Africans in Wuhan: Homesick and fearful of coronavirus
Nigerian student Abdul Salam Aji Suleiman says he’s hardly left his apartment for the past two weeks. He’s studying in Wuhan, a city of 11 million which is at the center of the coronavirus outbreak. Wuhan has been locked down since late January and now Suleiman only goes out when it’s absolutely necessary, such as to buy food.
“Before we go out, we have to wear these really good masks to cover the nose and mouth,” Suleiman, a student at Huazhong University, told DW.
He wishes the Nigerian Embassy would get him and other Nigerians out of China.
“That’s the feeling of all Nigerians who live here – they want to go home because they’re scared of the virus,” he says.
More than a dozen countries around the world have evacuated, or have plans to evacuate, their nationals from the virus-hit city.
More than 160 Moroccans arrived home last Sunday in an evacuation operation that will see them quarantined under medical supervision in two military hospitals for around 20 days.
Algeria has also airlifted out Algerians, Tunisians and Libyan citizens.
Kenya announces evacuation plans
On Wednesday, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said his country is preparing to evacuate Kenyan students trapped in Wuhan.
“We are also working, because we have got a good number of our students there, to see how we can support them and find out how we can … ensure that they are put in quarantine for the required 14 days and ensure that they are not going to spread that virus around,” Kenyatta was quoted as saying by Daily Nation, a Kenyan news outlet.
So far, Kenya is the only country from sub-Saharan Africa that has announced plans to evacuate nationals.
Senegalese President Macky Sall said earlier this week that Senegal couldn’t match “big countries” in organizing emergency evacuations, pointing to the charter flights, medical personnel and quarantine facilities necessary for such an operation.
“We are in contact with the students and we are able to support them financially,” said Sall. “But repatriation is not so easy.”
On Wednesday, the families of 13 Senegalese studying in Wuhan demanded that the students be airlifted to safety.
“Our children demand a minimum, their right to be rescued by their motherland,” said Yoro Ba, representing the families, at a news conference in Dakar.
Read more: How Africa is preparing for the coronavirus
More than a dozen countries have been working to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan but African countries aren’t planning to follow suit
No money, no food
The area around Wuhan has been cordoned off. The metropolis is now a quarantined ghost town. Public transport is shut down, most stores and supermarkets are closed, and the cost of some food products has increased tenfold.
The skyrocketing prices are making life even more difficult for the African students.
Seidou Keita, one of around 20 students from Guinea living in Wuhan, says that if his government can’t bring them home, it should at least provide financial support. With banks closed in Wuhan, relatives can’t even send money to help them out, Keita explained.
“We’ve nearly run out of cash. Other Guineans here have shared their money with us to get us through the past few days.
Masters student Nankouman Kieta added that the Guinean students had almost run out of food. “The situation is quite difficult at the moment,” he said.
Guinea’s embassy in Beijing has asked the students to be patient, he said.
Read more: How will the coronavirus affect the world economy?
Wuhan’s streets are more or less deserted with the city in lockdown following the outbreak of coronavirus
A 20-year-old computer science student from Ethiopia also told DW she wants to return home. Although she’s in good health, it’s hard being cooped up inside.
“Because of the spread of the disease, we can’t go out,” she told DW. “Fortunately, we don’t have any health problems at the moment. But for how long can you sit in a closed room? Let us return to our country!”
Fears coronavirus could wreak havoc in Africa
Africa hasn’t yet had a confirmed case of coronavirus.
Ghana, however, reported on Thursday two suspected cases in foreign nations, a Chinese and an Argentine citizen, according to Ghanaian media.
The two presented themselves to a hospital in Accra on Wednesday and authorities have sent off samples for further analysis, local media reported.
“They’ve all developed some symptoms that fit the case definition [but] it doesn’t mean they have the disease,” Pulse online, quoted Dr Winifred Baah from the Ghana Medical Association as saying.
Ethiopia, Kenya, Ivory Coast and Botswana have also reported suspected cases; however, subsequent tests came back negative.
Africa and China have a many links. But seven out of eight African airlines with flights to China have discontinued these routes, the most recent being Air Algerie.
Only Ethiopian Airlines is continuing to operate its regular services of 35 flights a week to five Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong.
Read more: Coronavirus: Everything you need to know
Experts say many lessons were learned from the most recent outbreak of Ebola in DR Congo
Lessons learned from Ebola?
At a press conference in Geneva on Monday, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus compared the situation to the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo. Both epidemics showed the importance of being prepared instead of panicking.
“The [Ebola] outbreak has been steadily declining,” he said. “This is an incredible public triumph. Five years ago, we had no vaccine and no therapies for Ebola. Now we can say, Ebola is preventable and treatable.”
But although many African countries have learned from the Ebola crisis and developed early warning systems, WHO has said it is concerned about the virus entering countries with weak health care systems, as is the case in many African nations.
Virologist Ndongo Dia from the Pasteur Institute in Dakar says the most important thing is being able to quickly determine whether someone has contracted the new virus.
She thinks Senegal, at least, is well-prepared.
