Coronavirus nurse claims scale of bug is much higher with 90,000 infected and warns: ‘Don’t go outside’
A NURSE in a full-body protective suit has claimed more than 90,000 have been infected with the killer coronavirus in China.
The woman claims she is working in a Wuhan hospital, which is where the outbreak that has already killed 56 is believed to have started, and has pleaded for help.
Her figures are a far cry from the reported 1,975 infections in China that was issued by the government this morning.
The unnamed woman said in the footage: “I’m in the area where the coronavirus started. I’m here to tell the truth.
“At this moment, Hubei province, including Wuhan area, even China, 90,000 people have been infected by coronavirus.”
The woman also said in the video shared on YouTube: “I would like to say that everyone who is currently watching this video should not go outside.
“Don’t party. Do not eat out. Once a year, we celebrate Chinese New Year. If you are safe now, you will be able to meet your family again healthy next year.”
She also made a desperate plea for supplies, added: “We don’t care what the government says. I will tell you through social media. Everyone, please donate masks, glasses and clothes to Wuhan.
“Please help us. Please donate disposable goggles, disposable masks and disposable clothing. Currently our resources are not enough.”
CHAOTIC SCENES
Her alarming comments come a day after China’s president Xi Jinping warned of a “grave situation” as he said the killer coronavirus was “accelerating its speed”.
Resources and experts will be placed at designated hospitals to tackle the virus and supplies to the Hubei province, where the virus originated, will be guaranteed and cost won’t be a hindrance, according to the TV report.
The government has sent 450 military medical staff, including those who have experience in fighting against SARS or Ebola, to the epicentre of the outbreak, according to .
Images and videos reportedly coming from hospital in Wuhan, a city of 11million that has been placed on quarantine since Thursday, have shown the chaotic scenes and dire conditions medical staff are working in.
One disturbing video is said to show the shocking moment a coronavirus victim is seen “fitting” uncontrollably on a hospital trolley.
On the 15-second footage, being circulated on Twitter, a woman can be seen holding the head of a patient who is hidden under a blanket.
Others wearing protective masks can be seen looking on in horror as the unseen person shakes and writhes violently from head-to-toe.
Coronavirus can cause seizures and convulsions among some feverish sufferers.
One unverified video reportedly filmed by a nurse in a Wuhan hospital appears to show overcrowded hallways and staff in fully-protective body suits allegedly stepping over three dead bodies.
The nurse wrote that staff and patients were “stuck” with the bodies, which are covered by white sheets, because no one is available to take them away.
Overworked medical staff are also wearing diapers because they don’t have time to use the toilet and others do so because they fear ripping off their hazmat suits when supplies are already so low,
A Wuhan Union Hospital doctor who identified himself as Mr Do on Weibo wrote: “We know that the protective suit we wear could be the last one we have, and we can’t afford to waste anything.”
Locals at hospitals in the “ground zero” of the outbreak are reportedly waiting two days to see a doctor as the virus as spread to more than 2,000 globally.
One resident, Xiaoxi, 36, said she had spent the past week taking her sick husband from hospital to hospital in a desperate attempt to get him tested for the virus.
She told the Wuhan felt like “doomsday” before adding : “I don’t know if we will both live to see the new year.
Authorities in Wuhan announced on Friday they were building a 1,000-bed hospital in a matter of days.
A second emergency hospital is going to build within weeks and house 1,300 beds, according to the People’s Daily.
What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an airborne virus, spread in a similar way to colds and the flu.
The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing lung lesions.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
It is incredibly contagious and is spread through contact with anything the virus is on as well as infected breath, coughs or sneezes.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
In most cases, you won’t know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as rhinovirus.
But if a coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract (your windpipe and your lungs), it can cause pneumonia, especially in older people, people with heart disease or people with weakened immune systems.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus.
In 2003 an outbreak of a similar virus, SARS, infected more than 8,000 people in 37 countries before it was brought under control, killing 800 of those worldwide.
