Have there been any reports on Uyghurs getting the virus,
and if so,are they getting proper medical attention?
4
This may very well be the beginning of the demise of Xi's iron fist rule since draconian domestic policy is no watch with Mother Nature's fury. Yes, like fire, flood and earthquakes, viruses are part of Mother Nature
3
This is a chilling report. Conditions sound terrible in Wuhan. Pray for the Chinese people.
9
The primary purpose of the Chinese government is to stop spreading of the Coronavirus disease and save the life of infected people. On both accounts, China is doing that. So far, the rest of the world seems in good hand that each country can control and monitor the situation. All but one death in the Philippine is in the process of recovery.
The secondary consideration will be much more and many. One of those things is to keep people's life in order. Based on latest Hong Kong news, every province in China will be responsible to provide food, medication, personnel, and logistic support to every locked down cities including Wuhan, the original source of spreading. Other objectives include building field hospitals in 10 days to handle severely infected people, and also converting public facilities into large temporary clinics to handle mildly or less sick patients.
In the meantime, public and private companies are rushing to test the anti-virus remedies. There are already several been announced, which are in the field test stages.
China will be in a transforming stage that its population will be better informed and trained after this crisis. Already Chinese government is planning the return trips from homeland to office or factory locations after the Lunar New year. Once the crisis is over, and as usual, China will add vitality back to the global economy.
1
China's government doesn't seem to be up to the job.
1
Hope people of Wuhan come out of this nightmare. Our prayers are for the people of China. UN security council should demand a neutral body to monitor the epidemic in China. Cant trust these rulers and Govt in China
3
The 1911 revolution inspired by Sun Yat Sen that succeeded in overthrowing the last emperor of China and 2000 years of dynastic rule began as an uprising in Wuhan. Something to remember.
3
I just can't get over the pictures of China...and I remember the pollution from my days there. Yes, Coronavirus is terrible, but think of living in that smog everyday. China has done a tremendous job of raising it's people up, but the environmental degradation to their country and our planet is just horrific. And why is no one talking about the fact that endangered animals (tigers, elephants, rhinos) are regularly smuggled into this country for 'traditional' medicine. This is not the first time the Chinese have started an epidemic, because they will eat everything. The government there should be looking at other solutions in the future. They are raking the bottom of oceans and are responsible for one quarter of pork (in the world) being killed. China, take a look at the pictures and think about what you are unleashing on the planet...not just another virus, but pollution so awful it affects us all.
8
They missed the time frame to act. If they imprisoned everyone who came in contact with the infected individuals, the epidemic would have been contained.
2
The lethal outcome rate has been recorded below 0.02% so far; the outbreak is less severe than SARS of 2003; the Chinese Govt is making it worse than it could have been: they simply round up people suspected of being infected into huge warehouses with minimal (if any) care and let them do or die. Frankly, this is one
more case for upholding the Second Amendment for me.
This is what happens when you live in an Autocracy. Incompetence and little respect for human life. It is where the US is headed under the GOP takeover.
13
What a mess, China’s late response in the emergency to save lives will cost millions of life, those pour peoples are left wandering around with a death sentence upon their head.
2
In face of an epidemic that is already happening, it's no use to criticize anyone or any country. The right thing to do is to fingure out ways to stop the conoravirus from spreading. China right now is working hard at all levels to battle against the illness.
Gee it sounds nearly as bad as the Superdome in New Orleans during Katrina. Open sewage, no food, no medical attention, no leadership and was only a few days. Hmm, how are things going Puerto Rico? I can't even imagine how horrific it would if this happened in the US. The government would likely build a wall and let everyone die inside. All these nasty comments about China coming from a country that can barely tie it's shoes, and a ruling elite every bit as cruel and inept, if not more.
11
Big trouble. This thing got out of the Viral Lab. Probably negligence. WHO had issued warnings about this place not being safe.
Do you really believe 600 dead when millions under observation? China hid this up front and now we trust the numbers? I bet 25,000 are dead.
This thing has an HIV compound. Maybe it could rest in you for years and then raise its' head. Who knows?
2
The Chinese communist party has one objective and only one: survival. They will sacrifice Wuhan and all of Hibei, 50 million people, if necessary.
This is their 2008 moment. I am utterly convinced they are not up to it, and once again dictatorship will cause pain and suffering on an unimaginable scale, but this time as a consequence of 30 years of China-related profits on Wall Street.
The American 1% has broken our world.
6
Is it possible that this virus may be spreading through other means than human-to-human contact in Wuhan i.e. via the water supply?
The death toll is up to 618, after a month. Last year in the US alone, 53,000 died over 21-weeks from the flu, almost 400 a day. I don’t want to diminish that this was excellent reporting, but I don’t recall the NYT’s devoting anything close to this much space to influenza last year. I mean, almost 400 a day, and we didn’t close a single airport.
5
Excellent news. China is the enemy. Never forget that.
3
Yes Xi is talking w/ world leaders but has anyone heard what he is saying to his people? To anyone else? By now I I I feel as though a speech or two should have been made. I don’t see his photo in papers, anywhere.
There must be a good reason why China has isolated Wuhan. They are resorting to extreme measures. I am sure there are many things that they are not sharing with the world. I hope they are able to isolate the disease.
1
I’m on a 3 leg teaching and concert tour. Germany, Istanbul and China. The China leg has been canceled and I’m very worried about my Chinese students who are in cities near Wuhan. I’m praying for them all. I’m sad to not be going.
2
This is not really the time to vilify China over this pandemic.
To say the Chinese government has been guilty of under-estimating this virus plague seems pretty obvious. However can you imagine of any government being ready to confront this unique event of biblical proportions.
There is a case in Britain where the government has decided an individual (journalist) placed under arrest for his news site. Julian Assange of WIKILEAKS a legal case like Daniel Ellsberg of the PENTAGON PAPERS of spilling the beans. So much for "freedom of information" or rather the lack of it; at times?
1
I spent over a decade living and doing business in China, and studied abroad at Peking University. My advanced degree is also-centered on China and trade, and I am fluent in Mandarin.
I have travelled throughout the land mass in China, and have been to most provinces except Xinjiang . My cultural studies in China are centered on martial arts and (TCM )traditional Chinese medicine .
I state these things to bring out that this crisis us undoubtedly worse then what is even being reported by the Times.
600 confirmed dead and the number of cases reported as contracted the virus is not believable for a second.
The Chinese government will play down the truth until it can’t hold it back anymore .
Death factor alone is probably 10X what is officially reported.
4
There is no horror film or play that can compare with this illness as a story or a fear.
1
I join others below in expressing great sympathy for Chinese in Wuhan.
But, it just goes to show that the communist system will eventually fail in China - for reasons it went into dustbin in Soviet Union.
A government that is supposed to be for the people, but definitely is not of the people and by the people.
Of the people because Beijing still thinks this is a political struggle. It is not by the people as none in Beijing will ever stand in a free election where they can be held accountable.
As long as centralized control is declared paramount - all they can do is put lipstick on a pig.
But it is still a rotten system.
