July 27, 2022 -- About 1 million people are on lockdown again in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the Covid-19 virus was first found, according to Bloomberg and other news reports.

The city of 12 million became the world’s first to face restrictive measures back in early 2020. China still maintains its “zero COVID” policies, which require testing, social isolation and more frequent lockdowns.

Now, after four people were found to have asymptomatic COVID-19, residents in the Jiangxia district must stay inside for three days. The government has stopped all public transportation, and entertainment venues must be closed for three days, Bloomberg says. The first two cases were found during normal tests, and the others through contact tracing.

Bloomberg says the restrictions are limited to just one area but could cause worry about broader restrictions.

In Shanghai, residents are adapting to a “new normal” of frequent mass testing,

The BBC reported, after the city of 25 million emerged from a strict two-month lockdown in early June.

Chinese companies have told some employees they must live at work temporarily to restrict possible transmission as much as possible to keep the economy running.

This week, two new studies strengthened the theory that the coronavirus originated at a marketplace in Wuhan, one of the earliest arguments explaining the virus’ emergence.

The country has had more than 2.2 million cases and 14,720 deaths.

Bloomberg: “Wuhan Locks Down 1 Million Residents in Echo of Pandemic’s Start”

BBC: “Covid in China: Million in lockdown in Wuhan after four cases”

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