This virus outbreak has become a big deal in China. The Chinese government has announced a quarantine on two major Chinese cities. Millions of people have been impacted.
AFP:
China locked down some 20 million people at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak on Thursday, banning planes and trains from leaving in an unprecedented move aimed at containing the disease which has already spread to other countries.
The respiratory virus has claimed 17 lives since emerging from a seafood and animal market in the central city of Wuhan, infected hundreds of other people and been detected as far away as the United States.
Streets and shopping centres in Wuhan were eerily quiet after authorities told residents not to leave the major city of 11 million people, where most of the cases have been identified.
Trains and planes out of Wuhan were indefinitely suspended and tollways on roads out the city were closed, leading to fear and panic for those who were trapped.
“We are feeling as though it is the end of the world,” said one Wuhan resident on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform, voicing concerns about shortages of food and disinfectant.
Another described being on the “verge of tears” when the de facto quarantine was announced, with the misery compounded by it coming on the eve of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Hours later, authorities in neighbouring Huanggang announced public transport and train services would be suspended at midnight, while people were told to not leave the city of 7.5 million.
All of Huanggang’s cinemas, internet cafes, and the central market will close.
A third city, 1.1 million-population Ezhou, announced the train station had been closed earlier in the day.
And highways were closed in neighbouring Xiantao, while public transport will be suspended from midnight in nearby Chibi. The two cities have a combined population of around two million people.
As efforts to contain the virus spread, Beijing cancelled massive gatherings that usually attract throngs at temples during the New Year holiday, while the historic Forbidden City will close from Saturday.
It is very strange that this virus outbreak has happened just as the CIA-backed riots in Hong Kong have started to lose some of their steam. It bolsters the theory that this virus is some type of race specific biological weapon that was released on the Chinese population. All as part of an effort to destabilize the Chinese government.
Because right now it appears as if only Asians have caught the virus. I am not aware of any non-Asians having contracted the virus.
Even still, it would probably be prudent for countries to restrict travel until this whole situation is sorted out. The only question is if countries will do this or if they will refuse out of fear of being called racist against gooks or something.
