My Feb. 2020 FB posts on new Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)

Last updated on 31st March 2020

Given below are contents of most of my posts in Feb. 2020 on the new Coronavirus 2019 nCoV2019 which is now labelled as COVID-19 by WHO. I plan to update this post with later FB posts in Feb. 2020 on this matter. Some posts have been put up as as separate posts by itself. Their contents are not included in this post. I have tried to provide links of all such posts at the bottom of this post.

To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers will have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link.
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Reuters map and chart showing animated video of spread of COVID-19 across the world. Now it does not reflect recovered cases. E.g. Officially all 3 cases in India have recovered and so India, officially, is COVID-19 free now. But the map shows India as affected. I don't know why all the mainstream media do not factor in officially recovered cases in their stats about current COVID-19 spread across the world. I am NOT saying they are making a mistake - I just don't know why. Perhaps they have good reasons based on their experiences of tracking and reporting on such epidemics in the past.

The Reuters graph does show recovered cases in the detailed info. below the main animation video, separating total cases into pending cases, recovered and dead. But the animation video is the main information in this page and that DOES NOT use pending cases but total cases including recovered cases.

FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2771863296363563
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Global downturn looms as countries struggle to contain coronavirus outbreak, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health/world-faces-coronavirus-pandemic-markets-brace-for-global-recession-idUSKCN20M069, 28th Feb. 2020.

I strongly believe the way to beat the COVID-19 disease outbreak is to stay informed and that's why I am putting up these posts. Not fear-mongering but just helping to raise alertness and awareness levels of this new disease which seems to be quite infectious, and does not have sureshot cures or vaccines yet.
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COVID-19 in true numbers: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2771406213075938
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Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimage; Iran vice-president has virus, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2770379716511921?__tn__=-R
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More good work by Indian govt.

"Air India flight has just landed in Delhi from Tokyo,carrying 119 Indians & 5 nationals from Sri Lanka,Nepal, South Africa&Peru who were quarantined onboard the #DiamondPrincess due to #COVID19. Appreciate the facilitation of Japanese authorities.
Thank you @airindiain once again", https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1232807585876774913

As per https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-outbreak-119-indians-from-quarantined-japan-ship-land-in-delhi-on-air-india-flight-2186334, 138 Indians (132 crew + 6 passengers) were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Of these, 16 have tested positive for the new Coronavirus and are being treated in Japan (Thanks to Japanese govt. for the same).

The remaining (132 - 16 - 119 = 3, if my calculation is right), as per the article, will be repatriated to India.

Good to see India bring back its citizens impacted by the epidemic in China and from the Diamond Princess ship in waters off Yokohama, Japan.
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Good work by Indian govt.

"Consignment (15 tonnes) of Indian medical relief for #COVID19 lands in Wuhan. Strong expression of our solidarity with the Chinese people at this difficult time. Thank you
@IAF_MCC and  @EOIBeijing for your efforts.", https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1232662070837026817

"On its return from Wuhan, the IAF flight has brought back 76 Indians & 36 nationals from 7 countries - Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, China, South Africa, USA and Madagascar. Appreciate facilitation by Chinese government.", https://twitter.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1232837375199346688
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Quite a comprehensive video report by BBC, a few hours back: Coronavirus: Iran's deputy health minister tests positive as outbreak worsens - BBC News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0cRj3a0Qk, 13 min. 48 secs.
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Italy coronavirus outbreak spreads south as cases spike, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-outbreak-spreads-south-as-cases-spike/articleshow/74305839.cms

"Italy's new coronavirus spread south on Tuesday to Tuscany and Sicily, as the civil protection agency reported a surge in the number of infected people and Rome convened emergency talks.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has blamed poor management in a hospital in the country's north for the outbreak ..."

Ravi: I strongly believe the way to beat the disease is to stay informed and that's why I am putting up these posts. Not fear-mongering but just helping to raise alertness and awareness levels of this new disease which seems to be quite infectious, and does not have sureshot cures or vaccines yet.

South Korea (977 cases), Iran (95 cases) and Italy (229 cases) have seen recent outbreaks of this COVID-19 disease. Around 25 odd countries have got a few cases (less than 20) but have been fortunate + perhaps have taken better measures to isolate/quarantine cases/suspected cases, to not have an outbreak (large number of cases close to 100 or more) so far.
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Medical staff in Japan harassed for carrying ‘germs’ after tending to coronavirus patients https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3052274/medical-staff-japan-harassed-carrying-germs-after

An extract from the article:
“It is, I fear, part of the human condition,” Okumura [Jun Okumura, an analyst at the Meiji Institute for Global Affairs] said. “Look what happened after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake; there were rumours that Koreans were poisoning wells and dozens of them were lynched. This is not too far removed from that.

“To have this sort of criticism of emergency teams is just a horrible spectacle. I’m very glad the [Japanese Disaster Medicine] association has taken this step [releasing a strong statement protesting against such harassment] because it needs to be said,” Okumura said. “ Personally, I think the best way of combating something like this would be for the people involved to be publicly named and shamed.”
--- end extract ---

COVID-19 stats. reported by article, as of 25th Feb. 6.47 PM (Hong Kong time, I presume)
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80,279 cases (c), 2,707 deaths (d), 27,476 recovered

Country/region/ship wise (cases > 20)

Mainland China: 77,658(c), 2,663(d)
South Korea: 977(c), 11(d)
Diamond Princess (ship): 691(c), 4(d)
Italy: 229(c), 7(d)
Japan: 159(c), 1(d) [Earlier stats. had included Diamond Princess ship stats in Japan stats]
Iran: 95(c), 16(d)
Singapore: 91(c), 0(d)
Hong Kong: 85(c), 2(d)
United States: 53(c), 0(d)
Thailand: 37(c), 0(d)
Taiwan: 31(c), 1(d)
Australia: 23(c), 0(d)
Malaysia: 22(c), 0(d)
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Gives insights about how the Chinese communist party is using its big organization to fight the outbreak!
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2767467940136432?__tn__=-R
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Coronavirus: infected health official leading South Korea’s fight against Covid-19 is member of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3052129/coronavirus-infected-health-official-leading-south
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Great to read this account of 24 year old medical student from Kerala who was the first in India to be detected as positive for COVID-19, and who has fully recovered now: ‘Never lost hope’: India’s first coronavirus patient, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/never-lost-hope-india-s-first-coronavirus-patient/story-oGY1bFEZmD21chvc01T95L.html, 24th Feb. 2020

She was a student in Wuhan, China and contracted the disease there. She flew to India just before Wuhan went into lockdown. She was in isolation in Kerala from 27th Jan. to 20th Feb. (24 days).

