The New York Times has reported in several articles on dire conditions in Wuhan, with very sick persons being turned away from hospital after hospital, without treatment, much less testing.
Today it’s reported Chinese authorities are ordering door-to-door home searches and roundups of the (suspected) infected in Wuhan, with quarantining at makeshift centers. There are photos of people who are apparently only mildly ill (walking on their own, carrying their own luggage) entering the quarantine centers, which are reportedly not well equipped to deliver even basic care (e.g. power failures and no heat). This is truly horrifying for the people of Wuhan. Can you imagine having a loved one fighting the flu at home, but basically doing OK, and having them being rounded up and sent to a huge containment center, not knowing if they will get adequate food and heat, much less medical care?
Also, NY Times says Dr. Li “reportedly near death,” as Times tends to be more careful with their sourcing than many other news outlets. So here’s hoping he’s still alive and will recover, but I fear the worst.
would any of you be concerned with having your child attend an overnight stay / visit at a potential college at this time? I have to admit I am concerned.
"Wuhan Central Hospital has denied that Li Wenliang — one of the eight doctors who tried to alert the public about the coronavirus when it was first emerging in Wuhan only to be reprimanded by local police — has died.
“In the fight against the pneumonia epidemic of the new coronavirus infection, our hospital’s ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was unfortunately infected. He is currently in critical condition and we are trying our best to resuscitate him," it said in its official Weibo account."
I would be very concerned if my kid did not have a flu shot. Other than that, I would send them off with a bottle of hand sanitizer, a tube of handwashing soap, and a few Chlorox napkins for the plane.
I wouldn’t be any more concerned than any other year. I’d be more concerned about things like mono, meningitis, and the seasonal flu than this coronavirus
Something about this just isn’t sitting right. I wasn’t even thinking that the virus was more lethal than we thought (though now that that idea’s there, I can’t get rid of it), I was more thinking he was neglected because of his whistleblower status.
I really hope I’m just overthinking/over-worrying.
So hospital update. At least at the Umich satellite clinics, there are signs everywhere asking people who have recently visited China to wear masks.
This wasn’t in place as of late last week. They also asked if we had contact with anyone with the virus or anyone who had traveled to China. I know one of these questions was asked as of last week but don’t remember which one.
Anyone think it’s odd that they are cremating bodies rather than burying? I just thought it odd given they aren’t sure how it spreads. But might just be too much pressure on the funeral industry during the quarantine.
I wouldn’t worry about my kid visiting a college. I don’t think the flu shot is going to help though. I would tell them to wash their hands all the time. Not sure I’d want them to fly. Depends in the route.
Oh god. There are tons of RUMORS about crematoriums, including someone who mentioned it here without a link to a reputable source. Please do NOT propagate “news” without verifying it first.
Re: cremation, I would think it would be quicker, easier disposal of the bodies and no funeral services where people would gather. Plus, if they are finding the virus in feces, etc. quicker cremation can lower exposures.
I’ve also read online that even before the virus, the Chinese government has been encouraging cremation over burials for years now.
Googling cremations in China, the news that pop up are (a) protests over permits to build a creamtoriun dated well before the earliest news about this outbreak and (b) Daily Mail “news” citing “a Chinese crematorium worker.” Plus the usual Reddit etc. panic threads.