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China's isolation grows as virus toll reaches 259

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By Eva XIAO

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International borders need to be closed to the Chinese. If the epicenter of this virus were Denmark, nobody would be crying "racist!"

5 ( +7 / -2 )

China discovered the Elisa test works to quick test for Coronavirus. You know - the quick test for AIDS that is done in 15 minutes and costs pennies to make.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-01/31/c_138745729.htm

4 ( +5 / -1 )

This from NZZ, one of Europe's most respected newspapers who have a journalist actually based in China (who didn't run). His assessment of the situation is similar to returnees from Wuhan. It's in German and with pay wall, so here's a rough Google translation. Excerpts:

Since the outbreak of the corona virus, half of Wuhan's residents have left the city. A western Swiss explains why he stays

Despite the tense situation, Emmanuel Geebelen does not want to leave the city of Wuhan. There is no reason to become paranoid, he emphasizes.

When it became clear that Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, where people were infected for the first time with the new coronavirus, was to be sealed off, there was no stopping them. Many people tried to leave the city of 11 million before the closure. The mayor of Wuhan, Zhou Xianwang, estimates that the population has almost halved.

Emmanuel Geebelen from Geneva took the opposite direction with his wife Connie, who comes from the province of Hubei, and the two children: They have done everything possible to come back home after their days off in Hong Kong, where the visa would soon expire. «Our apartment is the safest place. So we really wanted to go back, »says the 42-year-old on the phone.

It was an odyssey until the family came back to Wuhan, where they have lived since April last year. "Of course, at the beginning we also thought about staying somewhere else," says Geebelen. That would have been possible in normal times.

At the moment, however, nothing is the same for Chinese from Hubei Province as it was a few weeks ago. "Even in the city of Shenzhen on the Chinese mainland, not far from Hong Kong, no hotel was willing to give us a room," emphasizes Geebelen. His wife's ID card, which runs a kindergarten in Wuhan, shows that she comes from Hubei Province. And at the latest, solidarity in China ceases for fear of infection.

The supply situation in Wuhan is also good, says Geebelen. Most of the shops are closed and he hardly sees any cars or buses on the streets. But Geebelen has come to terms with the circumstances. “On Friday I first went to a supermarket 3 kilometers away, which was closed. On the way back I met a Chinese man who had vegetables in his shopping bag. »He readily provided information on where he had found what he was looking for.

"The population is calm"

Geebelen shows no signs of increasing aggressiveness among the Chinese in Wuhan due to the exceptional situation. «Everyone is calm. We keep a little more distance on the streets and wear protective masks. »At most, one feels insecure at the cash register in the supermarket - because of the proximity to other people.

The 42-year-old has seen more people on the streets for two days. Occasionally, shops open again. The Chinese are starting to come to terms with the situation in Wuhan. Everyday life is slowly returning despite the tense situation, says Geebelen.

Immediately after their return, the family used the services of the Essen-based supplier Ele.me, part of the Internet group Alibaba. Compared to normal times, he paid two to three times as much. But that was okay because of the exceptional situation, says Geebelen. Meanwhile, prices for such services have returned to normal. And in addition to Ele.me, other online retailers are again active in Wuhan on the Alibaba platform.

The French-speaking Swiss is aware that the new type of corona virus is dangerous. However, he also refers to the fact that almost 60 million people live in the province of Hubei. And so far there are "only" slightly more than 7000 confirmed infections in the entire region. Geebelen warns against becoming paranoid. Geebelen and his family remain in Wuhan until the situation normalizes again.

https://www.nzz.ch/panorama/das-leben-geht-in-wuhan-weiter-ld.1537922

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Locking down Chinese (or anyone else) who hasn't been to China anytime in the last month is foolish.

Blocking entrance from non-permanent residents for the receiving country coming from China makes perfect sense.

Viruses don't care about race. Being human is sufficient.

Clearly, the CCP is working hard to contain and treat this disease. We all need to help them if we can, but that doesn't mean taking risks with possible infected people.

Why doesn't the article list North Korea as having closed their border too? When your closest ally does that, you have a serious problem.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

"Clearly, the CCP is working hard to contain and treat this disease."

The Chinese are ruthless - they are capable of murdering millions of their countrymen to contain the disease.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

The guy in the photo is a genius.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Another 2,102 new infections also were confirmed, bringing the total to nearly 12,000 -- far higher than the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak of 2002-03.

SARS, which is similar to the new coronavirus and also originated in China, killed 774 people worldwide, most in China or Hong Kong.

I would like to know why they continue to call this new virus "the corona virus" when there have been several "corona virus" in the past. I've heard CDC personnel refer to this new "coronavirus" as the "Novel" virus.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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