Coronavirus: Are lockdowns effective in checking spread as other countries follow China's 'draconian' model?
While the verdict on the effectiveness of lockdowns in curbing coronavirus spread is not out, a few countries are going the China way: Imposing lockdowns and restrictions into and out of the affected areas.
Health experts believe lockdowns are draconian and ineffective, criticizing China for locking up its citizens. When the virus struck, the country sealed off Wuhan — the epicenter of the outbreak, blocking travel into and out of the city. As containing the outbreak began getting out of hand, the authorities imposed lockdowns in several other cities.
With 433 new cases of confirmed infections and 29 deaths on Wednesday, China is reporting a decline in the number of infections.
But the virus has spread to other parts of the world, wreaking havoc in South Korea, Iran, and Italy.
In response, some of these countries are locking down affected regions, leaving behind deserted roads and a fearful atmosphere. Others have refrained from implementing such measures.
Divide over lockdowns
Such measures do take a toll on citizens. Recently, a young boy in China's Hubei province — under quarantine — stayed alone at home with his dead grandfather.
Previously, in Hubei, a teenager with cerebral palsy allegedly died alone at his home after his family was quarantined on suspicion of the disease.
Those battling heart disease, diabetes, and HIV have suffered some of the unintended effects. Last week, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) announced that lockdown meant that one-third of people in China could run out of their HIV medications within days.
Life has been hard for those residing in these cities. "For the first couple of days after the virus, the whole city was quiet; nobody was on the street. That’s very rare for Chinese cities. You stay in your apartment; you don’t go anywhere. If you’re going on a grocery run, you wear a mask. If you’re walking your dog on the rooftop, you wear a mask. We don’t get food supplies, especially fresh vegetables," Stephanie Li, a resident of China's Shunde, told the New Yorker.
But some health experts believe China's measure, though drastic, managed to buy the world some time. “Measures on movement restriction have delayed the dissemination of the outbreak two or three days within China and a few weeks outside China,” Sylvie Briand, director of Infectious Hazard Management at the WHO, told reporters this week.
Scientists, however, are still studying the impacts of lockdowns: to see whether these steps have reduced total cases and deaths or just postponed many of them, without lowering the eventual cumulative toll, according to STAT.
The current situation
South Korea has been hit the most, with more than 1,500 cases of COVID-19, most of which are concentrated in Daegu, the country's fourth-biggest city.
While the country is not imposing lockdowns in Daegu, the government did declare Daegu and the nearby county of Cheongdo as 'special care zones' last week to curb the spread of the disease.
The government has stepped up maximum containment measures, meaning the county is beefing up quarantine efforts, not following China's isolation. "The containment does not mean the imposition of the regional blockade," Rep. Hong Ihk-Pyo, DP spokesman, said in a press briefing.
Italy has reported more than 450 positive cases. Recently, the country came under scanner for mishandling early cases: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is reported to have admitted that a hospital in the northern town of Codogno had mishandled the region's first coronavirus case and had contributed to the deadly virus' spread.
Amid the rising cases, the country has locked down several towns.
A hotel in Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands, has been cut off after a guest from Italy tested positive. Around 1,000 guests have been locked up in the hotel.
Iran has detected around 140 cases — but, unlike Italy, the country has not imposed a quarantine.
With 13 confirmed cases, Saudi Arabia has suspended “entry to the Kingdom for Umrah and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque temporarily", affecting religious practices.
Public health experts are concerned that the virus is spreading from Iran and Italy to other Middle-Eastern and European nations. For instance, Austria, Croatia, Switzerland, and Algeria have recently found positive cases, which can all be traced back to people who had visited Italy.
Britain, which has 13 cases, is also expected to impose lockdowns. For now, however, schools and big businesses have remained closed. Public Health England refused to rule out the possibility of shutting down entire towns, communities and public transport if a coronavirus outbreak takes hold in the UK.
"We will be led by the advice from public health and medical experts and will take steps which they feel are required to best protect the British public," the prime minister's official spokesman told BBC.
Further, a man visiting Italy returned home to Brazil with the virus, making this the first reported case in South America.