City in China on lockdown after man dies from bubonic plague
An entire city in China is closed off from the rest of the country after a man there died from the bubonic plague.
Located in the northwestern province of Gansu, Yumen is home to 30,000 people. Of those residents, 151 are under quarantine, and the rest are unable to leave the city. No one can get in, either, with police setting up roadblocks along all of the routes in and out of town.
The 38-year-old man who died last Wednesday came into contact with a dead marmot, a small and furry animal related to the squirrel, state-run China Central Television (CCTV) reports. There are no other known cases at this time, and CCTV reports that those in quarantine are in stable condition. Residents aren't sure when they will be able to leave Yumen, but it's not looking like it will be anytime soon; CCTV reports that "the city has enough rice, flour, and oil to supply all its residents for up to one month."
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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