Staff at a funeral parlor wear protective suits to protect against the coronavirus
Staff at a funeral parlor wear protective suits to protect against the coronavirusReuters

Over one hundred people have died from COVID-19, the new coronavirus, since Tuesday - almost all of them in China, and the vast majority of them in the country's Hubei province.

Official statistics show a drop in the speed at which new patients are being infected with the virus, a sign that the lockdowns China has imposed on Wuhan and several other cities are beginning to work.

At the same time, China refused requests from the World Health Organization (WHO) representatives to entier Hubei.

In addition, the Chinese government has decided to tighten the lockdown, and police officers dressed in protective gear are now walking from house to house checking residents' temperatures. Anyone who is suspected of having contracted the coronavirus is transferred to one of the large isolation centers set up in halls and other public buildings.

The Chinese authorities have warned that those who refuse to cooperate - either refusing the inspections or refusing to move to an isolation center if asked to do so - will be severely punished.

In addition, the government is following pharmacy purchases, and anyone who purchases medication for fever or cough needs to present identification and his details are transferred to the authorities, which come to his home to investigate whether he needs to be transferred to an isolation center.

The city is still under lockdown, with no one allowed in or out of it, and residents are only allowed to leave their homes to purchase food and supplies. In certain neighborhoods, residents are required to remain at home, and the government places baskets of food at each doorstep.