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Wuhan one year later: An American’s perspective: WGN News
by: Julie Unruh
Posted: Dec 17, 2020 / 05:55 PM CST /
EVANSTON, Ill. — It was December of 2019 when a mysterious virus in China was quickly infecting and killing citizens fast. The epicenter of the outbreak was in the Hubei province, specifically in Wuhan, its capital city.
One American, Evanston native Kurt Mitenbuler, was vacationing with his Chinese wife and extended family in Wuhan when what was eventually identified as COVID-19 broke out in the city. Mitenbuler stayed in China for months, unable to return to the United States.
Mitenbuler has the unique perspective of seeing the initial outbreak of the pandemic up close in China, before seeing it back home in the U.S.
One major difference that Mitenbuler pointed out: everyone in China cooperated with the government when they were sent home for three months.
“Nobody in China denied anything. There is a disease, we must be careful, and ‘we’ means everybody,” Mitenbuler said.
The streets of Wuhan were a mere ghost town last February, with no one allowed outside their homes unless it was to sanitize or patrol city streets. Parks were deserted, shopping destinations were boarded up and roadways were abandoned.
Mitenbuler said the overall keys to success were masks, testing and contact tracing that involved color coated QR codes. The codes indicated you did not carry the virus with green, with yellow or red meaning you have the virus.
“Everybody was excited to go get tested. Within 36 hours of having been tested, I already had the info in my QR code and we were back in business. They tested 10 million people,” Mitenbuler said.
Mitenbuler said by the end of March, just three months after the lockdown that shut down the city, Wuhan opened back up.
Scooters were buzzing on the roads again, restaurants were open and highways and streets were filled with cars and pedestrians once more.
Mitenbuler owns two apartments in Wuhan and is familiar with the city, returning to the U.S. in September to vote in the November election.
While in Wuhan over the summer, Mitenbuler watched scooter and bike rentals soar. Public transportation is back, he said, but not preferred by locals.
The Yangtse River Bridge, an open road last spring during the lockdown, was packed with large crowds by mid-summer.
“It was just packed. I mean, huge crowds even when I was there in July. We’d go to the bridge because it was like a street fair. Everyday packed,” Mitenbuler said.
Mitenbuler noted the aspects of the lively atmosphere, saying there was ballroom dancing, roller blading and live music.
“A lot of people wearing masks, you know? No gloves, no hand sanitizers, just lots of masks,” Mitenbuler said.
He said there was no such thing as a super-spreader event due to everyone cooperating. Mitenbuler said the city was mostly back to normal by mid-March.
“I’ve had a half dozen friends tell me yeah, we can tell we are back in business cause the air pollution is back,” Mitenbuler said.
Their greatest fears one year ago are replaced with a wave of confidence today.
“Everybody is back in action on some level,” Mitenbuler said.
According to the World Health Organization, China has disclosed over 95,000 cases of COVID-19 since December 2019, with less than 5,000 deaths. The United States currently reports near 17 million cases of the virus, with over 300,000 deaths.
While the U.S. celebrates its first vaccinations this week, Americans are bracing for a long winter where numbers are expected to continue to increase.
by: Julie Unruh
Posted: Dec 17, 2020 / 05:55 PM CST /
EVANSTON, Ill. — It was December of 2019 when a mysterious virus in China was quickly infecting and killing citizens fast. The epicenter of the outbreak was in the Hubei province, specifically in Wuhan, its capital city.
One American, Evanston native Kurt Mitenbuler, was vacationing with his Chinese wife and extended family in Wuhan when what was eventually identified as COVID-19 broke out in the city. Mitenbuler stayed in China for months, unable to return to the United States.
Mitenbuler has the unique perspective of seeing the initial outbreak of the pandemic up close in China, before seeing it back home in the U.S.
One major difference that Mitenbuler pointed out: everyone in China cooperated with the government when they were sent home for three months.
“Nobody in China denied anything. There is a disease, we must be careful, and ‘we’ means everybody,” Mitenbuler said.
The streets of Wuhan were a mere ghost town last February, with no one allowed outside their homes unless it was to sanitize or patrol city streets. Parks were deserted, shopping destinations were boarded up and roadways were abandoned.
Mitenbuler said the overall keys to success were masks, testing and contact tracing that involved color coated QR codes. The codes indicated you did not carry the virus with green, with yellow or red meaning you have the virus.
“Everybody was excited to go get tested. Within 36 hours of having been tested, I already had the info in my QR code and we were back in business. They tested 10 million people,” Mitenbuler said.
Mitenbuler said by the end of March, just three months after the lockdown that shut down the city, Wuhan opened back up.
Scooters were buzzing on the roads again, restaurants were open and highways and streets were filled with cars and pedestrians once more.
Mitenbuler owns two apartments in Wuhan and is familiar with the city, returning to the U.S. in September to vote in the November election.
While in Wuhan over the summer, Mitenbuler watched scooter and bike rentals soar. Public transportation is back, he said, but not preferred by locals.
The Yangtse River Bridge, an open road last spring during the lockdown, was packed with large crowds by mid-summer.
“It was just packed. I mean, huge crowds even when I was there in July. We’d go to the bridge because it was like a street fair. Everyday packed,” Mitenbuler said.
Mitenbuler noted the aspects of the lively atmosphere, saying there was ballroom dancing, roller blading and live music.
“A lot of people wearing masks, you know? No gloves, no hand sanitizers, just lots of masks,” Mitenbuler said.
He said there was no such thing as a super-spreader event due to everyone cooperating. Mitenbuler said the city was mostly back to normal by mid-March.
“I’ve had a half dozen friends tell me yeah, we can tell we are back in business cause the air pollution is back,” Mitenbuler said.
Their greatest fears one year ago are replaced with a wave of confidence today.
“Everybody is back in action on some level,” Mitenbuler said.
According to the World Health Organization, China has disclosed over 95,000 cases of COVID-19 since December 2019, with less than 5,000 deaths. The United States currently reports near 17 million cases of the virus, with over 300,000 deaths.
While the U.S. celebrates its first vaccinations this week, Americans are bracing for a long winter where numbers are expected to continue to increase.
