•Officials in protective suits and face masks are seen walking two of the people out while holding their arms
•86 dead in one day
The Chinese authorities have allegedly started forcefully taking away people suspected of having coronavirus from their homes.
The victims are being up in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak of the virus, and taken to camps, the London Mail reported yesterday.
The footage, filmed in Wuhan, comes after China’s Vice Premier Sun Chunlan called on a ‘people’s war’ against the fast-spreading epidemic.
Penultimate week the country’s central government ordered the city to round up all suspected patients as well as their close contacts in mass quarantine camps.
At the last count yesterday, more than 700 lives had been claimed by the virus, with 86 people dying on Friday alone.
More than 34,500 are said to have been infected across the world.
However, the officials have more trouble in removing a third person who is laying in a doorway and refusing to be picked up.
Two people try to lift him, but after having no luck they are joined by a man in a blue apron and then two other officials.
Despite the manpower, the group still struggle to lift the man who kicks out at them and struggles from the floor. Eventually three of the men manage to pick him up and carry the suspected patient down the stairs.
While in another video, said to have also been filmed in China, a woman is seen being detained by several police officers and struggling against them.
The clip was shared on Twitter claiming to show the woman being ‘arrested and put in isolation for not wearing a mask against coronavirus.’
It comes after it was revealed that China’s central government ordered Wuhan to round up all suspected patients and anyone they are thought to have been in close contact with in mass quarantine camps.
…What Coronavirus whistle blower doctor said before he died
The New York Times on Saturday published an encounter with the doctor who was among the first to warn about the coronavirus outbreak in late December.
Li Wenliang, 35, was silenced by the police and died on Friday after becoming infected with the virus.
His death set off an outpouring of grief and anger on social media, with commenters on social media demanding an apology from the authorities to Li and his family.
Excerpts from the interview:
When did you first realize that this new virus was highly contagious? It seemed that you hadn’t taken any precautions when you were infected.
I knew it when the patient I came in contact with infected her family, and I was infected right afterward. Thus I discovered it was highly contagious. The patient had no symptoms, so I got careless.
On Dec. 31, when you told people in the WeChat group about the SARS-like virus, did you do so because you had seen the high risk of human-to-human transmission?
I suspected that, and it’s always better to be cautious and take protective measures.
Why were you so suspicious at that point? Had you already received any news or heard anything?
Because there were already patients being treated under quarantine
Was that at the end of December?
Yes.
Were there other doctors who shared the information and reminded others to protect themselves from this mysterious pneumonia?
There were discussions among our colleagues.
What was everybody talking about? How did they evaluate the situation at that point?
It was that SARS might come back. We needed to be ready for it mentally. Take protective measures.
Looking back at what has happened, do you think the situation would be very different now if the Wuhan government hadn’t stopped you from warning others and sharing the information? Do you think it would have been better if the information had been more public and transparent, for the public and for doctors?
If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier, I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.
How did you feel when the police accused you of spreading rumours?
The police believed this virus was not confirmed to be SARS. They believed I was spreading rumours. They asked me to acknowledge that I was at fault.
I felt I was being wronged, but I had to accept it. Obviously I had been acting out of goodwill. I felt very sad seeing so many people losing their loved ones.
Why did you decide to become a doctor? What made you proud to be one? Can you say anything about your family?
I thought it was a very stable job. Lately, patient-doctor relationships have soured. I am happy as long as my patients are satisfied with their treatment.
My older child is 4 years and 10 months old. The younger one is still unborn, due in June. I miss my family. I talk to them by video.
How long will it take you to recover? What do you plan to do afterward?
I started coughing on Jan. 10. It will take me another 15 days or so to recover. I will join medical workers in fighting the epidemic. That’s where my responsibilities lie.
*This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
