#HealWuhan: is Coronavirus a threat or just the product of panic?

Coronavirus seems to be in every place, even where there is no physical trace of it. You can find it on any TV programme, in the pages of your daily newspaper, it’s become the nightmarish topic of each conversation. Nobody has the ability or the opportunity to ignore it. Just a word, one single word, has the power to put all human beings, regardless of their social status, sex or beliefs, in a deep state of panic and awe.

Or, at least, that’s what appears to be going on in Italy since the very first cases of Covid-19 (coronavirus’s other name) were found in Lombardy (an Italian region) and then reported by the major news outlets of the country.

As I can testimony, it hasn’t passed a day without hearing the media panicking over the epidemic. Streets and supermarkets, especially in the northern part of the nation, are constantly getting emptier, schools, universities and cinemas are closed in lots of cities and many events, including the Carnival of Venice, have been cancelled. Plus, about 55.000 people have been quarantined.

The virus hasn't reached its maximum peak yet and trying to return to the every-day life won't sure be easy.

“We need to stop the panic” Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte said.

Empty shelves in an Italian supermarket.

On the other side of the Planet, in China, where the virus originated, the Communist Party has started an intense censorship activity on the Internet, deleting personal stories and information related to the disease in order to “calm down the population” and “create a good public opinion environment”.

“State media is filling smartphones and airwaves with images and tales of unity and sacrifice […] Online, people have harshly condemned stories of sacrifice when front-line medical personnel still lack basic supplies like masks” as written by The New York Times.

A hospital in China.

At the same time, the World Health Organization’s director Tedros Adhanom assures that the measures taken in China are right and “have averted a significant numbers of cases”.

Many around the world are scared of a pandemic and Iran’s and South Korea’s cases are still concerning.

China’s situation

Hospitals full of desperate people screaming to receive cures, men, women and children calling for help from their house's window while quarantined, vivid and big cities which now seem on the way to become dead ghost towns.

Note: China's healthcare system

Although public hospitals are owned by the state, only a small share of their costs are covered directly by taxes so patiens have to pay for their medical bills. That's why poor patiens sometimes give up seeking treatment and rural residents often have to travel a lot to arrive to a hospital. Highly qualified doctors and advanced medical technology are only available in big cities. (source: Inkstonenews)

These are the videos that circulate on social media such as Weibo or WeChat that get constantly taken down by the Chinese Government.

Many anonymous activists asking for the freedom of speech are attempting to create an online archive of documents related to the virus, hoping it won’t be deleted by the authorities.

Leader Xi Jinping said that officials need to “strenghten the guidance of public opinion”.

Photo source: The New York Times.

“My purpose is to make sure that all of this information is not lost or deleted” one of them states.

U.S. secretary Mike Pompeo has already denounced China’s expulsion of three American journalists and British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson highly suspects that the country has made public only 10% of its total cases. Experts wonder whether China’s recent falling number of patiens affected by coronavirus is real or if it's just a sly narrative.

According to Hong Kong doctor Jin Dongyan “many people are now panicking and some are actually exaggerating the risks”.

The numbers

There are more than 83.000 cases of Coronavirus and 2867 deaths worldwide. In mainland China the total cases are 78.832 while the deaths are 2788. The virus mostly affects people over 60 years old (80%) with pre-existing diseases such as cardiovascular diseases or diabetes (75%). As a Chinese study shows, 81% of the patiens were mild*, under 14% were severe and under 5% critical. From what we know, the overall death rate in China is around 2-3% (pretty similar to Italy’s=2.6%). If we compare it to the seasonal flu (death rate=under 1%), Covid-19’s fatality rate appears much higher. It appears to be ‘less lethal’ than other previous coronavirus epidemics like SARS (death rate=9,6%) and MERS (death rate=34%). Though, it must be remembered that the data we have are not definitive and many mild cases, which may look like a common cold or influenza, could be unreported. China’s outbreak currently seems to be slowing down and the country is trying to 'get back to the normal life'.

*they did not involve pneumonia, an infection of the lungs

#HealWuhan

Last February 11, as reported by Global Times, a group of foreign artists living in China recorded a modified version of "You Are Not Alone" and dedicated it to the city of Wuhan, supporting those who are fighting against the epidemic. Thanks to MJJHN and the hard work of 300 fans, 6 tons of medical disinfectant were sent to the outbreak of the virus.

A truck transporting medical disinfectant.

Source: Yang Zhang (Facebook)

The MJ Chinese Fanclub even decided to realise a “Heal The World” cover and invited fans to partecipate to its creation by sending audios/videos of them singing.

Just one week ago the fanclub released on Twitter a beautiful yet heartbreaking trailer of the project.