Friday FEB 7 Update (page 7): Uncle intel from the Chinese exchange student at my bus stop

I don't expect this thread to get pinned, this is just what the Chinese exchange student who I talk to at the bus stop told me.

Yesterday, when it was just two cities in quarantine, he said, "Yes yes, it's very very bad." He has, obviously, been keeping in touch with his family.

He explained to me that Wuhon -- as big as LA or NYC population-wise -- was also a major transportation hub in China. He tried to explain how if you lived in one part of China and wanted to travel to another, you basically have to pass to Wuhon. And he explained how tomorrow (today, Saturday) was the beginning of the Chinese new year.

I haven't read any news stories saying what a huge transportation hub Wuhan is, and how during the incubation period, God only knows how many people contracted the virus and went on their merry way....aren't they saying there's a 13-day incubation period you can exhibit no symptoms yet still be highly contagious?

Anyway, flash forward to day.

This morning, we said hello, and resumed talking about the situation in China. He said his relatives say this is extremely serious, and presumably much much worse than the CCP is reporting. So he might be a college age kid, and a Chinese national, but he's no dummy. Not by a longshot.

I thanked him for his information about Wuhan being the equivalent of Grand Central Station, and in return hipped him to the information (in the West) that Wuhan has a major bio-pathogenic-(warfare)-research facility in the city.

The student took this information in with all appropriate seriousness, and told me he would attempt to verify this later, and inform his family if true.

He said the university already said they are extending his student visa, so as not to return to China when he was expecting to. As far as I know, this has not been reported in the news, if in fact it is true. (If it is, I think it's good public health policy IMO!)

Anyway, here's my tiny contribution to you GLP sleuths.

Good Luck People

Last Edited by Wharf Rat on 02/07/2020 02:16 PM