The situation with the new coronavirus CoVID-2019 is getting more tense every day. On February 29, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the maximum threat level of the coronavirus epidemic. This is the highest level of risk in the WHO gradation. Experts say that it is still possible to contain the spread of coronavirus infection. To do this, it is necessary to block all routes of the virus spread. Recall that the outbreak of CoVID-2019 began in December last year in the city of Wuhan. Shortly after the spread of the infection, the Chinese government took unprecedented quarantine measures.
Timeline of events in Wuhan
Recently, a video in English was published on the official international channel of the PRC CGTN with a detailed story about how the fight against coronavirus took place in Wuhan. The video begins with a story about the city of Wuhan, which has a population of 11 million. By January 23, according to official figures, the number of infected people was 495. To prevent the spread of the virus, it was decided to close the city for quarantine. Immediately thereafter, medical personnel from all over the country arrived in Wuhan. On the morning of January 24, construction began on a hospital for 1000 beds, which was completed in 10 days. Construction of another hospital soon followed.
However, despite the measures taken, the disease continued to spread and by the second of February the number of infected people reached five thousand. The next day, construction began on three temporary hospitals; On February 7, the Chinese government asked to send medical personnel from 19 provinces to Hubei province, and by February 11, the number of reported cases in Wuhan had reached 20,000. Three days later, more than 400 military doctors arrived at the epicenter of the outbreak; On February 15, the number of people infected with CoVID-2019 was 39 thousand people. During this time, more than 1,500 doctors contracted the new coronavirus, many of them died.
By February 23, taking into account the growth of new infections, the production of protective masks was increased, two hospitals, 13 temporary hospitals were built, the number of first-aid posts reached 40. In total, more than 40 thousand places were created for infected and 70 thousand quarantine places. “Nobody was left without attention,” says the announcer. The video ends with the words that the rate of spread of the virus in China has slowed down to date, and the WHO director praised the actions taken by the Chinese government. But can the information of the state-owned media of the PRC be trusted?
Promotional video:
What are the people of Wuhan saying?
Despite the fact that the actions of the PRC authorities in the fight against the new coronavirus were decisive - which is just the construction of hospitals in the shortest possible time - in the Chinese state media, the only acceptable story is the story of the heroic struggle of the Chinese people, brave doctors and people who donate money anonymously. But is everything really the way the state media tell about it?
The number of CoVID-2019 infected worldwide has exceeded 80 thousand people.
Interviews with residents of Hubei province, which is still the center of the epidemic, show a more complex picture - sadness, boredom, despair. This is reported by The New York Times in a recently published video. According to American journalists, residents of Wuhan and quarantined cities publish information about what is happening on social networks, but such posts are very quickly deleted - censorship. Videos of overcrowded hospitals and patients who are not being treated due to a lack of medical staff are quickly disappearing from social media.
The deserted streets of the million-plus city Wuhan.
A journalist for News. Sky.com interviewed several Wuhan residents. Mr. Peng spoke about his father, who spent three days in a quarantine facility without any medical assistance. As a result, the elderly man fell into a coma and died soon after. Mr. Peng is not told what happened to his body. Another Wuhan resident Maya, in a conversation with a journalist via Skype, said that her friends, who worked in one of the hospitals in Wuhan, said practically nothing about what was happening. At the time of the conversation, Maya is locked in her apartment with her mother and small child, and a guard is on duty at their door. The woman is not dissatisfied, but criticizes the authorities for taking so long to take action. Maya also noted that it is very difficult to speak openly about the situation with the coronavirus in China.
According to The Wall Street Journal, after the tragic death of the doctor who was the first to talk about the coronavirus and was arrested, the citizens of the Celestial Empire are demanding freedom of speech. At the same time, in connection with the threat of a pandemic in the world and the situation in China, WHO experts previously expressed the opinion that in order to avoid the spread of infection, some human rights can be neglected.
Lyubov Sokovikova