As daily new coronavirus cases in Europe overshadow the epidemiological situation in China, Wuhan doctors are showing troubling signs of their mistakes. The main factor in the rapid spread of the virus was the lack of protection of medical staff, which led to a high level of morbidity among doctors and nurses. The situation in Wuhan has resulted in the infection of thousands of healthcare workers while treating patients.
How did the outbreak in Wuhan develop?
On December 31, 2019, the government in Wuhan, China, confirmed that dozens of people with pneumonia symptoms were being admitted to health authorities. A few days later, researchers in China discovered a new virus that infected about 30 people in Asia. At that time, there was no evidence that the virus was easily spread by people through the air. Health officials in China said they were watching to make sure the outbreak didn't turn into something serious.
As early as January 11, Chinese state media reported the first known death from the illness caused by the virus. The 61-year-old man who died was a regular customer at a market in Wuhan where the disease is believed to have originated. Previously, he had abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease. The news of his death came just before one of China's biggest holidays, when hundreds of millions of people travel across the country.
Number of infected now
The situation in Wuhan today allows us to conclude that quarantine helped reduce the number of people infected with COVID-2019. The initial epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic reported only one new case in a few days.
A positive trend is occurring throughout the country. In total, only 13 new cases have been reported in China:
- 1 case in Wuhan
- 3 cases in Beijing
- 3 cases - in Shanghai
- 1 - in the southwestern province of Sichuan
- 5 - in the industrial center of Guangdong
A total of 80,890 cases of the virus have been reported in China, including 3,237 deaths. Most of his patients have now recovered.
What's going on in the city today
A team of infectious disease experts has calculated that the mortality rate for people who have symptoms of the disease is about 1.4%. While this estimate is specific to Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak began, many countries could see even lower death rates.
Today, according to the quarantine rules in Wuhan, only one family member is allowed to leave the place of residence once every three weeks. Communities in the neighborhood also organize group purchases of essentials. In the central city of Wuhan, officials said they would begin requiring overseas arrivals to undergo a 14-day quarantine at their own expense, emulating Beijing.
Enough products
Along with the statistics of infection of people, the state of food stocks is of concern. Now the economic forecast in the country is improving, respectively, and a sufficient number of products will again appear in Wuhan. China's economy will return to normal in the second quarter, when factories reopen, businesses resume trade and consumers start spending again, state planning officials said.
More than 90 percent of large industrial companies in regions outside of Wuhan have resumed production, and the rate of resumption of production in places like Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai is close to 100 percent. Therefore, the food baskets of citizens of quarantined cities will again become full.
It is important that the number of railway loads has returned to normal levels, and civil aviation, ports and water transport are also starting to establish a working process.
The Chinese authorities have taken all necessary measures
China has reported new cases of coronavirus. Despite Wuhan's heroic efforts to treat patients, the sudden epidemic has overwhelmed hospitals, as it has in northern Italy. In countries that have received more early warnings and are better prepared, the situation and the death rate will be even lower.
Wuhan, a transportation and industrial hub of 11 million people, is the epicenter of the outbreak in China and the source of the pandemic, which has now infected more than 100,000 people outside of China.
Indeed, officials in the city initially tried to cover up the outbreak when it started late last year. But of late, Beijing has been keen to highlight the positive role China has played in combating the global spread of the disease.
On January 23, Wuhan, a city of over 11 million people, was cut off from the rest of the country. Chinese authorities have closed Wuhan to entry and exit, canceling planes, trains, subways and ferries. At that time, at least 17 people had died, and more than 570 citizens were infected, including residents of Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and the United States.
As the number of infections from abroad begins to outnumber the number of COVID-19 cases transmitted locally, China is tightening controls on overseas travelers. China's foreign minister vowed to do whatever is necessary to protect Chinese companies and citizens abroad amid legal clashes between tech giant Huawei and Washington. China is quarantining new arrivals from abroad to keep the disease under control.
Wuhan through the eyes of a Russian
Among the 11 million people in a "prison" in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, there are Russian citizens. At the beginning, the manual did not give any comprehensive information on the new type of pneumonia. The maximum that “reached” the population was comments on the closure and disinfection of the central market. In fact, many Russians had the feeling that the Chinese government was missing something.
Now on the streets there are many more people in respirators, protective suits and masks. It is currently mandatory in Wuhan province. The settlement is completely isolated, it is impossible to leave it. The military suspended all public transport. The inhabitants of the province are stocking up on food, they are afraid of a rapidly developing panic. People want to buy as much food as possible, and sometimes it even comes to blows.
Last week, Russia, which restricted border crossings on its 4,300 km land border with China, reported the first two cases of coronavirus, both in Siberia and involving Chinese citizens. On Tuesday, a health ministry spokesman said Russia was preparing for a possible spread of the virus, with some schools closed and public events cancelled, although other officials attributed it simply to the flu.