Wuhan Residents Find Ways To Spread Cheer During Coronavirus Lockdown

With the number of coronavirus infections growing, China has imposed a lockdown in the city of Wuhan - the centre of the outbreak. The deadly coronavirus outbreak has already claimed 170 lives and infected more than 6,000 worldwide.

In a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus infections, most street traffic in and around Wuhan has been banned, leaving more than 50 million people shuttered in their homes. CNN reports that flights, trains and buses leaving the city in China's Hubei province have been cancelled.

But residents of the city have found unique ways to spread some cheer.

Videos going viral on Chinese social media platforms show locals chanting inspiring slogans out of their apartment windows to boost morale. One such video shows people shouting "Wuhan jiayou" which, according to BBC, translates to "Stay strong Wuhan" or "Keep on going Wuhan".

Another video, shared by CGTN on YouTube, shows residents of an apartment block in Wuhan singing the national anthem together. Watch the video below with sound on:

This is not the only heartwarming story of solidarity to emerge out of Wuhan. BBC reports that one restaurant owner in the city spent the Lunar New Year festival packing 200 food boxes for medical workers dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.

The phrase "Wuhan jiayou" has also been trending on Weibo - one of China's most popular social media platforms - where people have been posting videos from the confines of their homes.

Life under lockdown has not been easy, but some #Wuhan residents are trying to make the best of a bad situation, finding ways to amuse themselves within the confines of their homes.
Mr. Zhang, for example, has brought "square dancing" into his own living room.
Source: Pear Video pic.twitter.com/ZIuwqo1hVr

— Nectar Gan (@Nectar_Gan) January 30, 2020

The World Health Organization has called for an emergency meeting for Thursday over whether the viral epidemic should be declared a global health emergency - a designation that can lead to increased international coordination. A number of airlines have also reduced flights to China in an attempt to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.