She said, "I am charged with positive energy now. I never felt I was alone in the isolation ward. Many prayed for me. My respect for the medical profession has increased manifold now" ... "She (Kerala health minister K.K. Shailaja) would tell me that you are not alone and the whole state is with you. The state government has done a stupendous job that really helped prevent infections. I really salute it."

Her view about the disease (don't know how medically accurate it is): "If coronavirus affects a healthy person, it does not cause many problems. But for immuno-compromised, it can be life-threatening. The mortality rate (is) just 2% and in our (South Indian/Indian) climate, this might not spread."
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Don’t Send Them Here: Local Officials Resist Plans to House Coronavirus Patients, "In California and Alabama, plans to house evacuees with the virus in federal or state facilities are meeting with resistance from local political leaders.", https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/us/coronavirus-quarantine-california-alabama.html
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Hmm. So we don't know how it originated yet!

Stats. on 23rd Feb. as per article:
Overall (worldwide): 78,959 cases (c), 2,465 deaths (d) and 23,094 recovered.

Country/Region wise (cases > 20)
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Mainland China: 76,936 (c), 2,442 (d)
Japan: 838(c), 4(d)
South Korea 602(c), 6(d)
Italy: 132(c), 2(d)
Singapore: 89(c), 0(d)
Hong Kong: 74(c), 2(d)
Iran: 43(c), 6(d)
Thailand: 35(c), 0(d)
United States: 35(c), 0(d)
Taiwan: 28(c), 1(d)
Australia: 23(c), 0(d)
Malaysia: 22(c), 0(d)

Coronavirus did not originate in Wuhan seafood market, Chinese scientists say, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3051981/coronavirus-did-not-originate-wuhan-seafood-market-chinese
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Coronavirus cases soar in Italy as authorities scramble to find patient zero, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/23/europe/italy-novel-coronavirus-spike-intl/index.html

"Italy's confirmed cases surged from three on Friday morning to more than 130 by Sunday morning."

The article states that authorities have not been able to identify how the virus entered Italy (patient zero).
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All three COVID-19 cases in India (students from Kerala who were studying in Wuhan), are declared as disease free and have returned home. So, as of now, as per official government accounts, India is COVID-19 infection free. That is GOOD NEWS! But as the risk is still high, India must remain alert and not put down its guard.

Coronavirus outbreak: India is infection free, but risk continues to remain high, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/coronavirus-outbreak-india-is-infection-free-but-risk-continues-to-remain-high/story-QX2Xvbgu7WWDOTBfZZkBdM.html
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The article is provocatively and quite inaccurately titled, perhaps to attract eyeballs. But it does show how in a Singapore sales conference event, participants from UK, Malaysia and South Korea, besides Singaporeans, got infected, taking the infections, ***unknowingly***, back to their home countries. The UK person first flew to France and ***unknowingly*** spread the infection there, besides infecting a few in UK.

Once the authorities came to know of the situation, they seem to have acted with commendable speed and action, to track the cases, their contacts, test and isolate infected persons. That's how this disease outbreak has to be defeated.

How one Singapore sales conference spread coronavirus around the world, https://www.livemint.com/news/world/how-one-singapore-sales-conference-spread-coronavirus-around-the-world-11582369582426.html
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Chinese vice-minister for science & technology says new Coronavirus vaccine trials are expected around late April

China says earliest coronavirus vaccine set for April trials, https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/China-says-earliest-coronavirus-vaccine-set-for-April-trials-618314, 21st Feb. 2020

"The earliest vaccine for the coronavius that has killed more than 2,000 in China alone will be submitted for clinical trials around late April, China's Vice Science and Technology Minister Xu Nanping said on Friday."

Ravi: I presume this is a vaccine created by Chinese scientists.
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USA COVID-19 cases go up to 35 as 21 of the recently repatriated Americans who are infected, are added to the 14 cases detected in USA.

CDC has confirmed 35 cases of novel coronavirus in the US, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/21/health/cdc-coronavirus-update/index.html
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Great news! I read that scientists across the world are working furiously on coming out with vaccine(s) against the new coronavirus. I also read that usage of such vaccines among general public is still a few months away.

Australian coronavirus vaccine goes into test production, https://www.theage.com.au/national/australian-coronavirus-vaccine-goes-into-test-production-20200221-p5436l.html
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I strongly believe that the way to beat the new Coronavirus outbreak is by being informed.

So here are two more recent videos on it:
Coronavirus epidemic: Wuhan residents ordered to remain indoors, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kcw82BMl10, 2 min. 41 secs, published by Al Jazeera.

Coronavirus cases in US and Europe confirmed, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91PvosqXUFU, 7 min. 56 secs, published by CNBC Television.
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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledges $100 million in fight against new Coronavirus

China’s Xi Writes Thank-You Letter to Bill Gates for Virus Help, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-22/china-s-xi-writes-thank-you-letter-to-bill-gates-for-virus-help

The above article links to this one: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Dedicates Additional Funding to the Novel Coronavirus Response, https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/02/Bill-and-Melinda-Gates-Foundation-Dedicates-Additional-Funding-to-the-Novel-Coronavirus-Response, 5th Feb. 2020.

