It was nothing short of sensational when Wuhan, capital of Hubei province and the Chinese city hardest-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, announced a citywide lock-down in late January.

The lockdown would start from 10 am on Jan 23, in less than eight hours, the late-night bulletin flashed. The drastic measure, necessitated by the city's surging infection and fleeing residents, became an instant test of national resolution and local resilience.

The novel coronavirus is highly contagious, and is so far without a vaccine. Tens of thousands of people were infected in a short period of time. The lockdown's stakes couldn't have been higher. It was a task at which Wuhan couldn't afford to fail. In the next two months, local communities and hospitals served as the frontline in this major battle against the COVID-19 outbreak.

No One Left Behind

But Wuhan, about five times the size of London in land area, has millions of residents. Enforcement on such a scale was initially porous at best, if not chaotic.

Residents self-isolating at home had to frequently go out to buy supplies while a deluge of patients meant many had to go from one overwhelmed hospital to another seeking a bed, as nearly all were filled to capacity. As a result, in the half month after lockdown, new infections in Wuhan kept springing up.

In response, the central government sent over emergency teams to beef up local medical forces. Health experts were also called in for guidance.

On Feb 7, experts from a central leading group conducted a field trip in Wuhan Jiang'an district and in a work report proposed changes to the lockdown, including reinforced grid management, strict traffic control in supermarkets, and timely waste disposal.

Instantly, Jiang'an stepped up its control and deployed a community-level lockdown for the residential communities under its jurisdiction. In a week, the measure was extended citywide.

In the weeks following its lockdown, Wuhan launched three rounds of blanket checks on the city's isolating residents, on Feb 2, 8 and 17 respectively, to screen potential infection in particular by confirmed but not hospitalized cases, suspected cases, fever patients, and by people in close contacts with confirmed cases.

Thanks to the medical assistances from across the country and even aboard, Wuhan was finally able to treat all its patients and accommodate all who needed quarantine.

A City on Life Support

It was arduous to lock up a city as big as Wuhan. Yet the task, seemingly impossible in itself, was made all the more challenging by one of its unintended consequences. 

Because of Wuhan's lock down, it suddenly became difficult for its millions of residents to feed themselves. Every day, there was a huge demand for daily necessities across the city. There was not enough manpower to make the deliveries. There was also the thorny issue of medical protection during deliveries.

To meet the demands, the local community authorities began recruiting volunteers and called on cadres and workers to come out to help. Even staff members of the local property management companies were mobilized to work on 24-hour shifts.

Communities were required to set aside a storage area where residents could receive supplies at designated intervals, thus avoiding clusters. Disadvantaged groups such as the elderly and disabled people were put on priority list for special care, with community workers attending to their basic care and offering timely assistance.

The Turning Tide

It was through such a tough lockdown that the situation in Wuhan finally began to turn around. On March 18, the city for the first time reported no new infections.

It was a mission in which Wuhan couldn't afford to fail. And the city not only proved itself up to the task, but also demonstrated the measures' necessity and feasibility as the world's fight against COVID-19 continues. 

The battle is still going on, but at least there's light on the horizon.