Having said that - the Chinese government can do it's people and the world good - if they supervise this - as it now appears - dangerous trade of wild animals - for food.
If Chinese government goes back to saying - it's their culture and proud of it.
That, this is just another epidemic after SARS, now Wuhan - who knows the next one?
1
As an aside, can anyone explain to me why on earth anyone finds cruise ship stuff appealing? It just seems like the most appalling notion ever, in the most optimal circumstances. Why anyone in their right mind would ever subject themselves to being trapped on a massive vessel with a bunch of other unappealing people as a captive audience to a corporate overlord spinning crazed disney-fied versions of "culture" and "entertainment" and "leisure" out in the middle of the ocean is just profoundly puzzling to me.
What ARE these people thinking?
23
It is time for China to permanently ban wet markets, or we will all be suffering from this repeatedly every few years. I think China is modern enough to have refrigeration enough to sell processed animal meat like the rest of the developed world.
9
The scope of these lockdowns have progressed well beyond Wuhan. Two cities in Zhejiang province, Wenzhou and Hangzhou (home of Alibaba), both legitimate 2nd if not 1st tier cities with populations close to 10 million have been in effective lockdown for a while now. I have relatives in Hangzhou and they are surviving off of groceries bought online. One person per household is allowed to go outside every other day. They can't venture in and outside their housing block without getting temperatures taken. The Chinese government has realized how serious this epidemic is. I really hope the U.S. and the rest of the international community take this as a lesson and not let their guard down. It is much easier to be over cautious and nip this in the bud.
6
This is getting out of hand. The world should come together to help combat this deadly virus. China as number two economy is struggling to contain this virus. There might be more deaths and infections than is being reported. Of course China will not want to portray any weakness which is why they might not call for outside assistance. You can imagine what will happen if these spreads to a countries with weak medical systems like in Africa. Something needs to be done and fast!
4
How about the USA with millions with no health care...no insurance, no credit card,no care. To my reading millions living on the edge, marginal income and food access. What about all the homeless. Wait until.the novel virus hits the USA. Research shows that closing borders only delays spread of pandemics by a couple of days.
4
@bcer very true. it is not an if but a when. And then, we will see the what the famed "best int he world" US healthcare system is made of. Not much, I suspect...
1
The virus may mutate if the quarantine is not enforced. If human to animal transmission is established then the virus will spread extensively.
2
I too wish for the speedy recovery of all affected by this terrible virus and am hopeful that the spread can be contained as well as possible.
However, we can’t forget that the cause is from exploitation of animals and keeping them in horrible conditions because some humans have a need to eat them. This lesson hasn’t been learned in spite of similar outbreaks in the past.
May all beings be happy!
4
I've started re-reading The Plague by Camus. Seems to the point.
4
It is strange indeed that the novel coronavirus fatality rate in Wuhan is above 4% yet just 0.17% elsewhere in China and virtually negligible worldwide. There may be two factors behind this discrepancy. One is Wuhan's poor air quality, as noted in a NYT letter by Prof. Peter Muennig of Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health. Such pollution, however, is common in many cities in China. The second, and perhaps more significant reason, may be the very close quarters -- the lack of person-to-person isolation -- among infected people in Wuhan's emergency rooms, hospitals and quarantine facilities (also depicted). It turns out that with feline coronavirus, solitary wild cats experience a relatively benign infection but in domestic multicat settings the virus mutates to reach a lethality rate of nearly 100%. Feline and human coronaviruses share similar biology so one can reasonably conclude that these crowded, multiple infected environments generate a very high risk for viral mutation in humans too. It is important, therefore, to understand that quarantine and isolation are not the same. Quarantine (to prevent new infections) is indeed important but, in order to minimize this mutation danger, isolation (keeping those already infected separate) is even more critical.
12
The liberal USA thinks its in a terrible spot given its problems with Trump, but when we look at this situation we see that we are breathing the free air - for now. What a recipe for disaster. Putting thousands of virus victims in cold stadiums with no medical treatment, is clearly going to artificially inflate the death rate. All the signals point to a reality that these are no better than concentration camps, with the central government of China deciding to allow these "sources" to die in droves, as martyrs to mother China. The crippling of the media and social platforms will only further compound the deaths as citizens and institutions are unable to collaborate and work together. Meanwhile the Chinese with all its efficiency and lack of red tape in building hospitals, have little innovation capacity and are relying on the rest of us to provide a vaccine.
It almost makes me want to withhold the vaccine until they liberate the Chinese media and social platforms. Except I am not a cruel autocrat and care about the welfare of ordinary citizens.
China for all its progress and recent wealth is decades if not more from gaining first world status.
2
There is probably no country in the world more capable of controlling this epidemic. Centralized power has its advantages.
3
@Bill That plays both ways as that centralized power can also manipulate the truth to their advantage by not revealing all the actual facts aka coverup.
1
Looking at the death rate which is in percentage means not depending from the total number if infections: if in wuhan it is 4 percent and in the rest of China 0,2 percent. It means that the higher death toll is because of the lock down. I actually wonder how many non-disease related additional deaths are caused by the lock down.
4
The speed of new infections is still unrestrained exponential. That indicates that the virus is neither exhausting its pool of sustenance, nor is any effort by the Chinese government doing anything to slow it down. It is confining it, but it is not making "great strides" to conquer the virus, which is reproducing unchallenged.
1
Tonight, there are reports that the city of Shenzhen and Guandong Province have been shut down. Shenzhen is a major port and together with Guandong Province manufactures a huge percentage of the electronic components used in the world. It appears that despite the desperate measures employed in Wuhan, the corona virus marches on in China. My sympathies to those who are ill in China tonight and to the friends and relatives of those who have died. Let us hope that there are lessons from Wuhan that can be used by the rest of the world to stop this terrible disease from spreading further.
1
I taught at a university in Wuhan from 1990 - 1992 and it was a wonderful experience. The people there and throughout the country were so friendly and helpful. What’s happening in Wuhan now is horrible and I hope the people there (and all over the country) conquer the coronavirus real soon.
9
An tragic and striking misalignment of politics and culture seems to have caused this debacle: Mass Chinese forced urbanization pushed millions into cities in tight proximity with no medical primary care--just hospitals. But simultaneously, peasant agrarian culture persists, and one feature of that is massive live animal markets which animals--many wild ones including all manner of species--are often slaughtered on the spot for meat and traditional medicine and potions. That yielded a dangerous hybrid virus. Put it all together, and China has apparently unwittingly created this monstrous collision of social engineering and its own cultural traditions. The Chinese government has now pretty much imprisoned all Wuhan citizens in their city with food running out and medical care--always marginal--now non-existent. It is a failure of a monolithic communist system on a frightening scale.
11
Australia is also 'warehousing' people as a quarantine measure.
243 Australians have been evacuated from China to a remote island and previous detention centre (Christmas Island). Most of its facilities are similarly sparse to the Chinese facilities mentioned in this article. Some people there have also reported they are sharing their rooms with cockroaches too and old linen left over from detention residents. The facility is surrounded by razor wire that was used previously to prevent detainees escaping.