It states, "The foundation will provide up to $100 million to improve detection, isolation and treatment efforts; protect at-risk populations in Africa and South Asia; and accelerate the development of vaccines, drugs and diagnostics."

What a wonderful contribution from a tech leader & billionaire to the world! May God bless Bill & Melinda Gates and their foundation!
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Coronavirus: cases have not yet peaked, Xi Jinping tells Politburo, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3051688/coronavirus-115-new-deaths-confirmed-hubei-officials-report-411, 21st Feb. 2020

Current COVID-19 stats

Overall (worldwide): 76,794 cases (c), 2,250 deaths (d), 18,631 recovered.

Country/region wise (cases over 20)
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Mainland China: 75,465 (c), 2,236 (d)
Japan: 727 (c), 3  (d)
South Korea: 208 (c), 2 (d)
Singapore: 86 (c), 0 (d)
Hong Kong: 69 (c), 2 (d)
Thailand: 35 (c), 0 (d)
Taiwan: 26 (c), 1 (d)
Malaysia: 22 (c), 0 (d)
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A special entry is Iran with 18 cases and 4 deaths.
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Coronavirus: South Korea in crisis mode as Daegu cases surge, https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3051815/coronavirus-south-korea-crisis-mode-daegu-cases-surge
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Coronavirus cases surge in South Korea | DW News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXAjUggad5c, less than 5 mins.
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BBC News update on COVID-19, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviEp0Tz6uQ, 12 min. 14 secs, published today 21st. Feb. 2020.
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South Korea reports first coronavirus death as Daegu church cluster cases soar, https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3051503/south-korea-reports-31-new-cases-coronavirus

South Korea's infected cases count has crossed 100! The report states, 'At least 70 patients are from Daegu or nearby and the majority of those cases have been traced to an infected person who attended a local church, a scenario that KCDC [Korea’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention] described as a “super-spreading event”.'

Latest COVID-19 stats reported in the SCMP article:

Overall (worldwide): 75,773 cases, 2,129 deaths, 16,329 recovered.

Country/region wise (above 20 cases):
Mainland China: 74,576 cases (c), 2,118 deaths (d)
Japan: 723 c, 3 d
South Korea: 104 c, 1 d
Singapore: 85 c, 0 d
Hong Kong: 69 c, 2 d
Thailand: 35 c, 0 d
Taiwan: 24 c, 1 d
Malaysia: 22 c, 0 d
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The quarantine on Diamond Princess cruise ship at Yokohama port near Tokyo since 3rd Feb., seems to have been seriously problematic. It had around 3700 passengers and crew (lots of Indians among the crew, as per some reports I read). 634 of them tested positive for COVID-19 (don't know how many among the Indian crew have tested positive)!

[Update: Seventh Indian tests positive for coronavirus on cruise ship off Japan coast, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/seventh-indian-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-on-cruise-ship-off-japan-coast/story-oVnjLJI2Vpj4lOpWNrQmyM.html. "A total of 138 Indians are on the ship, including 132 crew and 6 passengers." end-Update.]

Latest sad news is that two elderly Japanese among these infected persons have died.

Coronavirus: 2 Diamond Princess Cruise Ship Passengers Die After Contracting COVID-19, https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/20/807745305/coronavirus-2-princess-diamond-cruise-ship-passengers-die-after-contracting-covi,

...

Seventh Indian tests positive for coronavirus on cruise ship off Japan coast, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/seventh-indian-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-on-cruise-ship-off-japan-coast/story-oVnjLJI2Vpj4lOpWNrQmyM.html. "A total of 138 Indians are on the ship, including 132 crew and 6 passengers."
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What awesome bravery and sacrifice, the medical staff in Wuhan hospitals have shown! I bow my head in reverence to them for the service to humanity that they have done in such challenging and dangerous circumstances, with some of the medical staff losing their lives while doing this service.

I think many Chinese people have shown incredible dedication and devotion to their duty in fighting this new and dangerous virus. That is a great and noble thing that they have demonstrated to the world.

"Hours after the new numbers were released, authorities announced that Liu Zhiming, head of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak in central China, died aged 50.

Liu, a neurosurgeon, was diagnosed with Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, in late January and had been in a critical condition for days, his wife told Red Star News, a news site operated by Chengdu Media Group.

https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2761097294106830?__tn__=-R
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Tough but I think the Chinese government has no choice as most of the cases, and deaths, seem to be in Hubei province and the numbers have not started to significantly dip (which would indicate that the epidemic is coming under control). 2015 population of Hubei province was 58.5 million as per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubei. Wuhan city is in Hubei province.

"On Monday Hubei reported 100 further deaths and 1,933 confirmed cases of Covid-19 as the overall death toll passed 1,700.
The whole country reported 2,055 new cases, a slight upturn after three days of declines, and 106 deaths."

The stats:
Overall: 73,428 cases, 1,873 deaths, 12,677 recovered.

Countries/Regions with above 20 cases:
Mainland China: 72,436 cases (c), 1868 deaths (d)
Japan: 610 c, 1 d
Singapore: 81 c, 0 d
Hong Kong: 61 c, 1 d
Thailand: 35 c, 0 d
South Korea: 31 c, 0 d
Taiwan: 22 c, 1 d
Malaysia: 22 c, 0 d

FB video: Hubei in full lockdown ..., https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/528913674408196/?t=0
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From what I have read, so far all Indian evacuees from Wuhan have tested negative. The only positive cases reported are the 3 in Kerala who had travelled on their own from Wuhan back to Kerala, and out of the three, two have fully recovered and been discharged. The only other person who had tested positive has undergone treatment and is awaiting results of a test.

I think the (union) health minister said that 2500 (or was it 1500?) tests for new Coronavirus 2019 have been conducted so far (in India).

FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2760105530872673?__tn__=-R
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Air India crew gets PM’s letter of appreciation for executing Wuhan evacuation, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/air-india-crew-gets-pms-letter-of-appreciation-for-executing-wuhan-evacuation/videoshow/74180019.cms
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Good to know this.

https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2759861817563711?__tn__=-R - Second coronavirus patient discharged in Kerala
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Interesting read; article focuses on positives of Chinese government action against COVID-19 so far: Why China’s commitment and ability to contain the coronavirus outbreak should not be doubted, https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3050255/why-chinas-commitment-and-ability-contain-coronavirus-outbreak, 14th Feb. 2020
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Great service to world at large done by Chinese whistle blowers on Coronavirus 2019 Wuhan outbreak, who sadly have disappeared now

I debated with myself quite a bit about whether I should put up this post.

I decided to go ahead with putting up this post. Why? Well, besides the medical doctor and martyr Li Wenliang, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Wenliang, who first shared the info. about a possible new and dangerous virus to friends privately but who shared it publicly, two Chinese social media whistle blowers - Chen Qiushi and Fang Bin - have done a great service to the world at large by informing the world about the severity of the COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus 2019) epidemic in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. This has led the rest of the world to get a better idea of the crisis there and to try to prevent or reduce its spread in other countries. Note that India is a neighbouring country to China, and that Kerala state of India had 3 cases of COVID-19 (2 of which have recovered and 1 is under treatment) among students of Kerala who were studying in Wuhan.

I have done some whistle-blowing in the past and know how lonely that task is, how much courage it needs, how one earns many powerful enemies due to whistle-blowing, and also, seeking your kind indulgence for blowing my own bugle, how vital that task is to inform the larger community about the truth of what happened and what is happening, which enables them to get a much better understanding of complex problems in the community.

As I am among many who have benefited from these two Chinese whistle-blowers' work, I felt that the least I could do, in return for their service, is to post about them.

Here are a few videos which tell us about them and their work:

1) Citizen Journalist Chen Qiushi Goes Missing Covering Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J4ddPVcq4Q, 2 min. 15 secs, published by QuickTake by Bloomberg on 11th Feb. 2020

2) Fang Bin took some video of a hospital in Wuhan and was caught by the police, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCEFzL66oKg, 7 min. 14 secs, published by Truth Wins on 1st Feb. 2020

3) Wuhan’s Fang Bin (shortly after his first arrest for leaking Coronavirus vid), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBZw7WrRhVY, 4 min. 17 secs. published by Tech Noir on 8th Feb. 2020

4) Fang Bin is second Chinese citizen journalist to vanish while reporting from coronavirus epicentre, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUvBNpkxrJo, 3 min. 23 secs, published by South China Morning Post on 14th Feb. 2020
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Here's a New York Times article on their work and disappearance: They Documented the Coronavirus Crisis in Wuhan. Then They Vanished., 'Two video bloggers whose dispatches from the heart of the outbreak showed fear, grief and dissatisfaction with the government have gone silent.', https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/business/wuhan-coronavirus-journalists.html, 14th Feb. 2020
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Decided to share this after a lot of thought, and with the following warnings:
a) It is a tough look at China's handling of the COVID-19 crisis and may be over critical of the Chinese govt.
b) Viewer discretion is advised
c) Some stuff in it is very graphic and can be distressing. If you cannot handle seeing such stuff, DON'T VIEW the video report.

Coronavirus Outbreak in China 10 Times Worse Than Reported?, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-nv7j9HEgY, around 40 mins. published by 'Zooming In with Simone Gao' on 14th Feb. 2020.

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Interesting article from a former reporter of The Hindu who lived in Beijing during the 2003 SARS epidemic, comparing those days with COVID-19 epidemic now.

A tale of outbreaks, both in China, https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-tale-of-outbreaks-both-in-china/article30823771.ece, 15th Feb. 2020

Some points from the article:

* Mortality rate for SARS was 10% whereas for COVID-19 it seems to be around 2% (yet to be established).

* COVID-19 is much more infectious. SARS spread to 8000 people over 8 months with 774 deaths. COVID-19 has spread to 63,000 people over 6 weeks with over 1300 deaths (perhaps at time of writing the article; now official count is over 1600).

* SARS cover-up was for many months. It started in Nov. 2002. On 3rd April 2003, Chinese health minister said (to the world) that Beijing had only a handful of infected cases. On April 20th, the cases were increased to over 10 times the earlier number and on April 23rd, the cases were reported as 693!

* SARS happened in pre Facebook/Twitter/WhatsApp age

* Weeks long silence on COVID-19 after it was detected led to around 5 million people moving out of Wuhan before the city was quarantined. [The 5 million figure seems to be backed by other reports e.g. Top 10 list: 5 million left Wuhan before quarantine — where did they go?, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/02/09/asia-pacific/science-health-asia-pacific/top-10-list-5-million-left-wuhan-quarantine-go/#.XkkVuCgzY2w, 9th Feb. 2020. A small extract from it: "For weeks after the first reports of a mysterious new virus in Wuhan, millions of people poured out of the city, cramming onto buses, trains and planes as the first wave of China’s great Lunar New Year migration broke across the nation. Some carried with them the new virus... Speaking to reporters a few days after the city was put under quarantine (on Jan 23rd), the mayor estimated that 5 million people had already left. Where did they go?"]

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Coronavirus: Why many deaths will never appear in official figures, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3050311/its-pneumonia-everybody-china-knows-about-many-deaths-will-never

"Wuhan’s overburdened health workers are unable to confirm many of those who died were suffering from Covid-19, so they will not show up in official figures".

Ravi: The eyes of the world are on the stats. I guess we have to simply accept that the real count of infected persons and deaths are higher than official Chinese stats.

The key current official Chinese stats (from above article) - Mainland China: Infected cases: 68,500, Deaths: 1665.

That is followed by Japan (338 cases), Singapore (72 cases) and Hong Kong (56 cases).

Four COVID-19 deaths have been reported outside mainland China - 1 each in Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines and France.
....
Hongkongers who lived through Sars outbreak call for more government action against new coronavirus, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgEGlcIeyek, 6 min. 9 secs.

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Glimmers of hope!

