concerned about the spread of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) for the sake of safety and health of my family. No one can stay calm. Fear looms over many cities, pharmacy shops in many cities and online e-commerce stores were running out of face masks and disinfectants. People are talking much about coronavirus and new confirmed cases.
The mysterious outbreak of pneumonia was first reported in Wuhan City, central China’s Hubei Province, in December 2019. Experts attributed the outbreak to a new strain of coronavirus, which then spread across China and abroad.
Here is what we know so far:
As of January 23
Confirmed cases: At least 571 in China
Overseas: 1 in the United States, 1 in Japan, 3 in Thailand and 1 in South Korea.
Deaths: 17, all in Hubei Province
Human-to-human transmission confirmed
-Health experts say virus has potential to mutate
A total of 5,897 close contacts were traced, with 4,928 placed under medical observation and 969 discharged.
The outbreak occurred during the Chinese Spring Festival travel rush, known as the largest annual human migration on Earth. Hundreds of millions of Chinese are traveling across the country and overseas as the annual Lunar New Year break gets fully underway. They’ve already booked their tickets and hope to have the reunion dinners with their families on New Year Eve, which falls on January 24. Because of the epidemic, many people have to change their travel plans.
Change travel plan, reduce migration
About a month ago, we had already booked train tickets and planned to go to Xiamen, Fujian Province to spend the Chinese New Year in my husband’s hometown as we did not spend the festival with them over the past four years. My 7-year-old son was looking forward to traveling there very much. Due to the epidemic, we canceled the trip and will spend the festival in Beijing. My son was disappointed, but he said, “Staying in Beijing is the best way to protect our family.”
Two of my colleagues who hail from Huangshi and Wuhan cities in Hubei Province had already gotten ticket refunds. Their parents counted the days to looking forward to seeing them. They are disappointed as well. She called her mom, “Mom, I can’t return home to spend the festival with you, but I miss you.”
We are ordinary. We have multiple identities: children, parents, and husbands/wives. We follow instructions and echo the authorities’ call of reducing migration, that’s what we can do. We all have hometowns, we miss our parents, we want to accompany them and spend the most an important Chinese festival with them. But, we all know safety and health are our priorities.
China is rolling efforts to curb the epidemic spread.
China is adopting Class A prevention and control measures, typically used for major outbreaks such as the plague and cholera. Strictest prevention and control measures have been carried out, including mandatory quarantine of patients and medical observation for those who have had close contact with patients, according to the commission.
Personal control order
On January 21, Wuhan issued a personnel control order covering entries and departures from the city, to curb the disease’s spread. According to the local health commission, “Outbound tour groups have been banned, and local police are conducting spot checks on inbound and outbound private passenger vehicles for live poultry or wild animals.”
Fever inspection
Thirty-five stationary infrared thermometers and over 300 hand-held ones have been used to screen passengers with fevers at various transport terminals in Wuhan, including the airport, railway stations, bus stations and passenger piers.
Passengers who bought tickets related to Wuhan can request a refund, airlines and railway stations would cooperate to handle such requests free of charge.
Transportation control
Wuhan is now under a strict quarantine.
The authorities of Wuhan have suspended all forms public transport, including outbound trains and flights, as of 10:00 a.m. on January 23 to contain the spread of a new coronavirus, according to the Pneumonia Epidemic Control Headquarters of Wuhan. The public transport services being shut down include the bus, subway and ferry services. There has been no word on inbound trains and flights. The city lockdown
Open and transparent information is updated timely for the public by authorities and media
Hubei provincial authorities said January 22 that it would strengthen information disclosures, have the epidemic situation known to the public and update on the number of the confirmed cases as directed. Treatment and prevention should be strengthened in a timely and open manner. Any cover-ups, delays or false reporting will be stopped.
“Unity is strength”
However, I am confident in Chinese Government’s speed and capability in coping with and controlling the epidemic. The Chinese will unite to tide over the difficult times. We had experience in overcoming SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) in the spring of 2003, 17 years ago. We have dedicated medical experts and staff working in epidemic-hit areas.
Chengdu, the city I live in, is a large modern city with a population of more than ten million. It is famous for the hometown of panda and the capital of food.
The street view in the past is like this.
Just the day before yesterday, I had to go out to give something to my grandmother, which is what I photographed.
It can be seen that there is no one over the street. We drive in the most prosperous area of Chengdu by car, and there are no cars or pedestrians. It’s like an empty city.
On January 23, Wuhan announced the closure of the city.
This is a watershed.
All Chinese people, from extreme contempt to extreme fear, sold out masks and many materials were purchased and stored.
We experienced a “big pause” when pedestrians cut down on flights.
We have been touched by the experience. Many people donated money and masks to the most difficult cities in Hubei Province and Wuhan city. The Chinese on the Internet spontaneously launched an action to pray for Wuhan. Chinese people all over the world have provided us with selfless assistance, and people in many countries have brought us much-needed materials and help.
This is a Peruvian illustrator’s adaptation of the painting, the world is blessing China.
We have also experienced anger, and the concealment and inaction of Hubei local government in the early stage led to the expansion of the epidemic.
The official Red Cross Society’s series of problematic operations make us worry about whether our good deeds can be well utilized and whether our materials can be delivered to the people who need them most.
Before January 20, Hubei local government had major problems in dealing with the epidemic. In order to avoid panic, no positive measures were taken to suppress the information about the epidemic and punish the citizens who issued the information. In the “virus war” after that, these officials made a lot of strange mistakes due to their vague answers and poor handling ability.
Amid rumors and mistrust, the Chinese seek ways to fight the great plague.
We built a huge infectious disease hospital to treat patients.
We even choose to believe in Shuanghuanglian, a herbal product that we hope will stop the spread of the disease.
Yesterday, my community was registering everyone’s information and issuing access cards.
I know that all communities in the city will be closed.
We have only to look forward to the availability of drugs and vaccines to stop the spread of this epidemic.