Another plane load of evacuees from China will be sent to a former gas plant workers village outside remote Darwin in the Northern Territory.
The Australian government is also looking at opening up other detention centres that once warehoused asylum seekers and repurposing them for quarantine if the virus spreads.
One slight difference: the people there are asymptomatic.
" With the sick being herded into makeshift quarantine camps, with minimal medical care, a growing sense of abandonment and fear has taken hold in Wuhan, fueling the sense that the city and surrounding province of Hubei are being sacrificed for the greater good of China. "
When I read this article, I burst into a sadden laughter about the western bias media using these subversive word. "herded", "camp", "minimal medical care" and "abandonment ".
Imagine a lockdown of California plus 10 millions people, this is what the government of Hubei province try to quarantine 50 millions around the epicenter Wuhan. The sheer number will overwhelm any healthcare system facing such a highly infectious zoonotic virus.
The most current infection data are 31,452 with 638 deaths. Ninety nine percents of the infection and 97% of the death are within China. As more diagnostic kit are available, the number of infections for sure is going to rise. I just hope the current strategy will eventually contain the outbreak.
One of the epidemiologist from England predicted that the infection cases may be as high as 126,000. With the mortality rate of 2-4%, the number of death are ranged between 3,000-5,000. These are tragic number and human suffering on a grand scale. To the western media and the critic of " Whataboutism ", the top public health issues facing this country such as opioid death 50-70,000 and gun-related death of 30-40,000 predictable annually seem to be in the back burner.
5
One of the curious things about the coverage of the coronavirus in China is that I have not seen any mention of the army. Perhaps it is there and I have missed it. In all large nations the army has the capability to rapidly deploy fairly capable field hospitals. Perhaps the coronavirus in Wuhan would overwhelm what the army could do. Still, you would expect that they would be deployed and would provide some additional capacity. With all the written coverage and all the photos - where is the army medical corps? This is not a rhetorical question. If another reader knows the answer, I would appreciate if he or she would post it.
6
It won't be as bad here. But if this becomes an epidemic here, I suspect it will be very bad. Do you really think our medical care system can treat millions of corona patients with hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations, while also treating the flu that is rampant and all the regular medical care that is needed?
I suspect that a great many people would end up receiving no medical care, just staying home and suffering with only nearly worthless over-the-counter medications.
Hopefully, Trump will really enforce the travel ban and quarantine to prevent a lot more of the disease from coming here. And hopefully, we will be able to contain the disease that has already arrived here.
2
Everyone likes to criticize the Chinese authorities for the way they're handling the virus crisis--warehousing people and giving minimal care knowing that this will cause more deaths; suppressing news reports so we can't know how serious it actually is (ignoring the fact that no one probably knows accurate figures), but if they were not doing these things, which would not pass muster in a western society, I imagine the virus would have spread much more widely by now. Perhaps we should lighten up on the Chinese and the way they're dealing with this thing--their methods are probably working for us.
1
Scary developments. It can not be fun to be trapped in a city with an outbreak of a rapidly growing epidemic.
The story shows both the limited and opportunities of dictatorship. The dictatorship is the reason this was allowed to grow without effective response for months.
On the other hand dictatorship allows some pretty draconian measures which may prove effective, although rather inhumane sounding.
1
why are they short medical supplies? The world has tons of medical supplies and they fit neatly into airplanes. they also have people on the ground who are doing everything they can.
1
A student whose mother is a nurse in Wuhan said to someone I know that the morgues are full and bodies are stacked. A lot of people have died in their homes and have been left there. The situation is far worse than the government is admitting. And the fact that they delayed admitting that there was a problem at all begs the question of how many exposed people traveled before Wuhan was cordoned off, and where they went.
54
The response to the epidemic seems to mirror the film Contagion more and more every day. Going apartment to apartment in a city of 11 million, pulling away every person with a fever from home to a warehouse to be observed until they are well will likely result in many people with other febrile illnesses becoming 2019-nCoV coronavirus victims.
2
@ Eric, your post lacks perspective in ways that others here point out. I simply want to comment on Flint. That was no systematic cover-up of an active epidemic. There was unacceptable denial and avoidance by some authorities but children were not dying left and right. That is not to minimize lead exposure but to suggest you are comparing apples and oranges.
Most importantly, the pediatrician who identified the issue and advocated about until it was acknowledged was treated far differently than she would have been in China. She was not hauled down to the police station within a couple of days of speaking up about it, jailed without chargEs forced to recant and say everything was hunky-dory, nor jailed for a couple of years as a social deviant when she continued to speak out.
China’s extreme authoritarianism, one-Party tule, social monitoring and complete suppression of an independent press cannot be compared to our own form of government — with or without the current administration.
3
Let’s pray for the departed. Amen
2
I am impressed that the NYTimes actually has two reporters in Wuhan and hasn't withdrawn them like other news organizations such as CNN. Hope they stay safe.
10
I am deeply concerned about this virus. I don't see how it will be contained. I think China is buying us some valuable time to hopefully develop a vaccine and create contingency plans, but I don't see how they're going to stop this. We should be preparing for the worst, because if this gets out of control, it could upend our economy.
10
2009 H1N1 influenza killed hundreds of folds more people. Though the mortality rate is lower but only by a low margin. The economy was sluggish after 2008 crisis, it still showed strong resilience. I’m confident it will be fine. The world will still run. But it is another reminder that the world should put down hostile ideological confrontations but work together to solve real problems together. The most probably event that will lead to mass extinction is a viral outbreak. While nearly a trillion is spent in Defence every year, too little is spent in the right way.
15
@Chris Iden
This virus isn't the flu though. I received an H1N1 vaccine in 2009. There is no coronavirus vaccine.
2
My heart goes out to these poor people enduring this horrific experience, having their lives upheaved overnight to this extent.
It's a humbling reminder that, regardless of the denial and hubris of some, we are part and parcel of the natural world. Ignore it at our own peril.
35
My heart goes out to the voiceless many in Wuhan.
The faceless people in China and elsewhere who toil all over the world will be the ones to be crushed first in disasters.Those at the top will protect themselves and their interests in good and bad times alike.
26
I hope this turns out to be a good lesson that supply chains need to stop relying so much on China.
17
Those that have recovered in the hospitals, are now immune and should have to do mandatory service at the hospitals and quarantines. In a place like China you can mandate such things and it appears to me they have no choice because they are poorly understaffed. They can be trained to do certain low levels tasks.
7
I am sure in 2009 I had H1N1 before anyone new it was a thing. I new I was hit by an influenza..had stockpiled a course of TAMIFLU which did help. Took it immediately but I was sick and coughing for 6 months. Doing compulsory duty after a severe viral illness is not a realistic demand. Maybe those mildly afflicted can.
So many expert criticisms of China's response to the epidemic yet so few expert suggestions.
19
My goodness, this seems barbaric. How many people who don't have the Coronavirus are receiving death sentences by being warehoused in close proximity to those who do?
.
Granted, this is a disaster, but this is the government that wants to replace democracies around the world as the best way to govern humanity.
.
I don't think so.
