Health officials wearing protective suits sprayed disinfectant on vehicles by the checkpoints. Villager Tran Van Minh told AFP that authorities had already advised residents to avoid large gatherings. "Life has been badly affected," he told AFP by phone, adding that much of the labour force is reliant on jobs in construction and house painting. "Now we cannot get out and even if we do, clients don't welcome us that much as before." More than 1,350 people have died in China from the virus, and nearly 60,000 others have been infected, since it was first detected in the Hubei province in early January. ... (full story)