In coronavirus fight, Shanghai river town opts for caution

A closed entrance of a residential community is seen in Shanghai, in Qibao, an old river town on the outskirts of Shanghai, China, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, February 19, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - In Qibao, an old river town on the outskirts of Shanghai, officials have deployed more than 2,700 staff and volunteers to check temperatures and monitor traffic as they work to contain the coronavirus that has now killed more than 2,000 in China.

With large parts of the town sealed off and its teashops and boutiques shuttered, the crackdown in Qibao has been far tougher than elsewhere in Shanghai, reflecting the variety of sometimes heavy-handed approaches taken by jurisdictions across the country.