Cities in shutdown – could the UK be next?
As Europe prepares for a pandemic, Anna Silverman speaks to two women who braved the crisis to rescue British nationals from coronovirus’s ground zero about what we can all learn from being in a city that has shut down...
UNTIL RECENTLY, the coronavirus crisis seemed largely confined to Asia, but that all changed last week as the epidemic went global and edged closer to home. As Grazia went to press, 19 had tested postive in the UK and, in London, hundreds were sent home from work after an unwell employee was tested for the virus.
A hotel in Tenerife was on lockdown after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive and Italy became Europe’s worst affected country, with 500 cases and 17 deaths confirmed. More than 80,000 people in nearly 50 countries have been infected to date and nearly 2,800 have died, the majority in China’s Hubei province. Reports say the virus is spreading faster outside China now – the epicentre of the outbreak.
This has heightened fears and left people wondering whether countries in Europe will have to follow China’s lead, after coronovirus ground zero – Wuhan in Hubei province – was shut down. Jane Fulbrook, who works in the UK’S Foreign Office, visited Wuhan a few weeks ago to help bring British nationals home. She describes it as a ghost town, painting a picture of apocalyptic scenes as 11 million residents have fled or, mostly, are confined to their homes. ‘It was eerily quiet and the streets were deserted. We didn’t see anyone. No one at all,’ she says.
She and a few colleagues drove the 700 miles from Beijing, where she is based, to make sure British nationals safely boarded the chartered flights sent to collect them. ‘Along the sides of the river, all the buildings were lit up with neon signs saying things like “Good luck and stay strong”,’ she adds. ‘It was really moving. It made me feel quite sad. They’ve been through so much, it must be really scary for them.’
The last time Jane (who has daughters, Ellie, 15, and Lily, 11, who live in Beijing with her) was in Wuhan was in 2018, when
Theresa May visited the city. ‘It was so busy and buzzing then. It’s a big student city and it’s usually so lively, but this time no one was on the roads, and in all the high-rise buildings only one or two lights were on.’
As they approached the city, they were stopped by Chinese authorities who checked their temperatures to ensure they weren’t experiencing flu-like symptoms. ‘Guards were wary of talking to us and told me to keep my distance,’ she says.
Wearing protective masks and gloves the entire time was essential. They survived on army ration packs brought from Beijing and headed for the airport, where they helped Britons – some of whom were in China visiting relatives, others stuck there after a holiday or there for work – check-in and go through a number of temperature checks and strict exit interviews with the authorities. Anyone with a temperature over 37.3°C wasn’t allowed to board the plane. Unfortunately, two were turned away and taken back into Wuhan.
Jane was amazed by how patient, calm and stoic everyone was. ‘I was so impressed by the way everyone was acting. Maybe they were just happy to be getting out.’
Vicki Bates, also a UK Foreign Office worker, arrived in Wuhan around the same time as Jane to help bring Brits stranded in China back to the UK. As part of the ‘rapid deployment team’, she is trained to do this sort of work. Even so, she was given a choice as to whether she wanted to take the risk.
‘I spent about 48 hours mulling it over and had to convince my mum that I would be OK,’ she says. When she arrived in Wuhan from London and started helping people, she found many seemed emotionally exhausted from the worry of whether they would catch the virus. On the flight home they were served food by cabin crew wearing masks and protective overalls. ‘There was a sense of relief on the flight but also apprehension, in case anyone did have coronavirus,’ Vicki says. Luckily no one did.
Landing safely back in the UK might seem like the end goal, but it was just the beginning for those flown out of Wuhan, who then spent two weeks in quarantine. This is part of the Government’s preventative measures to minimise chances of spreading the virus to the general public. A police escort accompanied them to a conference centre in Milton Keynes, where they were thoroughly tested for symptoms and confined to individual rooms until a number of tests came back negative. Now, both women are out of quarantine, although Jane will be returning to Beijing soon.
‘I felt bad for the [Chinese nationals] working at Wuhan airport in full suits who aren’t able to leave,’ Vicki says. ‘My heart went out to them when they were helping us take our nationals away and they had to stay in Wuhan.’ But, she adds, ‘I’m glad I went there. It made me feel reassured that if I ever need to be rescued, I know someone would come and help me.’