Welcome to Beijing

Beijing seems to be somehow improving, but rumor stories and xenophobia about COVID-19 are now new worries as I already mentioned.
As reported earlier, expect draconian measures of health check and quarantine when arriving from abroad in China. Well at least people can still arrive, other countries completely close the door. Like The Netherlands…

Happy I am here already. All looks HORRIBLE.

Shanghai is also getting more restrictive: It has expanded its list of countries, which are severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, from four to eight. To the list of South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran have been added France, Spain, Germany and the United States. Everyone who has been in any of the eight countries on the new list in the 14 days prior to their arrival in Shanghai must undergo a 14-day quarantine at home or in a designated place, the city government said on late Thursday.

23 February I wrote to my friends: “The virus can’t be stopped. Around the world, it just started. While predictions are difficult I would say it looks very worrisome. It’s the new flu.”
Words of the times: cancelled – restrictions – closed – quarantine

Trump declares emergency now, after waiting for 6 weeks when he was already asked to act but refused because it was “another hoax”. Because no worry, virus will go away like magic. Thank you Trump for protecting the EU by stopping air travel. OK to infect UK, no problem.

As I already mentioned myself (isn’t that obvious?): “Coronavirus: Africa has few cases so far but it’s just a matter of time before major outbreak. Most African countries do not have facilities to test for the virus, let alone treat it. Africa has major trade and travel connections with China and Italy, the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak.”
SCMP 13 March 2020
Besides Africa, add USA and South America to the list for the same reasons.

Germany

Saw a video on WeChat (kla.tv), found out more about it:

“Coronavirus eine gezielt erschaffene Biowaffe? Dubiose Fakten – und was dahinter steckt.
Um die Existenz des neuartigen Coronavirus ranken sich zahlreiche Theorien. Ein Video soll belegen, dass es sich bei dem Virus um eine gezielt eingesetzte Biowaffe handelt. inFranken.de nimmt die Aussagen aus dem Video unter die Lupe und erklärt, was hinter den Behauptungen steckt.”
https://www.infranken.de/ratgeber/gesundheit/coronavirus-eine-biowaffe-dubiose-fakten-und-was-dahinter-steckt;art154607,4944278

The video claims we are looking at biological weapons. In short: considered as “fake news” with comments from dubious experts and wrong details.

Some translated parts:
“Corona virus a deliberately created bio-weapon? Dubious facts – and what’s behind them.
There are numerous theories surrounding the existence of the novel corona virus. A video is to prove that the virus is a targeted biological weapon. inFranken.de takes a close look at the statements from the video and explains what is behind the claims. Corona virus video: Two alleged virologists as experts.
Two virologists are mentioned in the video, Dr. Alan Cantwell and Dr. James Lyons hamlet. The video tells of Cantwell that he found 107 references in the online database “PubMed”, which suggest experiments with corona viruses. He also found that human and animal coronaviruses had been genetically engineered to produce pathogenic and mutant viruses for over a decade.”

Chinese are xenophobe, not to say racists

More and more anti-foreign sentiment in China. Recently we saw the uproar against the new draft law on the Green Card. We foreigners are not welcome, we steal jobs, whatever.

All that crap as China has the lowest amount of foreigners in the world. All while Chinese flood our countries with cheap manual labor.

Now Chinese say they should not meet foreigners because they have virus, some of my Chinese friends are afraid to take a picture with me as their office colleagues strongly advice against meeting foreigners.
Some restaurants don’t allow foreigners.
“I AM NOT A VIRUS”, remember? We silly foreigners were defending the Chinese in Europe being discriminated. Anybody in China will defend us? Nope.
Actually the most dangerous people to avoid in Beijing are Chinese returning from abroad. As I heard, Air China kicked out some 30 Chinese from the flight to Beijing and left them stranded in Frankfurt Airport. They had high temperature. (corrected on 16 March)

Oh well, all the crap about how “nice” Chinese are. Chinese and Japanese are probably the worst racist. We are welcome as long as we are useful, we are “tolerated”. Do note I think this negative attitude is only with a certain section of the Chinese population, we also have pleasant experiences here. Otherwise, why are we here? Racism also exists in our Western countries.

Some of my friends not afraid of me. Dinner in a near deserted Lily’s American Diner (nice place), long time no see.

