Panic in China over the coronavirus continues. Shocking information is spreading online, and the number of sick and dead is growing every day around the world. However, doctors have already invented a test for determining the corona virus, equipped many hospitals and are ready to fight the disease.
Was there panic at the beginning of the epidemic
Before the Chinese authorities realized the seriousness of the situation, they first tried to censor news of the new disease in order to prevent panic. With the increase in the number of patients, it was decided to take drastic decisions, which caused a sharp slowdown in the Chinese economy.
The epicenters have been quarantined:
- the entire city of Wuhan and other centers in Hubei Province;
- holidays associated with the Chinese New Year have been extended, restricting the movement of people across the country; normal life is almost frozen, including traffic;
- society was subjected to new severe tests, and the state services strictly forced the recalcitrant to comply with new security measures;
- forced quarantine, including closing people inside apartments or separating entire settlements in threatened places, significantly limited the freedom of the individual.
On the other hand, they effectively counteracted the spread of the virus. New solutions have also appeared, such as the transfer of classrooms and office work to the virtual space.
In connection with such actions, the people of China were seized by a real panic. They massively bought essential products, medicines. The shelves in the stores were empty, people were very frightened by what was happening.
Panic today
To date, the deadly Wuhan virus has killed more than six thousand people. And the number of infected far exceeds 43,000 in 30 countries. Most people got sick in China. The biggest panic was and is in Wuhan, since there is the epicenter of events.
Strict lockdown continues in China. Today, new hospitals have been built in China, and old ones have been repurposed. Stores are not as crowded as they used to be. In addition, they have already invented an express test for the detection of coronavirus.
What China has done to stop the virus outbreak can be repeated, but it will take imagination, money and political courage,” says Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO envoy, in an interview with the New York Times.
Current news from China shows that the Middle Kingdom has a great opportunity to quickly mobilize and transform entire industries. According to reports from the South China Morning Post, even the Chinese factories of Foxconnu, a Taiwanese supplier of electronic equipment to major global brands, have been partially adapted to produce essential medical supplies such as surgical masks.
Was the panic man-made?
Since the beginning of the current epidemic, there have been many disinformation activities, and medical considerations in the messages are mixed with political arguments. After all, the propaganda video of a Chinese anti-terrorist group pulling over a feverish driver was supposed to call on the collective imagination and calm the mood. However, this does not change the fact that the epidemic could not be stopped by the weakness of her health guard, and not by the army or the police. Artificial panic was created by the media and the publication of various videos on the Internet, many of which did not correspond to the truth at all.
In highly developed countries, public institutions are careful not to cross the thin red line between informing the public about the extent of the uncertainty associated with the new virus and exaggerated “filtering” of messages, which in a black scenario undermines the credibility of medical services.
The pessimistic scenario was outlined on Feb. 14 in an interview with CNN by Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US CDC (Government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), who predicted that the new coronavirus is likely to stay with people longer — just like the flu in subsequent seasons of illness. He also pointed to the biggest problem with the new virus: not having a cure for the virus, while we know a lot about the flu and we have annual vaccines for it.