Coronavirus: China announces drop in new cases for third straight day, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51519055

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Good to read this interview of senior Chinese leader and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, as I think a dialogue with top Chinese leaders about the state of the COVID-19 virus epidemic is important for the world.

Exclusive: Senior China diplomat concedes challenge of coronavirus, slams 'overreaction', https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-politics-exclusive/exclusive-senior-china-diplomat-concedes-challenge-of-coronavirus-slams-overreaction-idUSKBN2082EZ, 15th Feb. 2020.

Wang Yi said: "Only under the leadership of President Xi can we control this sudden epidemic, which has spread so quickly. This is not only to defend the health of the Chinese people, but also will prevent the rapid spread of this epidemic in the world". .. "We have taken the most correct, the most rigorous and decisive measures to fight against the epidemic. Many measures went beyond international health regulations and the WHO recommendations".

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Coronavirus & Me: Ben Kavanagh’s journey - from quarantine in Wuhan to Wirral (in UK), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-GB9EYqAGM, 21 min. 52 secs.

Quite a breezy video about an Irish teacher guy who worked in Wuhan and got caught up in the lockdown. While he did not get infected, he had to be in self-quarantine in Wuhan and then when he was flown to UK, in quarantine for two weeks or so, after which he (and others with him, if I got that right) were found to not have any infection and so free to come out of UK quarantine and mix with the general populace. His mother is waiting for him and the last scene is of him having a pint of Guinness beer while sitting with his mother in Liverpool.
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Coronavirus: Senior Chinese officials 'removed' as death toll rises- BBC News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEKXaxiBiw4, 7 min. 49 secs, published on 14th Feb. 2020
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Dying a desperate death: A Wuhan family's coronavirus ordeal, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-family/dying-a-desperate-death-a-wuhan-familys-coronavirus-ordeal-idUSKBN2080NY, 14th Feb. 2020

Small extract from it:

"Two days before Xiangyou died, doctors at the 4th Hospital of Wuhan had written in a diagnosis that both brothers were likely infected by the coronavirus which has now killed over 1,350 people in China. CT scans showed their lungs had turned “white” with patterns resembling cracked glass, symptomatic of severe viral infections.

But the hospital did not have any RNA test kits to confirm their cases, and thus could not admit them for treatment, according to the doctors. They were told to contact their community government, which on Jan. 30 offered to house the brothers at the hotel."

Xiangyou is one of the two brothers who had gone to the above mentioned Wuhan hospital. The other brother, Xiangkai, is now in the hospital but seemingly in serious condition awaiting the result of an RNA test.

Ravi: What is very sad is that the CT scan done before Xiangyou died seems to have shown that he, most probably was infected with the COVID-19 virus. Why did he not get some treatment then? Just because the disease was not confirmed as there were no RNA test kits to confirm it? Or was the hospital just too, too crowded for them to treat him?

I am not trying to blame the medical staff here. Just trying to get a picture of how overwhelmed perhaps the medical staff at the Wuhan hospital mentioned above, were.

I think such killer infectious disease outbreaks are one of the worst things to ever befall human settlements, whether city, town or village. I mean, even tsunami and earthquakes do their damage and then people can focus on relief. Here it is ongoing damage for over a month now, since the disease was identified in early Jan.
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Diary of a coronavirus survivor: 'I thought I was knocking on hell’s door', https://www.livemint.com/news/world/diary-of-a-coronavirus-survivor-i-thought-i-was-knocking-on-hell-s-door-11581618353475.html.

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Coronavirus: Hubei province reports 4,823 new cases and 116 more deaths, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3050570/coronavirus-hubei-province-reports-4823-new-cases-and-116-more, 14th Feb. 2020

Deaths in China have touched 1483 along with 1 death each in Japan, Hong Kong and Phillipines taking the total death count to 1486.

The pic in the article shown in the FB preview below is of a lady at a Beijing railway station having plastic covers on her shoes and her head and body for added protection! Seems to be an outlier case, as one can see others in the background with only facemasks as protective gear. But I do think it is such pics that tell us the story about the fear among people in China's capital today of this new Coronavirus.

China will surely beat this disease in due course. But the fear this has created in Chinese people across China including its capital Beijing, due to the Wuhan, Hubei province virus outbreak, should be motivation for governments and public health agencies across the world to work to be better prepared for such outbreaks in future, and work to prevent or at least reduce the possibility of such new and dangerous virus outbreaks.
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An article that appeared in the print edition of The Hindu a few days ago: Beijing in the time of Corona, https://www.thehindu.com/society/beijing-in-the-time-of-corona/article30761479.ece, 8th Feb. 2020.

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Continuing to share stats of COVID-19 ( that seems to be the official name now of the novel Coronavirus 2019 strain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019-nCoV_acute_respiratory_disease) as I strongly believe that transparent information sharing is the way to beat such diseases rather than suppressing or hiding the information and being in denial.

Coronavirus cases rise sharply as 242 people die in a single day, https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-more-than-14-800-new-cases-reported-yesterday-11932787, 13th Feb. 2020.

"A total of 48,206 cases of COVID-19 are now being treated in Hubei province alone, most of them in the city of Wuhan."

"A total of 242 people died from the flu-like virus on Wednesday - the fastest rise since the pathogen was identified in December." [Wednesday is 12th Feb. 2020] The death toll has now crossed 1300.

Hmm. China publicly reported this then new virus on 31st Dec. 2019. This document from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, "Outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome associated with a novel coronavirus, China; First cases imported in the EU/EEA; second update", https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Risk-assessment-pneumonia-Wuhan-China-26-Jan-2020_0.pdf states: "On 31 December 2019, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown aetiology was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province China. On 9 January 2020, China CDC reported a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as the causative agent of this outbreak, which is phylogenetically in the SARS-CoV clade."