15
@West Coaster - - - Will this outbreak ruin the chances of passage of the new wide-open immigration bill making it's extremely quiet way through Congress, the nightmarish H.R. 5383: New Way Forward Act?
It turns many laws concerning immigrants and citizens completely upside down.
Right. This is the same country that used to called Red China. The only difference now is that they have a lot of money.
2
The Chinese government is sacrificing any of their people who have a remote chance of having been exposed to the novel corona virus. They realize that until a vaccine is developed, the only way to stop the spread is to isolate and terminate everyone who could possibly harbor it. My heart breaks for these helpless and sickly people piled in warehouses.
10
In a country of 1.4 billion, 600 deaths is .00000428% of the population. More people die from car accidents every day than Coronavirus.
So why would China be so concerned?
Because the actual number is much, much higher.
Just this week, we've seen the Chinese media clamp down hard on all negative reporting, now we have ruthless Mao -Era Red Guards going door to door root out any and all possible infected people. The story is getting worse, not better.
It's an epidemic of epic proportions, and we better get ready.
35
Suppression and absolute control has propelled Xi Jinping to the apex of power unseen since Mao. Yet the very same tactics that inspire fear and denial now undermine him just as powerfully.
11
I'm re-posting my comment below from elsewhere but I feel that more people should know about this:
I live in Hong Kong. Like this article says, a virus like this "must be cut off from the source," yet Hong Kong's borders with China are still open, meaning people from China can enter Hong Kong, then have access to the rest of the world.
Most countries have banned flights out of China, but only a few have banned flights out of Hong Kong. And as long as the world allows flights from Hong Kong, the virus will keep spreading.
Starting Saturday Feb 8, all those crossing the Chinese border into Hong Kong will require a 14-day quarantine. Too little too late. Over 10,000 mainland Chinese people EVERY DAY for the past month have already come through, and god knows how many of those have left for a city near you.
The Hong Kong government's refusal to completely close all borders with China is vigorously protested by the people of Hong Kong and its front line medical staff; the rest of the world should, too.
42
Yes, it is actually the least they can do. It’s a no-brainer except doing so might give the impression that Hong Kong is not a part of China. It’s about Xi power politics.
4
@Steven
It's funny that Hong Kong is not China in things like the Olympics (there's a Hong Kong team) as well as every other aspect of life, core values, businesses, law and policies, but when it comes to viruses and quarantines, we are one big happy family.
But I digress.
Politics cannot be above human lives.
Our government has intermittently preached that government itself is the problem and that we shouldn't trust it. It has met with intermittent success until now, when to prove the point, the government has made itself intentionally untrustworthy.
For example: how confident can we be in a government that in 2018 fired its entire pandemic chain of command:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/31/coronavirus-china-trump-united-states-public-health-emergency-response/
And anyhow, picture Americans voluntarily subjecting themselves to the loss of "freedom" that quarantines would entail. The situation could be helped by trustworthy public information from the media. For this, we are at the mercy of partisan oligarchs who own major media outlets and whose editorial policies might not coincide with government pronouncements.
This is all rather speculative. So, if you want concrete evidence that the U.S. may not be well positioned to handle a major disease outbreak, kindly review the recent history of FEMA in handling major, but localized, disasters. Think Katrina.
17
Can we say that China is sacrificing a entire city to save the world?
5
Yes. No better alternative.
1
China has taken a massive economic hit. It has paid and more for the sins of perhaps neglecting good scientific warnings. There is a staggering shutdown of all factories and shops. The worlds manufacturing furnace is basically in shutdown. I would be more merciful in judgment of the leadership of a country of 1.4 billion people living densley together facing a horrific possibility. They are doing amazing things to ensure the rest of us are protected as well as themselves. My heart goes out to Wuhan's people with a staggering 4.57% death rate from the virus on my last reading. The efforts of it peoples some dying form overwork to fight this thing is beyond words of admiration.
33
The CCP’s influence over the WHO is already abundantly clear. The WHO’s decision not to class the coronavirus outbreak as an international crisis was strongly influenced by how the Chinese regime wanted the issue handled even though they knew of this more than two months ago.
Given the growing evidence of Chinese mismanagement of the coronavirus outbreak and WHO complicity in this, it is not too strong a statement to say that every person who dies from coronavirus is dying as a result of both the CCP and WHO’s failings.
19
It is very sad that patients are warehoused with minimal medical assistance. I am wondering if most of the citizens in this area of Wuhan live in apartment buildings and share ventilation systems; if they do, this could be a medium to spread the virus. Isolating people has not stopped the virus, so my guess is that the density of citizens is so great that it is difficult for them to not pass the virus around. Isolating patients is a good idea, but hopefully they will receive more medical care so their prospects of improving are increased. My heart goes out to those with this disease, and those in the epidemic's way. Isolation with compassion is the way to go.
35
@K.M my understanding is that the virus isn't airborne like TB or Chickenpox, it is spread by droplets. Hand washing decreases the spread.
1
If the Chinese government controls the flow of information how can anyone in China or the world know how dangerous this is?
365
@Linda great question and something I have been thinking about. It really makes me appreciate that our CDC is responsible to the public. World health organization data indicates the fatality rate to be less than 2%, and American pandemic researchers place the fatality rate around 1%. This takes into account people who aren’t quite as sick who are just staying home to recover and not getting tested.
I think the information they are trying to control is more to create an image of strength and action to their citizens (even if those actions and shows of strength are counterproductive to viral control!) than a coverup in fatality rates.
18
@Linda There are also cases outside China, including in the US, so obviously a major discrepancy between knowledge gained from that and news reported by China will become obvious.
6
You have raised an interesting question but we're seeing some cases in other, more open countries, and it seems that it is roughly on par with the flu in virulence and lethality.
That being said, older people and those with pre-existing conditions are more at danger than a healthy person.
One should also not forget that medical services in this specific Chinese province are overburdened and as such more bad outcomes are unfortunately to be expected.
7
My thoughts and prayers/good wishes are with the people of Wuhan and all of China. I studied abroad there in 2008 and can only think of all the kind people I met there. I hope they are well. I wish them strength. China has a huge population but every single one of them is a human being who deserves to be treated with dignity. I hope the Chinese government will remember that.
502
@KS There need to be a lot more people like you who have travelled and stayed in China interacting with the Chinese people. They are not the enemy that the politicians make them out to be.
52
@KS, Thank you. We should never lose sight of this fact. This is literally millions of people enduring uncertainty and hellish conditions. I still remember the heart wrenching events from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. They had lot less by way of resources than China does. Hoping for the best for them.
37
@KS
Missed you by one year, was there in Wuchang (Wuhan) in '02 and back in "07 and now delighted to be a waigoren resident. The Chinese are a delightful people and have known hard time and good and handle both with composure. They will find their way through this crisis in good form as they have done so many times before. Sad to see them often viewed as a threat. That is our problem definitely not theirs.
16
The doctor that died appears to be in his 30’s. I have read anecdotally of others in their 30’s dying of this virus. The WHO is still not releasing any official data of the ages of those who have died. Why?? Is China not letting them in?