Evading responsibility by making up stories

Several creative crazy stories trying to prove it is not a “Wuhan virus”: Americans are to blame. At least many Chinese consider those as storytelling but still, the government let those fake stories go around. You try to say anything negative about the Great Leader and your WeChat account is closed.
Yesterday I complained the media did not report on those, that has now changed, finally.
See:

“US State Department summons Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai amid anger over Beijing coronavirus comments. Diplomat David Stilwell delivers a ‘stern representation’ of the US government’s position to Cui Tiankai. Meeting in Washington follows Chinese foreign ministry spokesman’s insinuation that the US military brought the coronavirus to China.
SCMP 14 March 2020
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3075193/us-summoning-chinese-ambassador-over-beijing-coronavirus-comments

and also:
“Coronavirus conspiracy theories: US and Chinese politicians rush in where experts fear to tread. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman who promoted online theories about the origins of COVID-19 is the latest high-profile figure to make unverified claims. Beijing angered by US politicians who have characterized it as a ‘Chinese virus’ and Senator Tom Cotton’s suggestion it came from a lab in Wuhan.
SCMP 13 March 2020
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3075177/coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-us-and-chinese-politicians-rush

See here one of the most detailed and fake stories going around:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/lixXOTm51vw7mYKOTETcjg
All in Chinese. For those interested in this creative nonsense, see the PDF.
200301 Chineserumor
It seems most of the comments on this article dismiss it as fabrication. Well, reassuring in part.

Scientific efforts to trace back the virus

Coronavirus: China’s first confirmed COVID-19 case traced back to November 17. Government records suggest first person infected with new disease may have been a Hubei resident aged 55, but ‘patient zero’ has yet to be confirmed. Documents seen by the Post could help scientists track the spread of the disease and perhaps determine its source.
SCMP 13 March 2020
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3074991/coronavirus-chinas-first-confirmed-covid-19-case-traced-back

Restarting China’s economy

I feel the COVID-19 story is getting weirder, with Chinese propaganda and dubious rumors. And then the USA.

China is trying to kick its economy back into gear after draconian coronavirus countermeasures ground it to a halt.
Part of the workforce has begun returning to shuttered factories and offices, but restarting the industrial machine has proved to be more difficult than shutting it down.
The many cash-strapped consumers who missed paychecks may spend less, while businesses may have lower overseas demand as their customers are lowering orders (if any).
As people leave isolation, officials could face a new crop of infections so they remain paranoid about it.
More than 50 million migrant workers have not yet returned to their jobs, according to official data. Reason: long-distance buses have not returned to normal, leaving people stranded; migrants simply NOT allowed to return. Enormous crowds trying to pass the police controls to enter cities like Beijing. Total chaos.

Many businesses in Beijing can’t really restart as the majority of their staff is not able to return.
Market meltdown as global stocks fell sharply again on Thursday, as President Trump’s bungled attempt to address the coronavirus outbreak failed to ease concerns. Does not help either.
In Western countries still many fail to understand the enormous economic impact of cancelling tourism, business, sports and cultural events and shutting down shops: so many people deprived of income. They are consumers too and will refrain to spend.

Parents are getting tired and desperate having to take care of their kids at home. Couples are facing increased stress and domestic problems as they are not used to be at home together for so long. Domestic violence is on the rise and police ignore it.
Business travel and meetings are nearly impossible, tourism is dead.
At least China Daily admits there are “problems”:

So I repeat: no anytime soon we will see any “normal” life again. I leave the optimism to China Daily and the other muzzled Chinese media.

Chinese crazy rumors

Strangely I haven’t seen anything about this in international media, looks like they are clueless about what is going on in China. Nothing on CNN, The Guardian, SCMP.
Chinese propaganda has centered on another reality-defying narrative.
The new “news”: COVID-19 comes from abroad, developed by teams of Americans and Chinese, whatever whatever. All news “supported” by details on which laboratories and researchers were involved. No no, not coming from Wuhan. All news in Chinese. I spare you the details. Worse, Chinese swallow it.
Well, finally some news:
https://www.rtl.be/info/monde/international/pekin-soupconne-les-etats-unis-d-avoir-apporte-le-virus-en-chine-1203484.aspx

“Pékin soupçonne les Etats-Unis d’avoir apporté le virus en Chine”
In short (being one of the several variants of that “story”):
– American CDC admits some Americans did not die from the flu but from COVID-19;
– The Americans brought the virus to Wuhan during the World Military Games.
All pretty imaginative. Then why did other participants to those Games not get infected?

