Vancouver couple describes life trapped in Wuhan as B.C. reports first case of coronavirus here
Credit to Author: Susan Lazaruk| Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 02:54:25 +0000
The most frightening thing for a Vancouver couple stranded in the city of Wuhan, ground zero of China’s coronavirus outbreak, is not knowing what’s coming next.
“At first when they started the travel ban, I wasn’t too scared because I thought it would be maybe a week or two,” said Edward Yuan, 28, a website developer who is on a honeymoon and extended vacation in Wuhan with his wife, Eve Xiao, 27.
While the couple was worrying about how to get home, B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed on Tuesday the province had recorded its first probable case.
It’s a man in his 40s who lives in Metro Vancouver and who last week returned from a China business trip, which he spent mostly in Wuhan. It will take 48 hours for tests to confirm the diagnosis. The man is recovering at home where he voluntarily isolated himself, said Henry. No other family members are showing symptoms.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says the risk of spread of this virus within British Columbia remains low at this time.
Yuan and Xiao left for their trip in November and spent about a month in Japan before travelling to Wuhan to visit his and her grandmothers.
On Jan. 23, the Chinese government, when there were 830 cases and about two dozen deaths, banned all travel to, from and in the city of 11 million.
The number of cases in China has since climbed to 6,000 and at least 107 deaths. The disease has been confirmed in a handful of other Asian countries and beyond, including possibly Canada.
Yuan said the shutdown of buses, trains, ferries, flights and private vehicles was announced at 2 a.m. and took effect eight hours later. The couple’s Feb. 8 plane tickets were cancelled and the money refunded, and then the gravity of the quarantine sank in.
“The most panicking thing is the Chinese government at first just banned the trains and the next thing is they ban all travel, so you don’t really know what’s next,” he said.
“There is pretty much nothing on the street,” he said, adding they rarely leave the house of his wife’s family. “We just watch TV. I don’t go out. I can leave but you can just walk, there are no public buses, no taxis, no private cars.”
The family has about a week’s worth of food and Yuan said “you can probably still get some food in stores.”
Edward Yuan, 27, of Vancouver stands on deserted street at around 8 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2020 in Wuhan, after a travel ban to try to contain the coronavirus flu outbreak.
Yuan said he’s anxious to get home because his mother is on her own and “she worries too much” about him, her only child, and he’s worried he may lose his job if he doesn’t return to work in early February. He’s got a mortgage to pay.
His mother, Jessie Yuan, said in Vancouver that she is concerned about her son and daughter-in-law. “They feel trapped. They just stay at home and they’re scared.”
Edward Yuan said he has tried to call the Canadian embassy, which was closed for Chinese New Year, and said he expects Canada to fly its citizens home, as other countries are doing.
Global Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Tuesday of the 250 registered with Global Affairs to say they were in Wuhan, 126 have asked for help and Ottawa is assessing their needs. That could include sending a plane to fly them home, he said.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said she doesn’t yet know whether any of those people are sick or would be quarantined in Canada if they do come home to prevent any possible spread.
She also said the risk in Canada is low, “a sign that the system is working.”
“When we can confirm cases quickly, when we can actually do the appropriate investigations, that’s when we can contain the spread,” she said.
The B.C. government also said the risk of the virus spreading in the province remains low.
Local institutions are gearing up to prepare for an outbreak, if necessary.
At UBC, posters are going up recommending frequent hand washing, sneezing and coughing into your elbow not your hand and going to Student Health Services if you feel ill, said UBC’s director of university affairs, Matt Ramsay.
Schools are on alert. “We will have health authorities working closely with school districts about if there is a risk of exposure or an infection outbreak amongst the school age population,” said Education Minister Rob Fleming.
B. C. Emergency Health Services dispatchers are asking 911 callers with fever or respiratory symptoms about recent travel or close contact with anyone who has been to China or other countries where the virus has been reported and flagging them for paramedics or receiving hospital, said spokeswoman Shannon Miller.
Most of the region’s drug stores have been sold out of N95 flu masks for several days. Masks are still available online but most sellers are warning of delays and high demand.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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