China 'is covering up number of dead' says teacher stranded in Wuhan
by Sam CorbishleyA British teacher stranded in Wuhan says he is ‘taking each day as it comes’ after missing the last rescue flight out of the city.
Tom Ellender, 37, failed to register with the British consulate in time to secure himself a seat on the chartered plane carrying 83 Brits back to the UK today.
He is now ‘running low’ on face masks and said he ‘doesn’t know what is going to happen’ next to the others still stuck there.
Tom told Metro.co.uk: ‘All I can do is hope another flight is in the works.’
Having previously taught English as a second language across Asia, Tom moved to Wuhan last October and was due to embark on a new job once his broken foot had healed.
The teacher, from south London, said: ‘I was just about recovering physically and financially when the virus struck.’
Since then it has ravaged Hubei province, killing 213 and infecting more than 10,000 worldwide.
As of Friday there were reportedly more than 9,700 coronavirus cases confirmed in China.
In a somewhat delayed response to the growing health emergency the Chinese authorities imposed a lockdown on Wuhan’s 11 million residents and severe travel curbs on other cities in Hubei.
The rapid quarantine, at a time when the infection numbers were still relatively low, sparked fears the government was covering up the true extent of the crisis.
Tom remarked: ‘Of course they have [covered it up]. The Wuhan mayor’s head rolled to help conceal everything.
‘I have no idea what the real figures are but there was talk about a potential outbreak all the way back in early December I think.
‘There’s no way of knowing what the real figures are in China. Plus only “confirmed” cases are being mentioned. There must be many more unconfirmed cases.’
Tom said it felt like the UK’s response to the outbreak ‘was all very rushed’, with some Brits not given enough time to make the rescue flight because there aren’t any taxis operating in the city.
He added: ‘Britain seems to have been slow off the mark. I don’t know if it’s related to Brexit. I suspect it is.
‘They’ve probably done the best that they can. I know that some people have had to leave their partners and children behind. There’s a heck of lot of bureaucratic red tape probably.’
With Wuhan and much of Hubei still under confinement, Tom said the bustling city he first moved to now looks ‘like a wasteland’.
‘I went for a walk on Lunar New Year’s Day and it felt like an apocalypse. It was almost like I was the last person on Earth,’ he added.
‘I went for another the day that the Spring Festival Gala aired on TV.
‘Everywhere was just completely empty and deserted. Every single shop, shopping mall and restaurant was shut. Public transport had come to a complete halt. It was incredibly sombre.’
In addition to a ban on cars and public transport to prevent the virus spreading, the government of Wuhan ordered all residents must wear face masks in public places.
But Tom said: ‘Not everyone is following the rules. I’ve seen people walking around my apartment complex without masks and openly smoking on the fire steps.
‘Supposedly fines are being imposed on people that don’t wear them by the police.’
Residents are also subjected to temperature checks before being allowed in to certain buildings.
However, rather than being carted off to hospital should someone register an adverse reading, they ‘simply won’t be allowed in’ and remain free to keep wandering around.
Tom said: ‘You won’t be taken away because there aren’t the resources. Things are stretched to the absolute limit.
‘Not even the doctors and nurses have enough protective gear for themselves. I think because of the widespread panic, things like face masks have now sold out nationwide.’
He described seeing reports online that some areas on the outskirts of the city had even organised militia and roadblocks in an effort to keep infected people out.
As the lockdown continues, Tom described how there is also very little mentally to do to escape the virus.
He said: ‘I’m trying to distract myself and keep busy as best I can. I recall having a bad fever for three days back in December, so I may well have had the virus already.
‘I’m just taking each day as it comes.’
As well as conserving his last remaining respirators, Tom said he is now ‘washing and sanitizing my hands as soon as I come through my front door and immediately after cooking or touching anything outside my room’.
Tom has launched a gofundme page to get himself back to the UK and back on his feet.
What is the coronavirus and where did it start?
Coronaviruses are a family of diseases which include the common cold and the virus which caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which originated in China in 2002 and killed nearly 800 people around the world.
The virus causing concern now is a new strain which has made the jump from animals to people.
It causes flu-like symptoms and can make it hard for people to breathe, causing viral pneumonia in severe cases.
Over 100 people worldwide have now died after contracting the illness.
The virus is more likely to progress into a severe illness or prove fatal among older patients or those with weakened immune systems.
As it is a viral illness, antibiotics will not help and there is no known cure or vaccine.
What are the symptoms of the virus? .
The Foreign Office has warned against all but essential travel to mainland China, and British Airways has subsequently suspended flights there.
They have not advised against travel to Thailand and Japan, which have both seen cases of the virus, but warned there are enhanced quarantine procedures at entry points to Japan such as airports and ports.
If you’re booked onto a flight with BA and are scheduled to fly between January 26 – February 23, you can request a refund.
In order to do this, get in touch with them directly through the BA website.
They also offer the option to rebook to the same destination, although it is not known when flights to mainland China will resume.
Can I get a refund on my BA flights?
Is it safe to travel to Thailand?
Is it safe to travel to Japan as the coronavirus spreads?
To avoid the illness, take usual hygiene precautions, such as using a tissue to cover coughs and sneezes, and making sure to wash your hands.
Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth after touching things like poles on public transport and avoid close contact with people suffering an acute respiratory infection.
You should also avoid unprotected contact with wild or farm animals.
So far, no cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK.
Almost 100 people have been tested for it here, with all of the tests coming back negative.
How many people in the UK have it?
The virus originated in the city of Wuhan in China, where it is believed to have made the jump from animals to people at a seafood market.
Wuhan is the capital of China’s Hubei province, a landlocked province in central China.
It is built along the Yangtze river, and is around 500 miles west of Shanghai and 690 miles north of Hong Kong.
It is the largest and most populous city in central China, although estimates over its population vary.