The number of dead and infected is increasing rapidly in mainland China. The authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan with eleven million inhabitants react drastically.
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On January 22nd, a woman wearing a respirator walks her dog through the streets of Wuhan. In the central Chinese metropolis, which is larger than London, no public transport has been running since Thursday morning.
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In the capital of the central Chinese province of Hubei, Wuhan, nothing works anymore. Because the number of people suffering from the new coronavirus continues to rise, dThe authorities asked the eleven million inhabitantsto leave the city only if there are exceptional reasons. Subway, ferries and buses no longer operate in Wuhan. Long-distance buses are no longer allowed to leave the central Chinese city. In addition, the airport and train stations will be temporarily closed this Thursday from 10 a.m. (3 a.m. Swiss time). How long these provisions will apply is still unclear. Wuhan residents were also asked to wear respirators in shopping centers, cinemas, museums and restaurants. In Beijing these are now sold out.
Bad start to the year of the rat
The central Chinese city plays a central role in the rail system on the mainland as a transport hub. The closure of the train stations there is likely to affect the transport system across the country. In addition, many Chinese want to visit their families during the New Year celebration – the year of the rat begins on January 25th. Chinese media report that after announcing the near closure of the airport and all train stations many Chinese have tried in Wuhanto get a ticket to be able to leave the city.
It is unclear whether Swiss citizens are also affected by the quarantine. The Swiss embassy in Beijing knows of eight Swiss people who all live in Wuhan. However, none of them have yet contacted the embassy or consulate general in Shanghai, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said.
The province of Hubei has now closed motorways. And in Wuhan, it is becoming increasingly difficult to leave or enter the city due to road closures. The waterways in the central Chinese city have also been closed.
All passenger transportation routes on roads and waterways into #Wuhan are suspended: China’s ministry of transport #WuhanCoronavirus pic.twitter.com/2hGe3j4Z1B
– Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 23, 2020
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The free days are also used by millions of Chinese to travel abroad. The Global Times newspaper has therefore warned Chinese tourists to abide by the rules in their host country. Destinations popular with the Chinese such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand are looking forward to the rush with great skepticism. The Global Times also urged foreign workers, students and tourists living in Wuhan to stay there initially and to postpone their return home. The university there is one of the largest in the world with more than a million students.
Pictures and videos of Wuhan city in lockdown are circulating on internet in China. People of Wuhan are making sacrifices. No matter how all this happened, I want to express my sympathy and salute to them. pic.twitter.com/8iQWj0RQvd
– Hu Xijin 胡锡 进 (@HuXijin_GT) January 23, 2020
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And looking at the rising numbers of infections and deaths, all those Chinese who experienced the Sars pandemic in 2002 and 2003 should become increasingly aware of the danger posed by the mysterious lung disease. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, 17 people have died on mainland China. 629 infections have been officially confirmed by Thursday evening; 95 people are said to be in critical condition. One Beijing woman said succinctly that “only” 774 people died during Sars worldwide. But nobody wanted to be part of this group.
One of the leading epidemiologists in China, pulmonologist Zhong Nanshan, had recently called for Wuhan to be sealed off. 90 percent of infections have been reported in Hubei Province; the deceased all come from the region. The new type of corona virus first appeared in a meanwhile closed wholesale market in Wuhan, where seafood and wild animals were sold.
The cases collected so far show that the number of cases without a history of exposure in the Huanan market in #Wuhan is increasing, and clustered and confirmed cases without a history of travel in Wuhan have emerged: China’s National Health Commission. #WuhanCoronavirus pic.twitter.com/GCUJ48drko
– Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 23, 2020
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The new results of the national health commission will confirm those who compare the consequences of the new coronavirus with the consequences of the Sars pandemic. The number of infected people who had no contact with the wholesale market in Wuhan is growing. And the cases of those infected people are also increasing, without having previously been to the central Chinese metropolis.
All public transport in and out of Wuhan has been suspended as China tries to contain the deadly coronavirus https://t.co/3W18wzeAx9 pic.twitter.com/beho8Gup8G
– SCMP News (@SCMPNews) January 23, 2020
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In the rest of China, resentment about the unsustainable conditions in many markets in Wuhan is growing. The sale of such wild animals for consumption is actually prohibited. However, it is part of the nature of some Chinese that they violate such regulations out of greed for profit. The wholesale market in Wuhan shows that in the worst case, the entire huge country suffers from such unscrupulous behavior.
Beijing as a warning example
The script of the Sars pandemic 17 years ago should provide an indication of how things will go with Wuhan in the coming weeks. If someone did manage to leave the city, they should be quarantined in their home for at least two weeks in their own home. In these cases, the neighbors take care of the food and the body temperature is measured several times a day. This is to prevent the virus from spreading outside of Wuhan.
Beijing suffered particularly badly from Sars 17 years ago. Life in the city was largely idle for weeks. Nobody took to the streets for fear of infection. With the Sujiatuo district in the northwest of the Chinese capital, there was only a small enclave without Sars cases. The residents knew each other and reacted harshly: they no longer let strangers into their neighborhood to remain Sars-free.
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