{"id":108897,"date":"2020-02-06T12:54:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T11:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=108897"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:41","slug":"students-parents-stuck-in-corona-stricken-wuhan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/02\/06\/students-parents-stuck-in-corona-stricken-wuhan\/","title":{"rendered":"Student\u2019s parents stuck in Corona-stricken Wuhan"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does it mean when your family is stuck in Wuhan? Shihui Liu is doing a post-master\u2019s in Maritime Economics and Logistics at Erasmus University. As far as she\u2019s aware, she is the only student at EUR from this city, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI had a lot of free time over the Christmas holidays, and I was often online chatting with friends and family in Wuhan. That\u2019s when I first heard stories about this strange new variant of pneumonia in Wuhan. In the beginning, it was just a handful of patients, so I wasn\u2019t too concerned about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that all changed on 20 January. \u201cSuddenly, there were hundreds of patients, and the city went into a panic. My parents tried to buy masks as soon as the news broke, but they were barely able to. Eventually, they managed to buy twenty. But you can only wear these masks a few hours, so you\u2019ve used them up in no time. And you\u2019re not allowed to leave home without one.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, there\u2019s a chronic shortage of beds for patients \u2013 even though the city managed to build two hospitals from scratch in a matter of days. \u201cThe doctors helping the citizens of Wuhan are fantastic \u2013 true heroes,\u201d says Shihui.<\/p>\n

Iceland called off<\/h2>

It was hard to ignore the consequences of the outbreak: public transport was suspended and cars were no longer allowed on the road. \u201cWuhan is divided by rivers into different districts, and police have put up roadblocks at the bridges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shihui also had to put off her plan to meet up with her mother in late February: \u201cWe originally planned to go to Iceland together, which would have been a wonderful trip. Unfortunately, I won\u2019t be able to see my parents until the end of March at the earliest [the travel ban will be in force until at least that time, Eds.]. I expect this situation to last until April or May at least. I really miss my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018They only leave their flat to pick up groceries. They go to a small corner-shop supermarket and stock up as much as they can in one go.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Shihui\u2019s father is a foreman in construction; her mother works for a government agency. But not right now: as long as the outbreak continues, they\u2019ll be cloistered on the 22nd floor of a block of flats in a suburb of the Chinese metropolis. They need to stay inside as much as possible. \u201cThey only leave their flat to pick up groceries. They go to a small corner-shop supermarket and stock up as much as they can in one go.\u201d Most products are still readily available, although shortages are reportedly more acute in the city centre. \u201cI\u2019ve heard it\u2019s more difficult to get vegetables there, although so far it hasn\u2019t proven a problem for my parents. The only items that are in severe shortage are masks and disinfectant.\u201d Her parents have also devised a means to get groceries delivered to their homes.<\/p>\n

Cleaning and yoga<\/h2>

While fortunately her parents haven\u2019t fallen ill, they are quite bored by now. \u201cThey\u2019ve been cleaning the house every day, and they started doing yoga. Not something they were really into beforehand,\u201d she says with a smile. \u201cThey\u2019re confident the government will take care of them. My parents are usually pretty chill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shihui herself is slightly more concerned, since other news has brought the virus pretty close to home. \u201cThe grandmother of one of my friends recently fell ill, and it\u2019s very dangerous for senior citizens.\u201d Two residents from her parents\u2019 block have also been hospitalised after catching the virus.<\/p>\n

Shihui hasn\u2019t found anyone in a similar situation at EUR. \u201cAs far as I know, I\u2019m the only student from Wuhan. There are six other Chinese students in my master programme, but they\u2019re all from the north: a long way from the outbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t