Thousands of people have been infected with a painful mosquito-borne virus in China, prompting a response not seen since COVID — including mass quarantines even though the virus is not spread by humans. The chikungunya virus has rapidly spread to about 8,000 patients in just four weeks, mainly across China's Guangdong province to the south, with the city of Foshan hit the hardest, according to the New York Times. But Hong Kong’s first case was confirmed Monday, and the increasingly worrisome situation is stoking fears of a potential pandemic. Infected residents are being sent to “quarantine wards” in hospitals where they're placed in beds covered by mosquito nets. They have to then remain there for a week, unless they test negative beforehand.