Asia In-Depth Podcast: Coronavirus — Life at the Epicenter
Two residents wear a protective mask as they ride by a bicycle in the street on February 5, 2020, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Flights, trains and public transport including buses, subway, and ferry services have been closed for the 14th day.
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China's coronavirus crisis continues to worsen: As of Friday morning, more than 31,000 people are known to have been infected, and the death toll now exceeds 600. Here are some additional sources of information:
- The Center for Disease Control has a page providing comprehensive information about the virus from a public health perspective.
- Johns Hopkins University has an interactive map with up-to-date information on the number and location of those infected with the disease.
- Our sister site ChinaFile produced a remarkable video, published at The New York Times, consisting of drone footage from Wuhan, a massive metropolis under quarantine. See also this NYT photo essay on daily life in the city.
- Also from ChinaFile: Yale Law School Professor Taisu Zhang assesses whether the coronavirus will affect the Chinese government's legitimacy.
In last week's episode of Asia In-Depth, Dr. Thomas Inglesby, an expert at Johns Hopkins University, discussed the virus from a public health crisis, offering a comparison with other illnesses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and assessing how effective the Chinese government has been in handling the situation.
This week, we continue our coverage with a close look at the city of its origin: Wuhan. An industrial city of some 11 million in China's central Hubei province, Wuhan has seen daily life come to a standstill. As the government rushes to construct enough hospital beds to treat those infected with the virus, the city's residents — most of whom remain healthy — have been prohibited from leaving since January 23. How are Wuhan's people coping with the lockdown? And do they trust the government to handle this crisis?
In this episode, Muyi Xiao, visuals editor at ChinaFile and a native of Wuhan, relays what she's seen and heard from friends and family members back home and provides a glimpse into an anxious metropolis in the heart of China. She speaks with Susan Jakes, ChinaFile's editor, who covered the SARS crisis as a Beijing-based reporter for Time Magazine in 2003.
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