This video published on January 30th has generated over 1.9 million viewers so far. His name is Chen QiuShi. He was born in 1985. He was working as a lawyer between 2015-2019. In recent years, he competed in a reality show and became famous as a brilliant public speaker. He has a social media channel that talks about politics, law, equality and share ideologies that can be controversial at times. He lives in Beijing. After the Wuhan’s quarantine, he was probably the only person who went into the epicenter as a journalist. Here is what he shares in this viral video. He inserted a few footage that he shot. I have marked down their time spots.
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Hi everyone, my name is Chen QiuShi. It’s 11am on January 30th.
Today’s video is a bit long, thank you for understanding. My previous videos
were 5 minutes long max, that’s because my intended audiences were people in
China. I did not give much thought for people in abroad. Five minutes are the
max length that people in China can share their videos conveniently via Wechat. But now everything published by me have been deleted, when people share my videos on social media, their accounts are also deleted. One of my Wechat accounts are blocked and I lost many people's contacts. . . Therefore, this video is more for people outside of China. After I have
gone through so much in Wuhan, let me talk about what I saw these days. One
thing to keep in mind, I’d only share what I see with my own eyes and what I
hear with my own ears. I don’t talk about or use videos or pictures circulated by others online.
I have been here for 6 days. I have been to Wuhan’s hospitals,
the construction site, the local supermarket and even the
notorious Huanan Seafood Market. On Jan 29th, I went to Wuhan’s #5
hospital where allegedly many health care professionals were infected with the
virus. I was unable to ask or interview any doctors to confirm this allegation.
Every health care professional were extremely busy and tired. They were told to
reject every request for interview; allegedly they had to surrender their
cellphones.
The Lack of Supplies
A few non-government organizations had reached out to me.
They have been giving rides to health care professionals to work, others help
unload supplies and deliver them to various hospitals (public transportation
and regular delivery services are at a halt right now). I joined their Wechat
group and I could testify that these volunteers were really exhausted. Chinese
people no longer trust China’s Red Cross organization (due to a corruption
scandal a few years ago). Most of the packages are small packages that people
sent directly to the hospital. There are so many small packages of masks, gloves,
protection gears, etc. Volunteers have to open up those packages one after
another, put them into categories, inspect their quality, figure out if they
were the acceptable types, etc. It was extremely tedious. The best case
scenario would be having all of those life-saving supplies sent from a
certified source in bulk. During one occasion, policemen were asking the
volunteers for supplies, because they don’t even have anything! How is it that
the government is asking non-government organizations for supplies?! Anyway,
it’s a mess.
The Construction Site for New Hospitals
I also went to the construction site where they are building
two new hospitals with more than 2000 beds. (The goal is to finish them by Feb
5. As of today, it’s ready to open.) The construction runs 24/7. The
construction workers are extremely exhausted, but they are still able to get a
break in between shifts. The supervisors, however, have no time to rest. I
talked to one of the supervisors, his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse.
He said that he had not been home for 3 days, and he could only sleep 2-3 hours
a day. Workers said that they are local Wuhan residents. They are willing to
give up their life for the city. That’s one phrase I don’t fking understand,
why should they expect to sacrifice everything? (The worker force shortage is
due to the fact that many labors from neighboring towns and villages have left
the city before the Lunar New Year.)
Many people asked a stupid question: why can’t we turn
hotels into hospitals? Hospitals for contagious disease have a strict building
code. They have three zones: red, yellow, and green. People are placed into
different zones depending on the severity of their condition. Hotels are not
equipped for people who have been confirmed. They can only be used to quarantine
people. In a special hospital like this,
even the air inside the hospital cannot leak out. The air pressure outside
should be lower than the air pressure inside. Air can come in, but it cannot
get out. The plumbing system is also built to ensure that nothing contaminating
will pollute the water source. I am really worried that a construction project
with such complexity can be done well within such short period of time.
Transportation System is Completely Down
Yesterday, I went to Wuhan’s #5 hospital. There weren’t that
many people seeking treatment like previous days. There are a few reasons as to
why the number of people seeking treatment has dropped: 1) most people are
under quarantined. Many neighborhoods have locked their front gate. 2) the public
transportation system has been shut down. People don’t have the means to get to
a hospital. 3) even if you arrive at the hospital, you are not able to be
admitted. Instead you would be exposed with more pathogens.
I joined a Wechat group consisting of taxi drivers. Taxi
drivers are always the first group of people who are informed about things
happening in the city. They talk to lots of people every day at work. In
mid-December, they had already heard that there is an outbreak that’s similar
to SARS. They warned one another not to go to Huanan Seafood Market. I don’t
think Huanan Seafood Market was the origin of this outbreak. (In fact, Patient
zero had not been to that seafood market and 17 out of the first group of
infected patients had not been to that market). I don’t know where the virus
came from, but it definitely spread exponentially from Huanan Seafood Market.
Taxi drivers told me that there are more than 20,000 taxis
in the city, in which 6000 of them have been assigned as transportation during
the quarantine. There are four cars assigned for every neighborhood/community
consisting between 600,000 to 1 million residents. FOUR CARS! They are used to
transport goods and people who are in critical condition. Taxi drivers are not
given any protective gears, they have to get their own. How? It’s sold out
everywhere. To book these cars, people have to call their local community
office. It’s impossible to get through the line.
