A worker unloads medical and epidemic prevention supplies at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

An increasing number of residential communities across China are locked down to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, which residents have largely hailed despite the inconveniences caused. 

On Tuesday, Haikou, the capital city of South China's Hainan Province, announced a lockdown of all its neighborhoods and villages, becoming a most recent city to issue such a notice. Entrances to all its neighborhoods and villages are guarded 24 hours. The province had 91 confirmed cases by Wednesday. 

The government of Zhumadian, Central China's Henan Province on Monday issued what is considered the "most stringent" measure to suspend its residents from randomly going out: only one person per household is allowed to go outside every five days to purchase daily necessities. 

Henan neighbors Hubei Province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak. There were 764 confirmed infection cases in Henan by Wednesday.

Residents in cities including Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wenzhou, Fuzhou and Harbin were told that only one person from a household can purchase goods every two days. The entry of non-native residents and vehicles are forbidden. Residents need to show their ID cards and have their temperatures taken when entering and leaving the neighborhood. 

Along with neighborhood lockdowns, many neighborhoods in Hangzhou, Wenzhou and Fuzhou also issue "passes" to their residents, and some even print coupons for residents for food and masks.

An entry permit issued by a neighborhood in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, which says "each household can only assign one to purchase daily goods every two days," is widely circulated online. The permit, titled "living goods purchase pass," is printed on a coupon-like ticket. 

The move was largely hailed by residents and online netizens, even though it has caused some inconvenience.

Netizens joked that the scene allows many to have a taste of the planned economy when the central government regulated domestic production and distribution (between 1950s and 1980s). And households can only buy goods based on the coupons issued by the government. 

"A special time requires a special coping mechanism. Staying at home is everyone's responsibility to combat the coronavirus," a resident, surnamed Guo, from Zhumadian told the Global times on Tuesday. 

Besides big cities, the Global Times learned that the measure to curb the spread of the deadly virus has also been rolled out in rural areas in provinces like Henan, Guizhou, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 

In a rural village in North China's Hebei Province, the local government said only special personnel, like medical staff and vegetable suppliers, are allowed to leave or enter the village, unless residents have a permit from the village committee, Hu Bin, an official from Heguo township, told the Global Times. 

While some hailed the measure, others said stricter measures should be implemented to effectively curb the virus, as there are always some uncooperative residents.


Newspaper headline: Residents support anti-virus lockdown