Corona Virus outbreak - how we're coping

These days, China is having grim flashbacks from the latest outbreak of SARS-Corona (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) - the virus that infected 8,098 people in 2002/2003 and resulted in 774 deaths - mainly in Mainland China and Hong Kong.  A new corona virus (which, like SARS, spreads from animal to human - and from human to human) has now been identified and is causing great concern. As of yesterday, there were 544 confirmed cases of Corona virus in China - and 17 deaths.  ​

Corona Virus - how this outbreak started

​The central Chinese city of Wuhan is the epicentre of this whole story. It is believed that the outbreak started at a Wuhan food market that, among other things, sells meat from wild animals such as wolves, rats and even Koalas. The market has now been closed down. 

There has been speculation that authorities were trying to downplay the seriousness of this outbreak - but President Xi has said that it must be taken seriously and that “Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people’s lives and health first.” 

Terrible timing
The timing of the corona virus outbreak could not be much worse! Chinese New Year is upon us (the actual day being tomorrow, Friday) which means that the country's largest yearly migration started earlier this week. People go home to spend New Year's with their families and according to Bloomberg, China’s railways expect 440 trips to be made while some 79 million passengers will take flights. However, passengers from Wuhan will not be able to travel anywhere. As from today, 23 January, the city is in lockdown halting all public transport and cancelling flights. As for other cities in China, long queues are expected at airports as extra health checks such as temperature screenings will be carried out.

Travelers at Beijing South Station. January 22nd. Photo by Pluto Liu

Travelers at Beijing South Station. January 22nd. Photo by Pluto Liu

Everyday life precautions and consequences
​
While we're trying not to panic about the situation, it is no secret that the Corona virus outbreak makes life in Beijing a little bit gloomy these days. Especially after 10 cases have been confirmed here. We constantly receive messages from the office, from schools, on WeChat groups, from Beijing expat magazines etc. They are mainly about cancelled activities, symptoms to look out for and measures to take.

Email from our kids' school Western Academy of Beijing from this morning. Such a pity for the yearly temple fair and spring festival assembly are really special

Received this in several WeChat groups this week

This is from Business Insider

All we can do for now is be careful and use our common sense. We'll be wearing masks when we find ourselves in crowded places and respecting the general hygiene rules.