It is beginning to seem, based on the measures taken by China and the curious lack of accurate data, that this virus is potentially more lethal for younger, healthy people than we are being led to believe.
49
@BT
It is not ' a curious lack of data' . It is an authoritarian regime, that is fast evolving into a dictatorial one, and control of information and a top down political action model are at its core. It's going to get much worse, both in terms of the coronavirus situation, and in terms of Xi's stranglehold on the Chinese society. And keep in mind that this is a society that has never known democracy, and today, in the age of internet, the authorities are creating their own version of it, just like Trump's friends, the Russians. Thus ensuring total control of their societies. We are a far cry away from the promise of a unified world through www. It now looks naive and quaint; the last contortion of the civil society, before the governments take full control, and it's happening at an alarming rate even in the so called democratic societies, as proven by Europe and US.
Not to sound too dystopian or anything... We'll always have suicide, like Sartre pointed out.
1
I can't see the virus continuing the current rate of new infections reported of doubling every 4 days. That would be 3.5 million in a month.
8
While I find that criticizing the Chinese government for failing to contain the virus is patronizing at best, putting together sick people in such facilities verges on the criminal in my opinion. I spent two nights in wards in an English hospital about twenty years ago and it was not a pleasant experience: you can’t sleep, you can’t read, people moan in pain, cough, etc. The bathroom was also shared. In giant wards such as the one in the photo, the situation would be nightmarish : maintaining basic hygiene would be impossible, the ones who don’t die from the coronavirus will die from dysentery or a variety of infections. Not only would it be cruel, but, if it is true the virus takes milder forms, it will be absolutely pointless and won’t stop the transmission of the disease.
43
@Marie it’s also probably pretty futile. Since the virus spreads before symptoms, any person that had contact with a sick person is already at risk. And it is heartless and cruel.
2
In what way is criticising the Chinese govern”patronising”? Their actions are as subject to evaluation as any other government’s.
Now is the time to act. You can stay away from Syria and Yemen, but it is hard to escape a virus. For purely selfish reasons the free world should act. Where is the International Red Crescent? The medical experts are warning everyone that warehousing patients is not the best idea. All of China is going to become a quarantined zone. The Chinese have lived through mass starvation and cultural war. Over 400,000 Syrians have died over the course of civil war. However, the Chinese are the manufacturing floor of the world.
9
Can the international community, such as UN Peacekeeping or some other international organization step in to ensure against human rights violations?
Very scary situation if people are being forcibly rounded up as this article says. I hope there is some sort of oversight by the international community.
12
What can the international community do to help the people of Wuhan? Are there reliable charities involved that we can donate to, or any other form of aid that we may contribute to?
My heart goes out to all the families impacted by this. None of us is immune, as the coronavirus appears to be going global pretty rapidly. I hope we can all remember our humanity and interconnectedness during this time.
36
The problem here is the government is so scared of public anger that they are fighting two wars at once - the virus itself and silencing critics. I am a Bernie supporter but this is where he and Trump overlap - far too long we've put too many eggs in the China basket and were going to get burned. Their economy is so vital to global economy yet the government is extremely secretive and authoritative. You couldn't trust the government at any time - not with their debt, their economic numbers, their laws, etc. China was slowly on the way to more openness until Xi took power and considered himself Mao 2.0.
33
China manages its economy on the cheap for the benefit of the wealthy at the expense of its population with the most significant disparity of income and wealth in the world.
On the ongoing pandemic of Coronavirus, as will as the previous pandemics of SARS, etc., all of which originated in China, China’s unregulated livestock industry is a cesspool of dangerous viruses and bacteria. There are many reports of the outbreak of dangerous virus among animals, most recently pigs, in China which forces the culling of large herds of animals. This is why the West has a prohibition for the import of any animals, fowl, etc. from China. The science of the transfer of virus from animals to humans has been proved. There will be more pandemics originating from China as long as China’s livestock industry is unregulated.
22
@Gerry O'Brien Trump is deregulating Pork inspections...
2
This could be catastrophic. Meanwhile our stock market is booming. What's wrong with this picture? Kind of sad don't you think?
"Greed is good, let them eat cake, let's create another loophole, the President didn't do anything wrong, climate change is a hoax, Russian interference is fake news"
Once again Rome is burning, what will you do about it?
40
@Frank
The red flag warnings are being sounded about the stock market. The bubble is going to burst.
Meanwhile, are those in positions of power going to short it again like in 2008, making a fortune from the plight of others?
10
This is a war I hope China wins. Sadly, the whistleblower Dr. Li died from the virus, at least that's what we've been told.
17
Thanks for the report, and it really came in time, Doctor Li passed away this morning, all we need is truth.
20
My heart goes out to all who are affected....let us remember our common humanity and not treat those who are infected as lepers.
No matter which country is facing this illness.
131
I think Trump admin. has been unusually quiet. WH has held no special briefings and are trying to pretend no big deal to protect the stock market , so that Trump can brag about it. We would like to know what is CIA analysis saying about the extent, severity, mortality and spread of the disease. My guess, they sure have lot of information and people on the ground in China and Wuhan. Please break the silence.
37
If the death rate in Wuhan is >4% does anyone really believe the rate elsewhere is only 0.17%? Seems impossible...
9
@mjc If medical care is that overwhelmed, it’s possible. The article says 2/200 fatalities outside of China
7
I want to thank the Times for such great reporting on this situation. While other media outlets seem to be deferring to whataboustism comparing this to the flu (an apples to oranges comparison) the Times is sticking to the facts the best they can despite obvious information limitations.
206
@Michael G. i agree - the facts are staggeringly alarming and while I've appreciated not having others be as scared as I am because markets would tank, hoarding would start...I do think that we need to immediately address the probability that a massive number of Americans will be vying for limited spots in ICUs in hopes of living.
4
And the lack of sympathy and assistance for the Chinese people from the global community speaks volume of the effectiveness of Western propaganda in demonizing anything Chinese.
21
This is awful. I feel so badly for these people and wish our government would offer support.
As bad as it is today, every next day is worse.
I hope it begins to taper off soon.
12
Is that smog?
3
@Greg Giotopoulos Yes, it is smog. Google Wuhan smog, see what comes up.
When the experts start comparing this pandemic to the Spanish Flu, it's time to freak out. That one killed some 50 million people worldwide. And many of them were young people cut down in the prime of life.
23
@JoeBftsplk Some people will panic at the sight of a mouse. Others will not panic even in dire circumstances. This is a situation that ever so slightly tests the moral character of a person.
1
To regain its moral world community standing, at least a bit, China should close its own borders to all but emergency aid.
4
600 deaths seems implausible based off the scope of their reaction and all the other reports they have failed to suppress. We may be looking at something closer to the Spanish Flu in terms of mortality rates.
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@Ted Ream
Publish Times claim lower mortality rate than SARS, many affected recovering.
2
I doubt mortality rates will be anywhere near that. 1918 is a century ago. Epidemic control management has improved a lot. No doubt there will be many more deaths but I don't think it will run into millions.
