The New and Improved Plague

The public health authorities in Wuhan, are in a “state of war” as they are rushing to quarantine the city. For what purpose? A deadly virus is currently ravaging this Chinese City and has since spread to other places in China and elsewhere.  As of today, there are at least 81 reported deaths and 2,800 people who have been infected.  Last Wednesday, the city made the first move to stop an epidemic; closing public transportation, that means no airport, metro, bus-hubs, or train stations are leaving or entering the city. Passengers who may have entered or left Wuhan before then are being screened for the virus upon arrival. However, this quarantine has proved to be somewhat futile, as there have been cases of the disease in virtually every province in China (including Hong Kong).

Many Chinese social media influencers are angry with Wuhan’s Mayor, Zhou Xianwang, for his poor handling of the outbreak. Some are even calling for him to step down. The decisions he has made were, to put it simply, abrupt. The city has a population of 11 million citizens. Many of these citizens travel for the Chinese New Year. In fact, 3 billion people travel for the new year worldwide. Telling 11 million people that you’re going to shut down all public transportation in less than eight hours notice is going to be controversial. However, he’s doing everything in his power to attempt to contain this rapidly spreading virus.

Some people suspect that authorities originally knew about the virus for longer than they let on to the public, because of the spike number of reported cases in China. So far, the virus and its many strains have been found in The U.S, Macao, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The number of imposed travel restrictions are increasing, as more cases are being reported every hour. While authorities are doing everything they can in their rather delayed reaction to the outbreak, nobody truly knows where we’re headed.