Video footage released exclusively by Middle East-based Al Jazeera of two Chinese journalists filmed in Wuhan during the early stages of the Xin Guan outbreak shows reporters being obstructed from reporting in Wuhan. Al Jazeera believes that the Chinese government could have done more to prevent the spread of the outbreak.
Through their filming and diaries from January 19-22, 2020, the two Chinese journalists reveal the changes that took place in Wuhan overnight: from indifference to panic about the virus and overcrowded hospitals, Al Jazeera reported on Monday (January 18).
The two reporters attempted to film and investigate at various hospitals and the South China Seafood Market, considered the source of the outbreak, but they were stopped again and again by police and security guards.
When the reporters arrived in Wuhan on Jan. 19, the severity of the virus was unclear, human-to-human transmission had not been confirmed, and people’s reaction to the outbreak was relatively lukewarm as a result, the report said. They did not wear masks and believed that the virus, while more serious than the flu, was not as severe as the SARS outbreak between 2002 and 2003.
Yang Jun (a pseudonym), a journalist, wrote in his diary, “When I arrived, people didn’t seem to be afraid or worried about the virus at all. Some people hadn’t even heard of it. One vendor asked me to take off my mask. He said, “You are obviously an overly worried outsider. Everything is fine here.”
The South China Seafood Market was closed at the time as authorities conducted an investigation into the origin of the virus. Officials did not disclose that the outbreak could be serious, which left the public in the dark about it.
Just as the Chinese New Year was approaching, the government suddenly declared the city closed, public places in Wuhan were shut down, and the public was thrown into panic overnight, with almost everyone starting to wear masks. But by then it was too late, as hundreds of thousands of Wuhaners had already left the city before the closure, giving the virus ample opportunity to spread in China.
Al Jazeera said the lack of communication and transparency from the Chinese government during the first critical days was widely seen as one of the reasons why the new coronavirus was able to spread so quickly.
Yang Jun’s (pseudonym) diary also reads, “The lack of medical staff and lack of equipment in Wuhan has left many infected people without treatment. It’s a joke that the hospital is hiding the truth.”
The video and diary also reveal how local authorities tried to prevent the journalists from working, despite the fact that they worked for official media based in Beijing and had permission from Wuhan’s media affairs department, the report said.
I couldn’t report freely,” Yang Jun wrote ….. During the three days I spent reporting in Wuhan, I was frequently stopped by police and hospital staff. I thus realized how serious this virus is and how sensitive and difficult it is to report on this topic. It was completely beyond my imagination.”
Another journalist, Chen Wei (a pseudonym), mentioned in his diary that discussions about pandemic control measures, programs to identify infected patients, etc., were untouchable or unreportable.
“No one in China dares to say that the source of the virus started in Wuhan, or that the local Wuhan government made mistakes in the beginning,” Chen Wei wrote, “The only thing that can be discussed about the pandemic is how well the government did and how grateful the Chinese people should be to the government. “
The new crown epidemic has now spread to countries around the world. According to Johns Hopkins University, the cumulative number of confirmed cases worldwide has exceeded 95 million to date.
Chen Wei added that relatively speaking Wuhan has returned to normal. “People here don’t talk about the virus anymore. It’s like a long time in the past.”
“People feel very lucky and proud in China because China is the only country that has the virus under control,” Chen Wei said, “and that may not be true, but that’s how most Chinese feel.”
China’s foreign ministry told Al Jazeera that measures taken early in the New Crown outbreak greatly prevented further spread of the virus.
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