HOUSE ARREST

Chinese Province Bans Funerals and Locks People in Their Own Homes, Says Report

Households in Zhejiang have been issued “passports” that allow one person per home to go outside every two days during coronavirus lockdown.

Things are getting extremely dystopian in the Chinese province of Zhejiang as authorities attempt to limit the coronavirus outbreak. The South China Morning Post reports that weddings and funerals have been banned in the province as “unessential” gatherings, and people are being locked in their homes for days on end. In four cities—Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Taizhou—households in the coastal province neighboring Shanghai have been issued with “passports” that permit one person per home to go outside for supplies every two days. Officers have reportedly been positioned at the entrances of residential compounds and, each time a resident tries to leave, an officer stamps their passport, effectively banning people from the same household from going out for the next 48 hours. Yao Gaoyuan, mayor of Wenzhou, reportedly said that the measures were necessary to reduce the number of people exposed to the deadly coronavirus, which has killed more than 560 so far. “This could reduce the transmission to the greatest extent possible,” he said.