Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020

This article documents the chronology of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect. Reporting on this outbreak (later pandemic when it was upgraded on 11 March 2020) began in December 2019.^[1]^[2]

Reactions and measures in mainland China

2 March

Wuhan closed its first makeshift hospital, one of the 16 built to contain the epidemic after the last person was discharged. This came as the number of new cases declined.^[3]

3 March

Shanghai and Guangdong province will quarantine travellers arriving from coronavirus-hit countries for 14 days.^[4]

7 March

The Xinjia Express Hotel in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, China collapsed while containing dozens of close contacts of people with coronavirus.^[5] 29 people died as a result.^[6]^[7]

9 March

11 out of 16 makeshift hospitals set up in Wuhan were closed after discharging their last person, with the most recent being a converted sports centre and a factory. This comes as the number of cases continued to drop.^[8]

10 March

Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping visits Wuhan and issues a statement claiming that COVID-19 has been eradicated in Wuhan and Hubei province.^[9]

China has developed a robot for throat swabbing to diagnose cases, helping to reduce risks for workers.^[10]

11 March

Hubei's provincial government announces that businesses related to epidemic control, public utilities and daily necessities are allowed to resume work now. Other businesses will be allowed to resume work on 20 March.^[11]

Beijing orders everyone arriving in the city from any country, including those from countries not affected by COVID-19, to undergo home quarantine for 14 days. Those arriving for business trips are to stay in hotels and test for the virus.^[12]

12 March

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian alleges that the US military had brought the virus to Wuhan in a controversial Tweet.^[13]^[14]

Hubei will allow industrial production to resume in some areas, as well as lift some travel restrictions.^[15]

14 March

In response to a rise in imported cases, Beijing authorities announced that everyone arriving from overseas will be quarantined for 14 days.^[16]

16 March

The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics releases figures showing that industrial output fell 13.5%, fixed asset investment fell 24.5%, private sector investment fell 26.4%, and retail sales shrank 20.5% in January–February 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.^[17]

22 March

In response to a rise in imported cases, the Civil Aviation Administration of China decided to divert international flights bound for Beijing to 12 designated airports for quarantine.^[18]

23 March

Wuhan eases its two-month lockdown on residents including allowing those from compounds deemed virus-free to leave their homes and return to work, if they did not have a temperature and could provide a green code of health. Non-residents were allowed to apply to leave the city. Resumption of train services.^[19]

24 March

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reports that the spread of domestically transmitted cases has been basically blocked and the outbreak has been controlled in China.^[20]

25 March

Hubei's Health Commission eliminates all travel restrictions in and out of the province with the exception of Wuhan.^[21]^[22]

27 March

In response to a rise in imported cases, the Chinese Government announces that it will close China's borders to foreigners starting on 28 March in an effort to stop imported cases of the coronavirus from entering China. The ban also includes foreigners with visas and residency permits. Other measures include restricting both Chinese and foreign airlines to a single route and destination a week.^[23]^[24]^[25]

28 March

Clashes break out on a bridge connecting Hubei and the neighboring Jiangxi province when Hubei travelers attempted to storm a Jiangxi checkpoint. This clash was the result of a disagreement between police from both provinces over how to verify people from Hubei allowed to enter Jiangxi. In response, provincial authorities have announced that checkpoints will be removed and no special documentation would be needed to cross.^[26]

29 March

According to a Guardian report, Western and African expatriates have encountered increased racial hostility and discrimination in response to a shift in recent cases reported in China from local to "imported" ones. Hostility towards foreigners have taken the form of being denied entry to restaurants, shops, gyms, and hotels, being subjected to further screening, and verbal abuse and ostracism.^[27]

30 March

Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping announces that the Government will introduce measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[29]

Reactions and measures outside mainland China

By 31 March 2020, the virus had spread to much of the globe, and there were at least 730,000 cases confirmed with more than 36,000 deaths. Only the following countries and territories had not reported any cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections:^{[citation needed]}

Africa