I presume China CDC is China's Centre for Disease Control or something similar to that. So by 9th Jan. 2020, Chinese health officials had figured out the cause of the disease outbreak in Wuhan, a modern city of over 11 million, as a novel Coronavirus (new strain). Today it is over a month and Wuhan is still struggling to overcome the disease. Over 200 died yesterday, a full month after Chinese health officials had identified the disease! My God! This just goes to show how limited the power of science and technology is against a dangerous and infectious new virus outbreak.

Ebola was very scary. I had followed some of the media reporting of the Ebola outbreak in 2014. Here's one of my posts on it: The fear of dangerous and contagious diseases like Ebola, https://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-fear-of-dangerous-and-contagious.html, posted on 26th Oct. 2014.

But, from what I recall, Ebola impacted poor countries in Africa.

Wuhan is a modern city in China. That a new virus could really lay low a city like Wuhan for over a month so far after public identification of the disease, is a scary but vital learning for me about how vulnerable human society is, even in modern cities today, to new and dangerous diseases.

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China is awesome in how it can get mega tasks done. Great to see that exceptional ability being used to disinfect ***entire cities*** to fight this new Coronavirus outbreak. Video is around a minute and a half.

Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/266546957658083/?t=0

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Bill Gates in April 2015 about world not being ready for next dangerous epidemic, and his suggestions about how the world could be more prepared: Bill Gates: The next outbreak? We’re not ready, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Af6b_wyiwI, 8 min. 36 secs.

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Fight the Virus - Alvin Oon, "'Fight the Virus' by Alvin Oon is a remake of Simon & Garfunkel's classic song 'Sound of Silence'. This song shares information about the current Wuhan coronavirus that has spread across the world and how we can all work together to fight and beat this virus. Share the song! Fight the virus!", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYTzX9JCbDY, 3 min. 7 secs., published on 29th Jan. 2020.

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The article which is dated 12th Feb. 2020 (today at 6:46 AM perhaps Hong Kong Time) gives the grim statistics of Coronavirus strain nCoV 2019. I felt it appropriate to share so that the truth of the situation is known. IMHO, it is such truth that will eventually beat this virus outbreak.

Total cases: 45,168
Deaths: 1,115, Recovered: 4,771

Mainland China: 44,653 cases, 1,113 deaths
Japan: 202 cases, 0 deaths
Hong Kong: 49 cases, 1 death
Singapore: 47 cases, 0 deaths
Thailand: 33 cases, 0 deaths
South Korea: 28 cases, 0 deaths
...
India: 3 cases, 0 deaths
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As of now it seems that, essentially, it is in China that the disease has to be beaten, with all other nations being cautious about spread of the disease. So the world should help China in beating this disease but in an open and transparent manner as hiding information may come in the way of beating the disease outbreak.

I earnestly pray to Almighty God to help China in particular, and the world in general, to overcome this dangerous disease outbreak.

[Shared article: Chinese officials’ phone apology to patients as coronavirus deaths hit 1,115, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3050104/coronavirus-chinas-hubei-province-reports-94-new-deaths-1638-new ]
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PBS video made over three years ago (well before nCoV2019 outbreak in Dec. 2019): Why southern China is a hotbed for disease development, [Warning: watch it only if you can handle some disturbing pics & info.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb4oDJ4T1kE, 6 min. 43 secs, published on 11th Aug. 2016

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Quite comforting to see a concerned but calm Xi Jinping while China is fighting this virus: Xi Jinping visits Beijing neighbourhood as coronavirus death toll reached 910, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qXzP1Ckb1k, 2 min. 42 secs., published on 10th Feb. 2020.

A calm leader radiates calmness to the country. I should also say that I think Xi Jinping has a warm connect with the Chinese people, and that is great in a political leader.

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More Pics and video clips capturing China's grim fight against the 2019 Coronavirus strain

This post follows up on my yesterday's post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2752524471630779 .

The objective of this post is just to share the reality of what one new virus can do to big cities. For me, seeing these pics and videos have been a sad but powerful learning experiece about the dangers of new virus epidemics in today's times.

I am not commenting about whether the police action against resisting Chinese people who perhaps were suspected of having the symptoms of the virus, was appropriate or not. These are grim days in Wuhan and other cities in China that are impacted by this virus, and the battle is to save other Chinese people (and people of the world) from getting infected with this virus.

Note that even in Shirdi Sai Baba's times, some parts of Maharashtra were hit by plague (yes, the dangerous disease, plague), which is recorded in Shirdi Sai Satcharita along with Shirdi Sai Baba's miraculous cures of some cases of plague in his devotees. [To get the references to plague in Shirdi Sai Satcharitra, just search for plague in this ebook version of Shirdi Sai Satcharitra: https://www.sai.org.in/sites/default/files/sai-charitra-english-complete-book.pdf.]

But now with this new and dangerous virus hitting Wuhan and other places in China and the world, resulting in lockdown in Wuhan to control the outbreak, due to social media, one can see pics and videos of the devastating impact of the virus. This is the first time I am seeing such pics & videos about impact of such a virus on a modern city of over 11 million. It is a very disturbing but powerful experience teaching me, like perhaps no text articles can, about what such a virus outbreak can do to a modern city.

I first came across this twitter account through this tweet and its embedded video: https://twitter.com/HimalayaGlobal/status/1223580046893338625, 1st Feb. 2020.

The video is about a Christian evangelical group in China distributing facemasks and a gospel leaflet in Wuhan, China. Perhaps the twitter account itself is associated with the Christian evangelical group.

While I appreciate their work in giving free facemasks to Wuhan residents, I think they should have made the gospel leaflet optional. Further, there are statements in the translation that indicate that they view the Wuhan virus outbreak as a consequence of sinning against God. I think that is very inappropriate. My final issue with these evangelical preachers is their statements in the translation say that ***only*** Jesus Christ is the way, truth and eternal life. I would be fine if they preached that without the word 'only', while giving the free facemasks.

