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“In Wuhan, an end of the world atmosphere”

“It is scary. I feel trapped, a little like in the Middle Ages at the time of the big plagues, we feel like plague victims and you will die there if that is your destiny. ” This 50-year-old European professor has lived in Wuhan for several years and found herself stranded in this immense megalopolis of 11 million inhabitants, at the heart of the epidemic of the new coronavirus, quarantined by the Chinese government since Thursday 23 January in the morning. An unprecedented decision in China and perhaps even in the world on this scale.

Huanggang, a metropolis of 7.5 million people located 70 km east of Wuhan, is also expected to be placed in de facto quarantine late Thursday. Train traffic will be halted until further notice, the town hall said.

→ READ. Coronavirus: Under Pressure China Finally Takes Concrete Action

In Wuhan, “cIt’s an end-of-the-world vibe, the city is usually so vibrant. The streets are empty, a few poor peasants and tramps wander in deserted avenues. There is no longer any public transport, bus or metro. Everything is closed, shops, restaurants, cafes ”, describes our witness.

Crazy rumors circulate on social networks

This European teacher nevertheless saw some scooters and taxis as well as small groups of women running towards the small neighborhood supermarkets. “I went down this morning to get water and rice, but the shelves were already gone, there are no more vegetables or oil. At the entrance, an employee took the temperature of each customer … I managed to reach the big Walmart where I bought the last four bottles of water. I can last a few days. “

She decided not to leave her house anymore “Until the end of the Lunar New Year holidays on January 28”. The 50-year-old no longer wants to watch television, which, she says, only broadcasts irrelevant propaganda. On the social networks, the wildest rumors circulate, like this message which she received, whose assertions are impossible to confirm: ” Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. today (Thursday January 23) everyone must absolutely stay cloistered with the windows closed. People with fever should go to the hospital. The air force will fly over the city and spread a disinfectant powder. ” This last the script was denied a few hours later on television, she said.

In his eyes, such radical decisions in China would not be surprising. “There the government seems ready for anything. We see police and the military at the station, at the airport, and on highways. We are under siege. It’s scary. We’re in a science fiction movie we don’t know the epilogue of. “

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