Private vehicles are also grounded. The only means of
transportation is bicycle now. A local lend me his electric motorcycle
yesterday. I saw many people walking on foot to go to the hospital. Wuhan is a
huge city. I feel like it’s even bigger than Beijing. That’s the main reason as
to why people can’t get to the hospital. The only means for them is to call 120
(like 911). It’s almost impossible to get through the line.
The Mass Number
[10:44 showing footage of the hospital]
I went to Wuhan’s #5 hospital yesterday. It was relatively
in order. I talked with people lining up for the test kit. I pretended to be
one of them. I asked them, “how many days have you shown symptoms? Is this your
first visit to the hospital? How many people are sick in your family? ” Some
people told me that they have been having a fever for a few days, though they
took some over-the-counter medications, the fever doesn’t subside. A triage
nurse said to one of them, “you are number 126, there is a test kit available
for you today. Go to the second floor…”
[11:23 showing footage of a health care worker being angry
toward a colleague. She said that she has been having symptoms of the corona
virus for a few days. She is really desperate because she can’t even get a bed
right away. ]
[12:59 showing
footage of oxygen tanks lining outside and inside the hospital.]
I went to another hospital that was much more chaotic. I
accompanied a suspected patient and his brother to find out what it takes to
confirm his diagnosis. There were people everywhere. They were lying on the
benches. Stretches were placed inside the hallway and even outside of the
bathroom. Over 60 people were hooked up to oxygen tank. Some people were
sitting in their car while hanging their IV bottom on a tree branch. Most
people were receiving IV on the stairs outside of the hospital. It was really
cold outside. The healthy brother said
to me, “if it weren’t for my brother, I would never choose to come here. You
really shouldn’t be here Chen.” When asking the doctor for a test kit, the
doctor said to the ill brother, “we need to assess your condition first. We
have to give priority to people who appear to be in more critical condition
than you are. We don’t have enough test kits.” Did you hear that? WE DON’T HAVE
ENOUGH TEST KITS! Therefore, many people stay home. Though they have been to 5
or 6 hospitals, they couldn’t get a test kit anywhere. Without the test kit,
they cannot be confirmed, without a confirmation, they cannot be admitted.
Every hospital I went to told me that they ran out of beds. That’s why they are
trying to finish building the new hospitals ASAP. At the end of the day, the two brothers went
home empty handed. The doctors and nurses were really kind and empathic to them
in spite how exhausted and how uncomfortable working all day being sealed
inside their protective gears.
Again, I only talk about what I saw and what I heard. I
spoke to another man. He’s in his 40s. He almost cried while telling me, “I am
coughing, I have been having fever for a week. My younger brother also has
fever, and so is my mother-in-law. The days before the quarantine, I had a meal
with my family; I also went to my in-laws’ home for a meal. I played Ma-Jiang
with my colleagues. I was in contact with almost 20 people. If I am a confirmed
case, what about all of these people? My family is doomed.”
the Only Front Line Reporter
I have been trying to reach other journalists in the city. I
tried to contact reporters from a Japanese newspaper. I want to chronicle
how they evacuate their citizens. I want to talk to their embassy to find out
what they know and how severe the situation is. The fact that each country is
evacuating their citizen causes more panic to local people. But, I was not able
to make that connection. Now that over 200 Japanese citizens have left the
city, it’s important to find out the percentage of infected cases among them. Try
to follow up on that!
Before I came, I tried to connect with the only media
channel in the city. I tried to learn something from them. I have not been
professional trained. I cannot do this with just a cellphone. But I couldn’t
get a hold of them. I tried to get in touch with other investigative reporters,
but none of them are here. Finally, I heard that there is a HK reporter that
lives in the city. After established contact, I asked him to share what he
learned with me and how we could exchange information. He told me that he had
not gone out for days. His company asked him to stay inside his hotel room. The
safety of their employee is their priority. “Chen, you have gone further than
any of us.” I connected with a journalist from New York Times. I was going through his Twitter activity, I
saw that he had not reported anything from any emergency departments. No one else goes to ground zero!
[21:00] I now know what it means to be a lone soldier.
[22:33 WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE showing a deceased person in a
wheelchair, his family is holding his body up while calling the funeral home.]
That’s what I saw yesterday. I am a bit scared now. I feel
scared. People who went to hospital only because they knew that they had infected
the virus. Healthy people avoid going out altogether. I envy the reporters from
CCTV (China’s official news channel). They were wearing protective gears from
head to toe when interviewing isolated patients in the green zone, they
interviewed them via Skype. How risky was that?! I was in the Emergency
department. No one knew how many infected patients were in there. I only had a
pair of glasses and a mask. I had a coat. I sanitized it every day and hanged
it outside of my room. I smell like sanitizer. I am under a lot of pressure
right now. I feel like my breathing is a bit heavy right now, a bit of chest
pain, not sure if it’s because I was wearing mask 5-6 hours a day. Another
signature symptom of the virus is diarrhea. My digestive system was never well
before, I often had diarrhea.
Okay, I am going to end here. Again, I will only share what
I personally witness: lack of masks, lack of protective garments, lack of
supplies and most importantly shortage of test kits. Without using the test
kits, people are only suspected patients and they are sent home. But even if
there are enough test kits, they still need beds, equipment and doctors.
[25:40] I will try to be strong and resilient. The government official called me and asked me where I am. No one knows where I stay in Wuhan except one person. The
government spoke to my parents. My parents said, “I want him home more than you
do.” I have the virus in front of me and I have other troubles
behind me. But as long as I am still alive, I will continue to do my report to reveal the truth. I am not afraid of death, why would I be afraid of anything else?!
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