‘We are human, we are hurting’: Families separated by Wuhan quarantine as coronavirus death toll rises

Those cut off from relatives by coronavirus lockdowns in China – which have quarantined some 50 million people – speak to Viola Gaskell

Health officials originally said the virus would likely be contained by March, but as confirmed cases approached 30,000, a senior government official said containment by then is unlikely (Reuters)

Before the Chinese city of Wuhan was locked down to contain the deadly new coronavirus, more than 5 million people fled, but many chose to stay and wait out the storm, while some even fought to return home to care for isolated loved ones.

Sixty-one-year-old Yixian Chen was in Singapore visiting her newborn grandchild when the Chinese government announced that transport in and out of Wuhan, where Chen lives with her sister and elderly parents, would be suspended to quarantine the city of 11 million.

Chen’s 55-year-old sister developed pain in her throat and chest and quarantined herself in the upper level of their family home – leaving her parents, aged 85 and 90, to care for themselves. By Chinese new year’s eve, her sister was too weak to get herself to hospital.