Later I went to the twitter account and saw its tweets. It has a lot of videos about what seems to be Wuhan and/or other cities in China grimly fighting this outbreak. I don't know how accurate the English text that appear on the video are, but I do get the impression that the video alone (minus audio) seems to be authentic. That is why I am sharing some of these tweet videos in this post. Please view them (if at all you do), with some skepticism.

'Voice from #fangcang hospital “I was so hopeful that once moved here, I shall be cured. But it is such a mess here. Patients everywhere.',
https://twitter.com/HimalayaGlobal/status/1225411980090982402, 6th Feb. 2020

"Desperate wife wailing for help on the balcony. Husband is dying at home.", https://twitter.com/HimalayaGlobal/status/1226244920043802625, 9th Feb. 2020

“Physical isolation is to lock you up... with chain lock, so you can't get out. Anyone in Hangzhou, if fails to comply with this rule, will be prosecuted.", https://twitter.com/HimalayaGlobal/status/1226129958990315520, 8th Feb. 2020.

"Recent announcement by Chinese judicial officer: Fail to report recent trip to #Wuhan may be charged(.) Offender may receive severe punishment, even Death!", https://twitter.com/HimalayaGlobal/status/1225375663663616001, 6th Feb. 2020

There are some very sad tweet videos about this matter. I did not want to share them here. Readers who want to see them can go to the tweet account and see them.

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Some good news:
India’s first coronavirus patient recovers, may get to go home soon, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-s-first-coronavirus-patient-recovers-may-get-to-go-home-soon/story-GAzvhGmdz5B3wCefFxiCnM.html

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Good to see this: "Demonstrates Friendship": China On PM's Letter To Xi Over Virus Crisis, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/china-praises-prime-minister-narendra-modis-letter-to-president-xi-jinping-says-appreciate-indias-su-2177858.

As a citizen and resident of India, I fully support Indian government's offers of help to China to combat the nCoV2019 crisis, and also appreciate any help (info.) from China to India to combat cases in India based on China's experience in handling it, and appreciate China's co-operation in helping Indian citizens from Wuhan in China get back to India.

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Pics and video clips capture China's grim fight against the 2019 Coronavirus strain

I debated a little with myself about whether I should put up this post. I decided to put it up as my work as a social media writer is focused on reality on the ground, and how human society reacts to it or should react to it.

I am not commenting about whether the police action against resisting Chinese people who perhaps were suspected of having the symptoms of the virus, was appropriate or not. These are grim days in Wuhan and other cities in China that are impacted by this virus, and the battle is to save other Chinese people (and people of the world) from getting infected with this virus.

But what these video clips and pics show is how day-to-day human life in Wuhan, China, a city of over 11 million people, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan, and also some other places in China, in our times of this early 21st century can be filled with fear by one new virus! And I think most cities and towns (let alone villages) in most countries in the world may be similarly prone to a new virus epidemic. So I think we have to learn from this grim experience of Wuhan, China, and other Chinese cities impacted by the virus, and be better prepared to combat such new and dangerous virus outbreaks. It is in that spirit of learning that I am sharing a tweet video and a Daily Mail (UK) article with pics & video clips of life in these days in Wuhan, China and some other cities in China.

I tried to check whether this tweet video has been authenticated or even just shared by any mainstream media outlet but failed to get any such link. Perhaps that may be because the tweet is dated just one day back. So this tweet video is NOT authenticated by any major news media outlet, and the tweet author is not a known figure.

https://twitter.com/chuaijiji/status/1226388394218909702, 9th Feb. 2020

Coronavirus mass arrests: Eighty-six people die of virus in a DAY in China as Beijing starts rounding up sufferers and videos show hazmat suit-clad goons dragging people from their homes while death toll hits 724, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7980883/Video-shows-officials-protective-suits-dragging-suspected-coronavirus-carriers-homes.html, 8th Feb. 2020

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Useful video giving us one person's experience in China in recent days. I agree with the view of the speaker that discrimination against Chinese people now is bad. They need the rest of the world's help now to win over this battle, which victory will help the whole world, and so the rest of the world should help China now on combating this virus.

Just got back from China, let me tell you about the Coronavirus!, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DUkWy0D1cs, 4 min. 41 secs.

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Oh! So sad to know this. Some of the car parts came from some Chinese factories which have been shut down now to control the nCoV2019 Coronavirus outbreak. So this Hyundai factory ran out of one of those parts, and had to suspend operations! The article states, "It (Hyundai) is having to suspend production at its factories across South Korea, putting 25,000 workers on forced leave and partial wages, healthy victims of the disease outbreak across the Yellow Sea."

Coronavirus claims world's biggest capacity car plant, https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/news/coronavirus-claims-world-s-biggest-capacity-car-plant-41581059679937.html

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The article is thought-provoking though some of its views may be strongly contested by China's communist party.

Free flow of vital information seems to be vital in quickly controlling such epidemic outbreaks, which in today's globalization era means that these outbreaks reach further and faster than before. Kerala state in India already has 3 confirmed cases of this nCoV2019 virus!

One big downside of authoritarian systems is that flow of information about such epidemics is controlled through laws and the police. The doctor martyr-hero who was one of the key persons who broke the news on possibility of new and dangerous virus to Chinese friends on the Internet which then went viral, was hauled up the police and forced to sign a humiliating apology letter!

Those democracies where freedom of speech is healthy are much better at this. If a new and dangerous epidemic had broken out in countries with such democracies, the news would have made it quickly to mainstream media, and then actions to control the epidemic would have kicked in much faster than what happened in Wuhan, China.

Authoritarian systems where information flow is controlled and unpleasant info. is suppressed, may look good from a distance, as they can put on a good show (marchpast, drama, music & dance, noble-sounding speeches etc.) but what history has taught us is that typically such authoritarian systems do not develop good ability to counter and control some critical issues that develop in the system over time.

I have learned how valuable healthy freedom of speech is, for social systems to be in good health over time (years & decades), whether it is a country-level political system or smaller community groups, including ashram systems. Today I cherish the freedom of speech that I have as a resident and citizen of India which enables me to express myself freely on social media on topics that are important to me. I thank God that I was born & bred, made a living and now do free service writing on social media, in the democratic republic of India.

The coronavirus threatens the Chinese Communist Party’s grip on power, https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3049589/coronavirus-threatens-chinese-communist-partys-grip-power
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"A Chinese nurse in a coronavirus-hit hospital in Henan Province gives her sobbing daughter an "air hug." #coronavirus", https://www.facebook.com/XinhuaNewsAgency/videos/2544403945883164/?t=0
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Perhaps the article goes too far. But if China had more freedom of speech, the damage of Novel Coronavirus 2019, in all probability, could have been contained significantly better.

If China valued free speech, there would be no coronavirus crisis, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/08/if-china-valued-free-speech-there-would-be-no-coronavirus-crisis, 8th Feb. 2020.
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Medical staff heroines and heroes of Wuhan, China! May God give them more strength and courage for the noble work they are doing, and the sacrifices they are making.

FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2750431068506786 has shared article and pics.
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See inside cruise ship called 'floating prison', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsL77cLfHsg, published by CNN on 7th Feb. 2020, 6 min. 15 secs.
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How Chinese doctor Li Wenliang died twice in China's state media, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/06/asia/china-li-wenliang-whistleblower-death-timeline-intl-hnk/index.html
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Tragic passing away of a Chinese medic hero! May God shower His Grace on his soul and give strength and courage to those who loved him to bear this loss.

FB post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2748793952003831 shares Times of India article on passing away of Li, a 34 year old doctor tried to warn other medics of the epidemic.
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China has to be congratulated on having this hospital erected and run in such a short period of time. Hats off to China for this awesome display of its construction prowess.
[Shared South China Morning Post video titled "China opens hospital built in 10 days", https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/634221900662802/?t=0 ]
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3 Cases Of Coronavirus In Kerala; All Students Who Returned From China, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/third-case-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-kerala-says-state-health-minister-2173894, 3rd Feb. 2020

The students returned from Wuhan in China to Kerala. The video report embedded in the article gives an interesting account of how Kerala government health officials are trying to reach out to all who may have come in contact with these students while they were or may have been infected with the virus. Good to see this action from Kerala govt. It is awareness among health care providers and the general public at large that is vital to beat such epidemics/outbreaks.
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Carlo Urbani, Italian doctor martyr-hero, who saved many lives in 2003 SARS outbreak by identifying it as a new and dangerously contagious disease and alerting WHO

Articles on the Coronavirus outbreak in China which has spread to some other countries in the world, has led me to read more about the SARS outbreak in 2003. That in turn led me to this Italian doctor martyr-hero, Carlo Urbani.

Given below are extracts from his wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Urbani:

Carlo Urbani (Italian: [ˈkarlo urˈbaːni] (About this soundlisten); Castelplanio, Italy October 19, 1956 – Bangkok, Thailand March 29, 2003) was an Italian doctor and microbiologist and the first to identify severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as a new and dangerously contagious viral disease.[1][2] Although he became infected and died, his early warning to the World Health Organization (WHO) triggered a swift and global response credited with saving numerous lives.

...
In late February 2003,[3] Urbani was called into The French Hospital of Hanoi to look at patient Johnny Chen, an American businessman who had fallen ill with what doctors thought was a bad case of influenza. Urbani realized that Chen's ailment was probably a new and highly contagious disease. He immediately notified the WHO, triggering a response to the epidemic (principally isolation and quarantine measures) that would end it within 5 months.[4] He also persuaded the Vietnamese Health Ministry to begin isolating patients and screening travelers, thus slowing the early pace of the epidemic.

On March 11, as he flew from Hanoi to a conference in Bangkok, Thailand where he was to talk on the subject of childhood parasites, Urbani started feeling feverish on the plane. A colleague who met him at the airport called an ambulance.
...

Urbani contracted SARS while treating infected patients in Hanoi. His Bangkok hospital room was an improvised isolation ward, and communication occurred via an intercom. It is rumoured that Urbani had an argument with his wife who lamented that it is an irresponsible behaviour for a father of three children who age from 4 to 17 to risk his life treating such a contagious and lethal disease. Urbani replied, "If I can't work in such situations, what am I here for? Replying e-mails, going to cocktail parties and pushing paper?"[3]

As his lungs weakened, he was put on a respirator. During a moment of consciousness, Urbani asked for a priest to give him last rites and asked for his lung tissue to be donated for scientific research. Urbani died on 29 March 2003, after 18 days of intensive care.

Wiki-Refs
1. Coates, Sam; Asthana, Anushka. "Dr Carlo Urbani Health expert who identified the Sars outbreak as an epidemic, and was killed by the virus". The Times. London.
2. "Dr. Carlo Urbani of the World Health Organization dies of SARS". WHO. 29 March 2003. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
3.  McNeil (Jr.), Donald G. (2003-04-08). "Disease's Pioneer Is Mourned as a Victim". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
4. "Summary of probable SARS cases with onset of illness from 1 November 2002 to 31 July 2003". World Health Organization (WHO). 31 December 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
--- end wiki extracts ---

Ravi: My God! How his wife would have felt when Urbani died leaving her with three children to raise as a widow! I don't know what further to say about her situation except to pray and hope that she and the children are doing well now.

The challenges that medical field personnel (doctors, nurses, paramedics etc.) face, especially when treating dangerous contagious diseases, are scary. The medical profession is truly a noble profession.
...
The article that I was reading which led me to read up on SARS 2003 outbreak: Coronavirus-related xenophobia is spreading – and I’m feeling the effects in the UK, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-uk-china-xenophobia-outbreak-health-latest-a9313551.html
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================================

Separate posts on COVID-19 that I put up in Feb. 2020:

Fascinating and detailed Hindu article: Fighting a virus, yet again: How controlling the Nipah outbreak helped Kerala to take on COVID-19,  https://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.com/2020/02/fascinating-and-detailed-hindu-article.html.