USA

As said repeatedly, the country is in total disarray with lack of testing, insufficient hospital beds and equipment to face a wave of new cases, and a health insurance system that does not work for many people so they will hide with their virus and infect many other; they have to go to work otherwise they have no income. Visiting a doctor or clinic is out of the question due to the cost.

Just look at one simple example. Think about the waiter in your restaurant, like in USA. Now he can’t work, restaurant closed. Will he get some salary? What about the tips he normally receives? How will he pay off his mortgage?

The real infection rate in the USA might be massively under-reported. Till people die in greater numbers, a fact they can’t hide…
The bureaucratic blundering made the country lose 2 months to come out with the appropriate virus test kits.

See also this comment on SCMP:
Coronavirus: Donald Trump’s speech was meant to reassure, but it did just the opposite
‘He is a reality-show expert. This is a real crisis. The happy ending is not guaranteed,’ communications strategist says. Televised Oval Office address offered an ineffective remedy in the European travel ban and fell short on other policy recommendations, according to analysts.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3075005/coronavirus-donald-trumps-speech-was-meant-reassure-it-did-just-opposite

Belgium in lockdown

The government has decided to cancel most social and sports events, closing down entertainment, restaurants, bars and all schools. Normal shops: many to reduce opening hours. Only pharmacies and food stores to open.

Contrary again to China, people have been emptying supermarkets to hoard food and other.
See overview of closing and cancellations::
https://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/societe/de-nombreux-evenements-annules-ou-reportes-a-cause-du-coronavirus-voici-la-liste-1202980.aspx
and
https://www.dhnet.be/actu/belgique/la-belgique-va-annoncer-de-nouvelles-mesures-plus-strictes-face-au-coronavirus-la-premiere-ministre-s-apprete-a-prendre-la-parole-5e6a8cfbd8ad582f316d985c

Stay the fuck home

Hilarious but not stupid advice:
https://staythefuckhome.com/

#StayTheFuckHome
A Movement to Stop the COVID-19 Pandemic!
Our governments are failing at preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Slow reactions, public appeasement policies, and their urge to stabilize the economy are keeping them from taking the measures it takes to protect millions from this disease. It is time for us, as citizens of this earth, to take action now and do our part in fighting COVID-19.
Let’s put it bluntly: Stay The Fuck Home!

1. More Contagious Than the Flu
2. More Deadly Than the Flu
3. Possibility of Severe Symptoms
4. No Treatment, No Vaccine, No Immunity
5. Exponential Growth.

Actually many of the mentioned recommendations and data were mentioned earlier in my posts.

Also, I need to repeat: most infections spread by people yet to show symptoms according to scientists. So, we haven’t seen the real spread yet.

Germany and the rest of the world

Looks like WHO and others finally admitting the pandemic. As I predicted days ago.
The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on Wednesday, with 114 countries reporting combined cases that added up to nearly 120,000.
“In the days and weeks ahead we expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths and the number of affected countries to climb even higher,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press briefing in Geneva.

Only for those familiar with Belgian art…

Chancellor Angela Merkel: 60 to 70% of the German population could become infected.

Other people who have medical problems and need attention now neglected. This poses a serious risk.

Travel for business and leisure is now more dead than ever. Sport and all public events stopped.

The lack of testing in many countries with weaker economy and poor medical facilities is a ticking time bomb. I fear an explosion of new cases once the spread becomes visible. Think about Africa, India, South America… (and USA)

Anybody realizes the chain reaction in the world economy? A new brutal reality to ravage economies and societies. Killing globalization. A new Armageddon in the making.

Comprehensive COVID-19 map
John Hopkins University in the USA is producing a map with regular update of cases worldwide:
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Good luck USA

I watched Trump and his press conference on 12 March morning Beijing time. What a sinister declaration, as usual.

Donald Trump announced suspension of travel from Europe to the US: “We will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days, the new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight,” Trump said, adding that the suspension will not apply to Britain.

A leading US health official testified at a Congressional hearing on the coronavirus outbreak Wednesday that the number of people sickened by the virus in the US could hit “many millions” if appropriate steps were not taken.  “We will see more cases, and things will get worse than they are right now,” Dr. Anthony Fauci – the widely respected director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – warned members of the House Oversight Committee.
See also further down “A coronavirus lesson from China”.