8
Get ready for a pandemic. Remember learning about exponential growth in school? If this continues, by the month's end, we will have a quarter of a million cases. By the end of March, four million.
This is not a drill. This is coming, and we need to be prepared.
151
@Tim how exactly should we prepare? On a federal, state, local and personal level?
1
“It said some of the country’s giants, including Sina Weibo, Tencent and ByteDance, would be placed under special supervision to ensure “a favorable online environment for winning the war for prevention and control of the coronavirus outbreak.”
How is this different than what Zuckerberg is doing in te US?
43
Will sick elderly people be separated from their care-giving adult children? Will sick children be separated from their parents?
46
I remember the panic SARS had on Asia as a child. I was only 7 and in Singapore at the time and even though SARS wasn’t a big threat yet, our schools were closed and face masks handed out. Hygiene schools were set up and people had a palpable sense of fear - especially as Singapore had a large ethnic Chinese population and was a transport hub. If that was the panic back in 2002/3, it’s very interesting to see the dichotomy of panic in a super plugged in world ranging from sheer desensitisation to anything not “on your doorstep” and blatant fear - usually in the same moment. The good thing about being plugged in is that you can keep an eye on loved ones and friends and colleagues very easily! Handy in times of crisis!
14
Horrifying. Wishing those affected well. Hoping the virus is contained soon.
90
There are two big areas of fallout in addition to those in China who are already infected:
1. Those who can't get medical care for other conditions, can't get adequate food or help, and become ill and die. We don't know how many have, but that certainly must be occurring, from what I am reading here.
2. The effect this will have on the world's economy. Here, we already saw that Boeing's woes affect its suppliers. Chinese labor and products are everywhere worldwide. This will effect every global company here. Chinese tourism is a big deal. Or it used to be. That is a phenomenal amount of money lost. If one key part comes from China, this is going to be a nightmare.
If the outbreak in China goes on like this for several months, and China closes down, we are headed for a recession.
If the infections that are being brought abroad start to spread, too, all bets are off. That might not happen, but it would be unwise to think it can't.
Who saw this one coming? It's predictable, and the next one may spread like measles or kill like Ebola. Or both.
28
@Mike S. Honolulu last week was almost devoid of Chinese tourists. Hotels half full. Shops almost empty. This may spread to US mainland.
1
Let's stand in solidarity with the Wuhan people. Their government may be different from ours, but their humanity is equal and absolute.
The world is watching. China, be truthful -- no matter what... Trust your people. The world prays for you, Wuhan. Let #GodBlessYou
122
“Do you hear the people sing” is all over my wechat moments. I can only guess what it means, but my heart is breaking for everyone caught in this evolving tragedy. When voices are silenced from speaking, I guess singing is the only option.
39
House-to-house searches sound like a really effective way to make sure everyone is exposed to coronavirus.
101
The Chinese government is doing a much better job than the US government would be able to under similar circumstances. They are delivering food to 1.2 billion people in a systematic and coordinated way. Patients get the food free. Everyone else pays normal prices, but the food is fresh and healthy. Hospitals are being built in under 2 weeks. During Katrina, we saw that the US can’t even feed people in one city during a disaster. It would take months or a year even under emergency circumstances to build a hospital.
80
@Peter Muennig
To be fair, after Katrina the main problem with distributing food was the fact that the city was flooded and it was literally impossible to move large quantities of anything around except by boat, and even that is precarious when there are hidden obstacles beneath the water. You might remember that less than a few days after the storm passed there were huge convoys of trucks stuck outside the city waiting for the storm waters to recede.
A natural disaster and a public health disaster present very different logistical problems.
52
@Peter Muennig And what good is a hospital if there is no care? Might as well just move them all to mausoleums and save the trip.
8
@Jeff
Re Katrina - a direct hit on New Orleans by a hurricane and the likely impacts had been forecast years in advance. Additionally, the storm itself was slow moving and tracked for at least a week before it hit the city. No excuses...
11
The Chinese government is undoubtedly hiding the true magnitude of the disaster. Interesting that Tencent is mentioned as being kept on a leash as last night, and for a short time, Tencent published what many people believe are the true infection figures on their page tracking the spread of the virus. These figures showed over 134,000 infected and over 25,000 deaths! The statistic was taken down very quickly but it was recorded by many and is now widely known.
Just think about it. The Doctor who first reported on the infection, is a man now known worldwide and who undoubtedly received the best treatment available is now dead from the disease. Is it really reasonable that less than 300 have died across all of China particularly knowing what we know about the poor treatment many are receiving?
China's leaders are doing the only thing they know to do and that is clamp down to try to make sure the truth is not known.
The situation is much worse than we know.
94
@Steve W Without sources, it's hard to judge your claim BUT look at the cases OUTSIDE China. That death rate (25%) doesn't make sense. For 134,000 infections, it should be around 2,500 deaths make a lot more sense given the rate outside and inside (allegedly) reported. Perhaps a zero got missed somewhere.
The fact of the matter is that 300 people out of 6000 is a big number. They're only reporting confirmed cases. So even at 2% rate, it is not bad odds.
SARS was at 10%, MERS going by memory was 40%. If your rates are correct, this would be worse than SARS but not worse than MERS. So it is possible but the hard data and evidence doesn't support it.
21
@RamS
But cases outside China have only just begun. This virus has only begun to spread in the last few weeks. People take time to fall ill and then turn for the worse. We just don't have enough information to be reassured.
17
I think the real problem is that the government *doesn’t* know how bad it is.
1
Let us not forget this is a great human tragedy. The situation is incredibly serious, incredibly dangerous and is highly destabilizing for China. The official numbers of cases do not come close to reflecting the actual scale of this disaster, for this is what it is. Despite the draconian measures now being taken by the Chinese government this could well become a pandemic with the gravest consequences for all of us.
44
Amid all this, it should give the people of the world and in particular the population of China a reality check that when your (whether it's a virus or your opinion is different) situation no longer suits that of Mr. Xi, he will very readily throw you under the bus.
The saddest thing is that Xi and his party ultimately seems more concerned about controlling the perception of his image than to address the issues.
It goes to show a lot that when the Chinese public were openly critical of the Hong Kong protesters, the "disposables" can just as easily be them.
29
The Chinese government is throwing Wuhan to the wolves in order to protect the rest of China. It's hard to interpret their actions in any other way.
32
It's very reminiscent of Chernobyl, save that the Soviets weren't embedded in everyone else's economy.
30
That's the Chinese version of the mentality that gave us hurricane forecasting by Sharpie, and disaster relief by throwing rolls of paper towels. Truth and empathy? - no. Very different styles, but the bottom line for the public is the same.
35
Xi has lost control of the situation and narrative. Building 1,000 bed hospitals in mere weeks is useless if the CCP lacks the medical resources to staff them. Sadly, this is China's Chernobyl and the damage will extend far beyond its borders.
23
Can't help but sense there seems to be a palpable feeling of judgment of China's handling of the situation. What a Mayor of Wuhan did in his poor assessment initially has turned into a criticism of China. If a mayor of a city in US did something wrong, does the world start judging the entire USA of wrongdoing?
