The Economist - USA (2020-02-01)

TheEconomistFebruary 1st 2020 33

1

W

eiji villageis a bleak spot in winter,

even without the disease-control

roadblock just up the road complete with

medical staff in blue protective suits, using

pistol-shaped electronic thermometers to

check the foreheads of drivers and passen-

gers for signs of fever. The village’s colour

palette ranges from the grey of the sky to

flat green fields of winter wheat and the

brown of mud-filled potholes so deep that

ordinary cars cannot pass. China is full of

rural scenes like this one, in a forgotten

corner of Henan province. Weiji’s only dis-

tinction is that it is a border village, a short

walk from Hubei, an inland province of

nearly 60m people (roughly the population

of Italy) that has been all but sealed off from

the outside world to slow the spread of a

dangerous new coronavirus.

Chinese cities brim with migrant work-

ers from villages like Weiji, hauling bricks

on building sites or delivering fast food on

electric mopeds. During China’s rapid

growth of the past 40 years, such people

have helped spread wealth to the country-

side. They send money back to home vil-

lages with taps on a smartphone app—for

China is way ahead of the West when it

comes to mobile payments—and return in

person for the lunar new year, laden with

gifts of city-bought clothes and fancy

foods. Not this year, however.

About 200 migrants from Weiji work in

Hubei’s capital, Wuhan, the city where the

virus was discovered (pictured, under lock-

down). Because some returned to the vil-

lage for the new year, which began on Janu-

ary 25th, Weiji was dragged into a vast

quarantine operation that has trapped tens

of millions of Chinese in their homes,

grounded some international flights, halt-

ed long-distance bus services and closed

the country’s largest tourist sites. The vi-

rus-control campaign explains a splash of

colour on Weiji’s almost-empty main

street, a red banner urging locals to be test-

ed. It reads: “Find It Early! Treat It Early!

Medical Fees All Free!”

That encouraging, cajoling sign is but-

tressed by a dose of coercion. The village’s

fresh-faced Communist Party chief, who

wears a smart black windbreaker, describes

instructions from higher-ups. Cars with

Hubei number plates are to be turned away,

and migrants returning from that province

sent back. Those who made it home to

Weiji before controls were imposed on Jan-

uary 20th must submit to temperature

checks twice a day and remain indoors in

their family homes, with no visitors al-

lowed. Foreign experts may debate the

medical efficacy of mass quarantines, but

locals describe a sense of comfort from do-

ing something to fight what President Xi

Jinping calls a “devil” virus.

A farmer and grandfather of two points

to government notices fluttering on shut-

tered shop fronts. Officials have said that

staying at home is “the biggest contribu-

tion one can make”, he explains. Unbidden,

another local offers a patriotic commen-

The Wuhan virus

Sealed off

WEIJI VILLAGE, HENAN

Tough measures to control the spread of a new coronavirus are making life

difficult for many Chinese

China

35 Chaguan:Thepoliticsof pandemics

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