“We have already succeeded in meeting this challenge. We have everything we need,” she said.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Pneumonia-like virus hits Wuhan
On December 31, 2019, China notifies the World Health Organization of a string of respiratory infections in the city of Wuhan, home to some 11 million people. The root virus is unknown and disease experts around the world begin working to identify it. The strain is traced to a seafood market in the city, which is quickly shut down. Some 40 people are initially reported to be infected.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
New strain of coronavirus identified
Researchers initially rule out the SARS virus, the deadly respiratory illness that originated in China in 2002, killing nearly 800 people worldwide. On January 7, Chinese scientists announce they’ve identified a new virus. Like SARS and the common cold, it is in the coronavirus family. It is temporarily named 2019-nCoV. Symptoms include fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
First death in China
On January 11, China announces the first death from the coronavirus — a 61-year-old man, who had shopped at the Wuhan market, dies from complications with pneumonia.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Virus reaches neighboring countries
In the following days, countries such as Thailand and Japan begin to report cases of infections in people who had visited the same Wuhan market. In China, a second fatality is confirmed in the city. By January 20, three people have died in China and more than 200 are infected.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Transmission unclear
Through mid-January, scientists scramble to find out how the illness is being spread among people. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted from animals to people. Some coronaviruses can be transmitted by coughing and sneezing. Airports around the world begin screening passengers arriving from China. On January 20, officials confirm the virus can be passed directly between humans.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Millions under lockdown
China places Wuhan on quarantine on January 23 in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. Transportation is suspended and workers attempt to quickly build a new hospital to treat infected patients, which total over 830 by January 24, as the death toll climbs to 26. Officials eventually extend the lockdown to 13 other cities, affecting at least 36 million people.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
A global health emergency?
More and more cases are confirmed outside of China, including in South Korea, the US, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. As the number of infections rises, the World Health Organization on January 23 determines that it’s “too early” to declare a global public health emergency.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Coronavirus reaches Europe
On January 24, French authorities confirm three cases of the new coronavirus within its borders, marking the disease’s first appearance in Europe. Hours later, Australia confirms four people have been infected with the respiratory virus.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Lunar New Year holiday extended
The Chinese Lunar New Year begins with subdued festivities on January 25. Officials cancel many major events in a bid to contain the outbreak, as millions of Chinese travel and take part in public celebrations. By late January, 17 Chinese cities, home to more than 50 million people, are in lockdown. Lunar New Year holidays are extended by three days to limit population flows.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Borders with Mongolia, Hong Kong, eastern Russia close
Cambodia confirms its first case, while Mongolia shuts its border with China for cars and Russia closes its borders in three regions in the Far East. The cost to global tourism is put in the billions and oil prices also plummet. The death toll rises to 41, with over 1,300 infected worldwide — mostly in China. Scientists hope to have the first coronavirus vaccines ready within three months.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Germany braces for virus
On January 27, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says Germany is considering evacuating German nationals from Wuhan. There are no reported cases in Germany yet but officials are preparing to fight the virus. German researchers in Marburg are part of international efforts to work on a possible vaccine for the coronavirus. The death toll in China reaches 81, with 2,700 affected worldwide.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
First cases confirmed in Germany
On January 27, Germany announces its first known case of the virus — a 33-year-old in Bavaria who contracted it during a workplace training with a visiting Chinese colleague. He is put under quarantine and observation at a Munich hospital. The following day, three of his colleagues are confirmed infected. The death toll in China reaches 132, with around 6,000 infected worldwide.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
International evacuations begin
On January 28, Japan and the US are the first countries to evacuate some of their citizens from Wuhan. Four of the Japanese passengers are taken to the hospital with fevers on arrival. Australia and New Zealand say they will also send planes to bring their citizens home. Global cases mount to nearly 6,000 infections, more than the 2002-03 SARS outbreak that killed roughly 800 people.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
WHO declares global health emergency
On January 30, the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern in a bid to protect countries with “weaker health systems.” However, WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not recommend trade and travel restrictions, saying these would be “an unnecessary disruption.”
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
Wuhan evacuees arrive in Germany
On February 1, 124 people including 102 Germans arrived at Frankfurt airport after being evacuated from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, on a German Air Force flight. The evacuees were taken to military barracks in Germersheim where they were set to be quarantined for 14 days. At least two of the evacuees were said to be infected with the new virus.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
First death outside China
The first death linked to the novel coronavirus outside of China was reported in the Philippines on February 2. A 44-year-old Chinese man had traveled from Wuhan to Manila before falling ill and being taken to hospital, where he later died of pneumonia.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the deadly virus in China and worldwide
New coronavirus hospital in just 10 days
The Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Hospital in Wuhan, built in just over a week, opened on February 3. The hospital aimed to use a mix of both Western and traditional Chinese medicine to treat those infected with the coronavirus.
Zahraddeen Umar, Dutsen Kura, Reliou Koubakin and Lidet Abebe contributed to this article.
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/africans-in-wuhan-homesick-and-fearful-of-coronavirus/a-52269163?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf