Trapped in a Quarantined City

A harrowing first-hand account from Huanggang, the Hubei city next to virus epicenter Wuhan.

In just four days, my family experienced a dramatic turn of events, and we got trapped in Huanggang—the second Chinese city quarantined after Wuhan—due to the coronavirus outbreak. The last month has been a difficult time for my family as well as many others throughout the country. We are looking forward to the end of the epidemic.

 Dr. Kevin Mo, Managing Director , Paulson Institute Representative Office in Beijing, China

To go or not to go?

At midnight on January 19, my family and I arrived by high-speed rail to my hometown of Huanggang, which is the city next to Wuhan in Hubei Province. My kids were looking forward to celebrating the Lunar New Year with their beloved grandma and aunt in our annual reunion.

While in Beijing, we heard rumors that there were people in Wuhan who were infected with a new kind of deadly virus that could be very contagious. But the Wuhan authorities firmly denied the allegations, saying that the virus was “preventable” and “controllable.” The police had caught eight people for spreading “groundless” rumors on the Internet.  We remained cautious, nonetheless.

One day before our departure, Wuhan held a Guinness World Record food festival, attended by more than 40,000 households who presented 13,986 delicious homemade meals. We felt relieved. Approaching the Lunar New Year, getting even one railway ticket had become extremely difficult and expensive, and I had to pay a scalper to secure tickets for my family. So, we decided to go ahead. The train passed Wuhan before arriving in Huanggang.

Not until several days later did we learn from the news that, on the same night, Zhong Nanshan, China’s top virus expert and a national hero from the SARS outbreak in 2003, was hurrying back to Beijing after a one-day survey in Wuhan on the virus situation.

Wuhan held a Guinness World Record food festival, attended by more than 40,000 households that presented 13,986 delicious homemade meals.

Is there still time to get out?

On January 20, we started holiday shopping but got an ominous sign. In a press conference held by the National Health Commission, Mr. Zhong warned people, ‘Do not travel to Wuhan unless necessary, and people in Wuhan do not get out unless necessary.’ However, on the same evening, the Hubei provincial government held an extravagant gala to celebrate the Lunar New Year. We were utterly perplexed, trying to decipher the situation.

On January 21, President Xi instructed the public on the coronavirus outbreak, stating that a nationally leading team, chaired by Premier Li, would be set up to deal with the epidemic. The situation suddenly looked extremely serious, underlined now by the unprecedentedly swift actions from the top Chinese leaders.

One day later, Wuhan launched a Public Health Emergency. Rumors began to spread that Wuhan would be completely locked down soon, blocking our way back to Beijing. We quickly evaluated the situation and came up with an alternative plan. If we couldn’t go through Wuhan for a train or flight, we would go to Nanchang, the capital city of the neighboring Jiangxi province, which also serves flights to Beijing.

However, the situation changed too quickly for us to react.

  • At 2 a.m. on the morning of January 23, the Wuhan government announced that the entire city would be locked down at 10 a.m., closing all highways, train stations, and airports. This marked the first time in New China’s 70 years of history that a city was completely quarantined for a public health emergency. By contrast, Beijing was not locked down during the SARS outbreak in 2003.
  • Waking up in the morning and hearing this extraordinary news, we got agitated about another rumor that Huanggang would follow suit. We discussed whether to escape to Nanchang now or wait until after the Lunar New Year that was only one day away.
  • At about 6 p.m., the Huanggang government announced it would lock down the entire city by midnight, becoming the second Chinese city to be ultimately quarantined.

In less than one day, our small window to escape was closed while we tried to digest the once-in-a-lifetime incident.

Four days later, the confirmed infection cases in Wuhan rose to 698, with 63 deaths, and the Mayor admitted at a national press conference that five million people had already gotten out of Wuhan before the lockdown. The entire country was shocked and fell into a panic.

Confirmed Cases in Hubei by City (as of Feb 9). Wuhan is the darkest city, with Huanggang (upper right of Wuhan) and Xiaogan (upper left of Wuhan).

How serious?

The number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus skyrocketed since China started daily disclosure on January 24. As of February 9, in just a little over two weeks, 37,288 cases have been confirmed nationwide, including 813 deaths. No province or municipality in mainland China is immune. But Wuhan is undoubtedly the epicenter of the crisis, accounting for 40.1% of the total confirmed cases and 74.8% of the deaths.

Huanggang is the second most populous city in Hubei Province, with 7.5 million people, compared with Wuhan’s 11 million. But Huanggang is much poorer in terms of economic output. Only one hospital in Huanggang is rated AAA, the best class by China’s standard, compared with more than 30 AAA-rated hospitals in Wuhan. Therefore, Huanggang’s health care system is under tremendous strain. Even worse, it's been reported that half a million people from Wuhan entered Huanggang before the lockdown.

The amount of travelers most likely aided in spreading the virus.

You can probably blame the high-speed rail for spreading the infection so quickly—it takes less than 40 minutes for a shuttle train to run between Wuhan and Huanggang. In Beijing, it takes at least 55 minutes to get to Tsinghua University from my apartment. A study shows that China’s fast-growing train network contributes significantly to mobility but opens more routes for virus infection.

How is daily life?

Four days ago, the Huanggang government initiated even stricter rules to contain the infections:

  • Blocked all streets, and locked down all communities allowing only one family member to go out for shopping necessities once every two days.
  • If one family member is suspected of infection, the entire family will be sent to a quarantine center for 14 days.
  • Anyone outdoors without a mask will be detained. But masks are out of stock in the city. Our Beijing office tried to ship some masks to me but got blocked because mail services to Huanggang had been halted.
  • Even if you find a way to drive out of the city, you’ll be immediately sent back by the bordering cities or provinces.

Tensions rise

Immediately, we got very nervous about food supply, given the indefinite period of lockdown. We can’t order anything online because nothing can be delivered to the city. We’ve set up a few WeChat groups for neighbors to put bulk orders so that hopefully local farmers, who can get a special pass for delivering food, are willing to deliver to the neighborhood. To minimize infection, people in the WeChat group are scheduled to pick up their orders at a designated spot. We strive to conserve food so that we can minimize the need for shopping. We track the consumption of rice, vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, and meat. We also keep track of masks, disinfectants, ethanol, diapers, and baby formula.

To avoid getting infected, we’ve paid extra attention to disinfection. Before going out to pick up the food, I carefully put on a mask, safety goggles, and protective gloves. I’ll spray diluted ethanol on the surface of the food bags before taking them indoors. Every morning, we clean the floor with disinfectants and keep windows open for natural ventilation.

Entering the third week, we got used to the “new normal.” We appreciate how the quarantine has changed the way we’re living and thinking.

  • Every morning, we check daily reports of new cases and deaths. We’re so grateful that all family members have stayed healthy.
  • Although unable to play outdoors, the kids are happier because dad and mom are with them all day long. They have learned how to make dumplings, buns, and noodles from their grandma.
  • We are thankful that we still receive the necessary services of water, electricity, gas, Internet, and phone service so that we can still live a decent life.
  • In Beijing, we try to conserve resources for tackling climate change. Now, we conserve to save our own lives. Less consumption means less shopping, which means less chance to get infected. The goal of conservation has never been so realistic and tangible. And we are practicing it seriously every day.

Every day, we talk about what we’re going to do after the epidemic is over, even though we don’t know when. I’ll take the family to our favorite restaurant to celebrate, and then we’ll go to see a movie. My kids will play outdoors with their friends. My wife will go shopping and eat her favorite pizza. One thing is for sure: we’ll cherish every moment we’ve been through together.  

Read more:

     Dr. Kevin Mo, Managing Director , Paulson Institute Representative Office in Beijing, China

    Wuhan held a Guinness World Record food festival, attended by more than 40,000 households that presented 13,986 delicious homemade meals.

    Confirmed Cases in Hubei by City (as of Feb 9). Wuhan is the darkest city, with Huanggang (upper right of Wuhan) and Xiaogan (upper left of Wuhan).

    The amount of travelers most likely aided in spreading the virus.