There seems to be an opportunity of racism hiding behind anti China sentiments to surfaced in some of the social media comments.
It's a pandemic which knows no races or nationalities. China is doing what other countries including America might not be do so like locking down a population of 60 million to prevent spreading. Is that wrong?
10
@FrazierCrane rounding up people who might be sick and locking them into buildings with little or no medical care isn't humane or to be applauded.
11
@Annie They may have no other choice, if it's that bad.
1
@Annie It's not without medical care. It's standard practice in any American hospital to TRIAGE. The mildly sick ones are triaged to "mobile" hospitals like indoor stadiums or other buildings where they can put thousands of beds. It's far better than the previous situation where they were all dying at home. This way they will be given some medical attention and if their condition turns worse then they will be transported to the hospitals.
Of course it's not ideal. Can anyone suggest any better way given the circumstances?
1
If it really doubles every four days, then global pandemic is inevitable.
15
"Others wandered around in full protective clothing or with improvised safety measures, like plastic bags on their heads."
The most difficult vector for disease transmission is one's own hands. IOW: wear gloves - always!
2
@Wa8_tress Gloves transmit germs as easily or easier than hands, in some ways at least. Wash hands, often, is far sounder advice.
12
"... left this city of 11 million with a death rate from the coronavirus of 4.1 percent as of Thursday — staggeringly higher than the rest of the country’s rate of 0.17 percent. " This death rate 24 times higher than the rest of the country should be an alarming statistic. Does this indicate the trajectory for the rest of China and perhaps the world is a much higher death rate than has been typical so far, or have the attempts to isolate Wuhan so weakened the population that the ill are unable to cope with the stress of the disease?
15
@Michael Cooke If everyone stays inside, the virus is concentrated. I wish there was some reporting on cigarette smoking and Coronavirus mortality. China’s love if cigarettes can’t be helping there.
Does China’s government mean to sacrifice the entire population on the altar of their incompetence? If so, then there must be consequences in places like the United Nations, the World Bank, the WHO, and other international organizations as well as with other nation states. A country that is this primitive and callous to its own people in its response to a health crisis does not deserve an influential place in the world order.
9
@John Grabows It may be they have run out of ideas for a response that might work. Or that they see a much worse result if they don't do this. What do you think they should do now and why would that alternate course of action be effective - if anyone knows the answers rather than making guesses I think they should speak up quickly and loudly.
13
@Doug Karo
The experts don't recommend warehousing patients. Isolation and treatment is the model. Making everyone stay home seems to be the right idea. Now we have to send food and medical supplies to show that we care.
8
@Jeff Stockwell
The peasant ladies are still there with their produce hauled in from the village but animal and bird missing. Lots of packaged noodles consumed in the cities.
Factories producing needed supplies lacking their labor supply or not yet even open.
3
How are they going to feed 11 million people in Wuhan, while the epidemic is going on? Who will deliver food there, except the government trucking or flying in supplies?
14
Couldn't throwing thousands of sick people together in makeshift dorms with few medical supplies, no quality treatment and perhaps, also, little food and water, encourage a mutation of this virus into something much more virulent? This isn't just a Chinese crisis.
40
Hey World Scientists many of us are praying or rooting for you and your research teams to find a vaccine for this virus.
It is a shame, but not surprising, that once again, an authoritarian regime has put the rest of the world at risk - the act of omission in this case, is the commission of a world crime.
Free will is the human condition, willful inhibiting of another's free will, includes the act of omission of truth to Wuhan citizens and the entire planet.
I shudder to think how the current administration admires this model. ….I think we should all Pray.
8
This is like Dick Cheney and his pals not letting a crisis go to waste.
While the rest of the world is checking in with reassuring case studies showing the illness may be less risky than flu, the Chinese government is mounting a full-scale, military exercise of the surveillance and control state.
It seems to me this is a convenient dry run for suppressing dissent in the future, or for locking down Hong Kong and rounding up dissidents. There appears to be no other explanation but something of that nature for the vastly excessive reaction of the government to an epidemic.
4
My city in a different province perhaps more than 300 miles from Wuhan is following a milder version becoming common across China. The authorities’ instructing residence to stay indoors, not to walk or interact, save while shopping for food of medicine – the only businesses open.
Unpleasant yes but the principle simple: The virus is exceedingly infectious less human contact less exposure and passing time hopefully seeing a dropping rate of infection.
Why plane loads of medical supplies are not arriving, interesting; Trump did offer aid. And has Taiwan lifted its ban on export of mask?
If the W.H.O. has better options the Times can criticize and publish them otherwise perhaps praise due for China’s efforts to contain this affliction.
104
@wsmrer
I wish you well as a citizen of China near Wuhan. I can only imagine the fear and the apprehension that exist there. I think of China numerous times during the day and hope for the epidemic to resolve soon.
My concern for this area of China, as well as the part you live in, is how can the virus be contained if ventilation and heating systems are shared between floors of the larger apartment complexes that many people in china live in?
The idea of separating out patients into a compassionate hospital with treatment, seems the best option for those who are sick. Yet, lying in a hospital with minimal treatment available sounds very lonely and frightening for those who have the virus. Wishing you all much strength and compassion during this awful epidemic.
7
@wsmrer
China's response is great. Nothing can ever be perfect, specially if it is a first-off incidence.
None of the measures China is taking would be taken without delays in the West.
No country here is prepared for a calamity of this size.
Regarding the planes with suppliesnot arriving - see, the West has Christian values. Or so they say.
They are best at criticising
6
@K.M
Thank you for your kind wishes for those suffering. Reading this issue is depressing these are critical times but good things happening are not mentioned like the arrival of the military’s medical teams and the rise of 2 new hospitals housing 2300 potential patients. Those quoted are Hong Kong sources often used and some M.D. somewhere – hopefully things are not that poorly carried out. Wuhan is a university town with scientific excellent. They may make it.
3
I find it ridiculous how everyone is using this tragedy to criticize the Chinese government. Just imagine how something like this would play out in America. There is zero reason to believe the US government is any more truthful than the Chinese government. Zero. Especially this government. Our government poisoned the people of Flint and I never heard one peep about how America’s system was flawed. And imagine if we quarantined Chicago, LA or NYC. America’s culture of extreme individualism and lack of altruism would immediately spiral the entire situation completely out of control. In many ways, I think China’s government and culture are the best on planet earth for handling such a dreadful situation. Wishing the people of Wuhan the very best.
310
The US is far from perfect, but we actually have a free, uncensored press and a democratically elected government. So, yes, there is reason to believe that the government here will have to be more honest than China’s.
82
@Eric The trouble, in a nutshell, is that public health crises require an abundance of trust. Trust in institutions, in individuals, in leaders. In China, like all authoritarian regimes, there is an extreme and understandable deficit of trust. Civil society is stifled, dissent is silenced, accountability shirked, and all implications that the central leadership, rather than local bureaucrats, be held accountable is the red line no one dare cross. I'm not blindly idealistic, I know the US system has problems, but I cherish the civil liberties it affords me.
