restrictions were lifted.

Related: Coronavirus: WHO steps back from declaring public health emergency

Anxiety has been exacerbated by reports that sick patients are being turned away from hospitals without enough room. “Infected people could be right beside you and you wouldn’t know. That is what is scarier,” said Xiao, who has not left home since Sunday.

Wuhan’s disease prevention and control centre released a statement on Thursday asking residents not to panic and not to stockpile. “At the present time, Wuhan’s reserves of food, medicine and other supplies are all enough,” it said.

Authorities have made an effort to update citizens regularly on the situation and state media have attempted to frame the current shutdown as a battle being waged by the people of Wuhan for the good of the country. The state-run People’s Daily posted on Weibo: “Come on Wuhan, let us win this disease prevention war together!”

A worker disinfects a railway station in Nanchang City, Jiangxi province, China.
A worker disinfects a railway station in Nanchang City, Jiangxi province, China. Photograph: Hu Guolin/EPA

But residents are wary of the information provided by their government, which in recent weeks repeatedly said the virus was not serious and was “controllable”.

“I am a bit panicked because before the government said it wasn’t serious so no one thought it was a big deal,” said Wang Ying, 26, a government worker who described going out in large crowds on New Year’s Eve, despite the virus having been detected before then.

“Then this morning, Wuhan was suddenly sealed off. I think the government’s early warnings were not enough.”

Chinese paramilitary officers wearing masks stand guard at an entrance of the closed Hankou Railway Station after the city was locked down following the outbreak of a new coronavirus in Wuhan.
Chinese paramilitary officers wearing masks stand guard at an entrance of the closed Hankou Railway Station after the city was locked down following the outbreak of a new coronavirus in Wuhan. Photograph: China Daily/Reuters

Others criticised local authorities, who held a lunar new year banquet for 40,000 people days before authorities announced that the virus could be transmitted between humans.

“It’s been a month since the first case was discovered and only now do they think of closing the city? This Wuhan emergency response is a little slow, right?” another Weibo user wrote.

As reports circulated online that food prices had gone up in Wuhan, there were calls for government intervention. One person said: “The government needs to address this. If things become too expensive, people will definitely panic and when people feel unsafe, terrible things happen. Right now people are fighting over supplies, soon they may just be fighting.”

Additional reporting by Lillian Yang