Live report from Hong Kong
China is devastated by coronavirus. The government is shutting down most of the country. Major cities look like ghost towns.
Cathay Pacific, the major airline in Hong Kong, announced a few days ago that it would allow its flight attendants to wear protective masks in flight. Now there are rumors that more severe actions on flights to the mainland are soon to be announced. The airline reportedly has up to half its fleet already grounded due to lack of transportation in and out of China.
British Airways announced the cancellation of all direct flights in and out of China. Other airlines have instituted similar actions.
The border with Mongolia is now closed and the border with Hong Kong is expected to be totally closed soon. Currently travel between Hong Kong and China is limited.
As much as the localities have tried to create barriers for individuals to leave or enter certain areas, we can report that there are gaps in these actions. For example, all flights, buses and trains were cancelled in and out of Wuhan a week ago. But this hasn’t stopped the more energetic.
We know of an individual with a car who found an entry onto a major new highway in Hubei and drove onto the highway and is now in a major city in southern China.
This large land mass is nearly impossible to control.
A video was tweeted showing those still in Wuhan singing a song in the evening since everyone is staying in their residences:
https://twitter.com/plantsNbabes/status/1221802068542771200
Another video shows the mayor of Wuhan in an interview stating that the city of Wuhan was prevented from sharing concerns about the virus early on (it was first identified in December 8) due to the central government not allowing them to disclose it:
https://twitter.com/HimalayaGlobal/status/1221957031403433984