82
@Eric There's every reason to believe the U.S. government won't be removing your post or contacting you about it.
71
"Trump released his fiscal year 2020 federal budget proposal in March, recommending huge cuts across the federal government, including a 12 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a 10 percent cut for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
There is a price to pay for stupidity, avarice, greed and incompetence. I hope we won't all pay for the sins of one party.
318
@Lee That is not how that works.
The collective suffers because of their choices or failure to choose.
What does not kill one, only serves to make some louder and more strident.
Let Americans learn their lessons the hard way.
2
@Lee
Indeed. The CDC should get a huge annual increase - the military always seems to enjoy that luxury.
Oh! But "science" - heaven forbid, any disbeliever should ever have to avail itself of outdated or underfunded research-based treatments. Maybe then they will get it.
7
Blessings on the medical workers, everywhere, every day, in every circumstance.
They risk so much, always.
157
My grandmother, now 103, recalls her mother talking about the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, and the rightful panic that ensued. Nearly a century later, hopefully this virus will desist with the necessary testing, medical treatment, quarantines, and eventual vaccine. In this country, it seems like the good folks at NIH in Bethesda are working hard to find one.
7
@JM
Christiane Amanpour reported at end of her Jan. 5, 2020 broadcast that some Brit doctor/scientist was on real solid path to a coronavirus vaccine.
It was just a brief mention, but hopeful?
2
@jazz one What promising news!
1
Lot's of complaints. But what is the alternative? I don't see any reports on how this should be handled that would prevent within and then beyond China.
15
Most of the comments seem to be of the opinion that the Chinese government is losing control of the situation. The Article writes of a progression from concern to anxiety to panic within the Chinese people. Forced quarantine in camps will most likely create even greater panic (and accompanying dissent). Under these conditions, it is hard to assume economic creation and productivity are occurring. If so, very soon, "supply chains" will break. The USA, and other nations, will then experience shortages of product. And how will we react?
38
@R Nowadays thanks to the internet we can see what the people on the ground are actually facing. After the initial panic where supermarket shelves were emptied, foreigners living in Wuhan witnessed a full replenishment of the shelves the NEXT DAY!
The rest of China is standing behind the people of Wuhan with support. This is not China during Mao days.
10
@Nancy Robertson
Let's see if the folks at the top are willing to make the proper investments to make that happen.
So far, the answer has been no.
2
@R It's time for the US to become self sufficient again.
7
Such an ever-increasingly sad and tragic turn of events. To be warehoused with minimal medical care? I can't begin to imagine what individuals and families have endured during this pandemic. I lived in China for close to a year in 2018 and the locals were unfailingly lovely, gracious, and helpful. Hopefully a medical breakthrough is on the horizon.
191
@Krysta It is quite sad. Not that it's any comparison but like the victims of Katrina who had to endure poor conditions in a stadium. This is a triage for the mildy sick. The sheer numbers are inundating the hospitals who incidentally still have to care for other sick patients. They are clearly overwhelmed .
The Chinese people are indeed lovely , hardworking and gracious, mostly.
8
@Krysta
I spent 6 weeks in China visiting a friend who was teaching there. Strangers who gave directions would insist on taking me to lunch or dinner. They were so proud of China and the progress being made. The sights were amazing: Forbidden City, Xian with the clay soldier army, mercantile areas and museums, river trips, shopping in Shanghai, and visiting the old French colonial homes there. China is a big country, much like the U.S. Regional dialects and foods. It is a fascinating country with an ancient history. I wish the people in Wuhan well.
14
@Linda Miilu Of course not all Chinese are nice just like America or any country. But mostly I think the people are quite friendly and helpful. Nice people generally. Often unfairly demonized by the political leaders but fortunately there are lots of people who have either worked or travel there to see for themselves the unfair characterization of them.
1
If China doesn't lockdown the city, how fast would this epidemic spread? Maybe it would be >4% around the world. Do we think all of Africa would get access to the medical supplies they need?
I have many critiques of China's government but they are doing the best they can.
I wish the best to all Chinese people and hope their government's plan works.
Diseases of this kind are a natural part of evolution. This fact doesn't negate the unimaginable hardship on those infected and their family.
116
Desperate time call for desperate measures.
Rounding up the sick and warehousing them in quarantine centers mean the Chinese authorities have concluded they have either lost or about to lose their ability to control the spread of the disease.
70
This is beyond desperate. It cannot work. The city has 11 million people. The virus has long incubation period. It just can’t work.
18
Desperate measures ARE required in desperate times. Taking half-hearted measures is a failing strategy. Check with the folks in Puerto Rico for example.
2
@Adam Fourney So what do you recommend? Let the travel ? Only a totalitarian state like China can handle such situation because they needn´t care for human rights and they just impose whatever they want on their people. Can you imagine happennig the same in the USA with all your freedom? How would you prevent infectious people from going whatever they want? Would you be able, in other words, do you have laws which entitle US authorities, to do the same? Absolutely not. The sam esituation would be here in Europe. You could only beg and recommend. Of course USA are incomparably richer country so you would have astronomical sums at your disposal to tackle the crisis but still you couldn´t force anybody not to travel and the infection would spread much faster than in China.
1
We need to urgently provide aid since if China fails to control the epidemic we will soon be part of the pandemic. This news is proof that reports over the past days of hospitals turning people away untreated due to lack of space were true. Hospitals have reportedly been unable to handle the huge and expanding caseload. Epidemiologists now estimate the true case count is over 200,000 in Wuhan alone. For days now infectious patients have been turned away and sent home, allowing uncontrolled epidemic spread of the disease. Now Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, the official in charge of control efforts, is ordering police to sweep of every home in Wuhan to force people into mandatory quarantine camps. Videos leaking through the renewed strict censorship show struggling people frog-marched into vans by police in protective suits. Can this work? People will surely hide from being arrested and transported involuntarily to what will be a death camp for many. This is guaranteed to cause panic. Clearly the CCP is desperate. It looks like they are losing the fight to control the epidemic. My life, my daughter’s life and your life, all of us are personally at risk; if China fails the rest of the world is next.
73
@Federalist
China doesn't necessarily want our aid. They certainly don't want the aid of Trump & Co. I'm not sure the United States will do any better in containing this virus. We've defunded healthcare in this country. Yes, many of us might die as a result. There is a price to pay for choosing stupidity and tyranny.
57
@Federalist we need to look after our own. This virus has already gone global it’s just a matter of weeks before it’s all over the place.
8
@Federalist: Yes, I would not want a friend or family member to go to one of these 'warehouses'. It sounds like a death sentence because of the crowded conditions.
17
I would be surprised if 2019-nCoV does not turn out to be China's Chernobyl. Xi will have to go and the Chinese communism will face the existential crisis.
One man rule. Nobody cares to do anything right until this one man approves. The Wuhan crisis is Xi's own making. He must be punished before anyone for this tragedy.
63
@Ryan
Many no doubt have such a wish given the power structures he has taken down; but the probability slight. It is a medical problem like other plagues before it -- to pin on the head of state a stretch even in the PRC