WUHAN: A sense of anxiety is growing in Wuhan as the Chinese city goes into lockdown in an effort to control the spread of a deadly virus which has left 17 dead.
The authorities have suspended outbound planes and trains into the city, as well as buses, subways and ferries.
Residents have been told not to leave the city of 11 million people. Voicing fear about food shortages, one said it felt like “the end of the world”.
There are more than 500 confirmed cases of the virus which has spread overseas.
Officials in Hong Kong reported the territory’s first two cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday and one case was reported in the nearby city of Macau. The first US case was confirmed on Tuesday.
The lockdown in Wuhan comes as millions of Chinese people in other parts of China are travelling across the country for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
Another Wuhan resident said on social media site Weibo that they were on the “verge of tears” when they heard about the closures.
All outbound flights from Wuhan have been suspended as of Thursday. A handful of inbound flights still appear to be operating, though many flights have been cancelled.
Singapore Airlines, budget carrier Scoot, which operates a daily flight between Singapore and Wuhan, have on Thursday cancelled flights on that route.
