Irish in Wuhan: ‘In 24 hours, everything changed’

To say the last week being trapped in a quarantined city has been transformative is a gross understatement. Never in human history has such a mass quarantine unfolded. To be trapped in the epidemic centre and watch first hand how society slowly breaks down through fear, uncertainty and lack of resources has brought along a deeper understanding of the world we live in today.

From January 1st to January 22nd we knew Wuhan was in the middle of a viral outbreak. Even though information and updates were not readily available, citizens placed their trust in the government’s ability and had the utmost confidence that this viral outbreak could and would be contained.

However, in 24 hours everything changed. Waking up on January 23rd I was informed that my city, a city I have called home for the last 12 years, was quarantined. The quarantine order was released that night while everyone was asleep and would come into effect at 10am. The reason for this was so not to create mass fleeing from Wuhan. I woke up at 10.05am.

All major highways, toll bridges, city exits, tunnels and bridges were closed. Police were standing guard at every possible exit. There was no way out.

From there things got progressively worse. Soon afterwards, all public transportation ceased, effectively dividing Wuhan city into three isolated boroughs. Then local government banned the use of cars within the city, making life even more difficult in an already scary situation.

During this time a self isolation notice was published from the government asking people to remain in their houses unless absolutely necessary to go out. Public service announcements were played in every home explaining the virus’s high infection rate as well as precautionary measures that needed to be taken.

It’s difficult to describe one’s feeling during all this. Everything escalated so quickly, my head was spinning. As a fan of Contagion and Zombie movies, this is far too close to what I once considered fictional entertainment.

Outside, the streets were empty. Nobody to be seen except police in white hazmat suits patrolling and sterilising certain areas such as bus stops and benches. A city of approximately 11 million, Wuhan never sleeps. It was a bustling metropolis with always something happening. Now when I wake up in the morning I can hear the birds sing, a first for me in this city.

Supermarket brawls

On the day of the quarantine, mass aggressive buying started. People rushed to the supermarkets to stock up on food and water. On this day, some supermarkets took advantage and food prices in some cases increased ten fold. Fear coupled with uncertainty lead to brawls in some supermarkets over a head of lettuce.

N95 respirator masks and medicine also fell prey to mass buying. With empty shelves a common sight in the city now and supplies at a low, patience is needed while waiting for a restock. Even when that happens, I imagine it will be more of the same again.

Currently N95 masks are worth their weight in gold here. Without a mask you cannot venture outside in search of supplies or food. Here is the problem. N95 masks are like unicorns here now. Near impossible to buy unless it’s your lucky day. Recently there have been improvements with the government stabilising food prices and stock and I’m confident that more medical supplies are on the way.

The Chinese government has proved to be nothing but efficient in its handling of this crisis. Nobody could have planned for this. It’s one of these things that hits hard. Wuhan is my home. Its people have shown tremendous fortitude in the wake of this crisis.

The doctors and nurses on the front line are the real heroes in all this. A close second would have to be the construction workers who are working tirelessly to build two fully functioning hospitals with a 1,000-bed capacity each within 10 days.

Wuhan and its people have shown tremendous spirit in their volunteering efforts from local restaurants cooking meals for doctors and nurses for free, to car manufacturers donating cars to shuttle medical staff to and from the hospital.

When I think about this city a quote from one of my favourite movies – Rocky Balboa – comes to mind: “You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”

I have no doubt we will overcome this. I stand with Wuhan!

* Michael McGreal, originally from Westport, Co Mayo.