As predicted: Beijing quarantine

Don’t say I did not warn you. Now all coming to Beijing, from ANY other place will face 14 days quarantine.
Chinese announcement: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/rNqV3iLWZoN88JlNeHmfzw

Says CGTN (and all others): Beijing on Wednesday further tightened its prevention and control measures for foreigners as more imported novel coronavirus cases arrived in the city.
Everyone, including those not from the hard-hit countries, is required to undergo a 14-day quarantine at home or designated place, according to local authorities.
People who entered Beijing on business trips have to stay in designated hotels before he is cleared from a nucleic acid testing.

See also about Shanghai entry…

A coronavirus lesson from China: don’t make patients pay for tests and treatment

As reported by SCMP
People with lower incomes will be deterred from seeking treatment if they face health care costs, worsening the epidemic.
As the coronavirus continues to spread around the world, China has one important lesson for other governments in fighting the disease – be prepared to pay so that patients won’t let costs deter them from getting tests and treatment.
A coronavirus test reportedly costs about 370 yuan (US$53) in China. And in the southern city of Shenzhen, the average cost of treating the disease ranged from 23,000 yuan for elderly patients to about 5,600 yuan for minors, Chinese Hospital Management journal reported.
Some of the country’s treatment methods such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation are expensive but they are all covered by the government, which has earmarked 110.48 billion yuan for treatment, subsidies for medical staff and medical equipment.
In the US, where there have been 25 deaths among 696 confirmed cases, public anxiety is growing over the cost of testing.

The US government does not charge for coronavirus confirmation tests at designated laboratories but a trip to the hospital will incur other hefty expenses, in one case over US$3,200. Insurance lobby group America’s Health Insurance Plans said individuals needed to check their insurance providers for coverage of costs related to COVID-19.
As of Monday, only 1,707 people had been tested by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Japan designated COVID-19 as an infectious disease in February, making it the government’s responsibility to pay inpatient bills related to the coronavirus infection.
In Britain, about 18,000 people have received free testing since last month, and 373 have been confirmed as infected.
“Clearly, wherever you have to pay for health care, individuals with mild symptoms in the lower-income groups will hesitate to visit a health care facility, and that may also be the case in some individuals with severe disease. These behaviors will extend the epidemic.” said a professor. That is pretty obvious!

Role of China

Local media said the Red Cross Society of China was leading a team of medical experts heading for Italy on Wednesday, taking supplies and equipment with them.

Is the peak really over?

It follows a phone call between the two countries’ foreign ministers late on Tuesday, in which China’s Wang Yi responded to a request for help from his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio. Wang told Di Maio that China would send medical equipment to the country, and also offered to send medical personnel to help tackle the outbreak in Italy, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio that Beijing was willing to donate 100,000 high-tech masks to Italy, 20,000 protective suits and 50,000 diagnostic tests.

Meanwhile details of the cover-up continue to come out.
A Wuhan doctor who posted information about the new coronavirus on social media that was shared by the late whistle-blower Li Wenliang has broken her silence, saying she was muzzled by authorities for raising the alarm without their permission at the start of the outbreak.
Ai Fen, director of the emergency department at Wuhan Central Hospital, told Chinese magazine People that she posted an image of a diagnostic report on social network WeChat on December 30, showing that the patient had a pneumonia infection caused by a SARS-like coronavirus.
Ai’s interview suggests local health authorities in Wuhan, the center of the epidemic, missed an opportunity to issue a warning about an imminent outbreak before the virus spread and infected more than 117,000 people globally and caused over 4,200 deaths.
It was published on Tuesday but later deleted from the magazine’s WeChat account, prompting angry internet users to repost the article on other platforms.

The new PR initiative from China: we are not to blame. Again. distorting reality and worse, many Chinese start believing the fake news.
The Chinese government’s cover-up of the virus allowed it to spread unchecked in Wuhan for weeks, including among the 5 million city residents who left the city without being screened, leading to a national epidemic and inevitably to its spread outside China. There is no evidence COVID-19 spread in any human population before it spread in China.

From a member of the Stanford hospital board.

The tips I had posted here: well, they say it is a hoax and not correct. So I did remove it all while some tips I believe are correct. See:
“Posts are circulating false and misleading tips on social media — in some cases wrongly attributed to Stanford University — about how people can monitor and avoid the coronavirus.”

Viral Social Media Posts Offer False Coronavirus Tips

instructions for lift in China – the irrational toilet paper stuff