Coronavirus in China

By Vanessa Thompson

Coronavirus has been spreading rapidly throughout the world. It originated in Wuhan, China. Since the first case in December 2019, the virus has spread to the United States and other parts of the world. It is thought that the coronavirus or COVID-19 has been spread from animals to humans. This virus is deadly to anyone with underlying health issues and a weakened immune system.

Chinese officials closed all non-essential businesses to try and stop the spread of Covid-19. Schools were closed. All aviation flights, trains and even some roads were closed.  According to Nature.com “people in many Chinese cities were told to stay at home and venture out only to get food or medical help. Some 760 million people, roughly half the country’s population, were confined to their homes” (Cyranoski). Since these restrictions have been in place the number of new cases has gone down from thousands to only dozens.

“New cases of COVID-19 have slowed dramatically in China, but some fear that once the country fully eases its control measures, the virus could start circulating again. It could even be reintroduced into China from the countries now experiencing outbreaks. Because China’s measures protected so many people from infection, a large pool of people have no immunity against the virus,” Nature News reported (Cyranoski). This essentially means that because many citizens of China have been isolated in their homes since the virus began, they won’t have immunity against the virus once everything opens again. This in turn will cause more people to end up getting the virus.

The citizens have also helped stop the virus. According to World Economic Forum, “the work of ordinary citizens has also been significant - washing hands, reducing travel and not overburdening health systems. The combination of top-down policies and bottom-up commitment from ordinary people to fight the spread of the virus is proving really powerful” (Fleming). This means that the people of China are helping to slow the spread of the virus by not traveling as much, and washing their hands.

China has also used mobile apps to track the coronavirus. These apps can help to show the citizens of China where the virus is spreading and it can sometimes show the data of an affected person. According to Voice of America, “users in Hangzhou can then complete an online form that reports their official identification number and seeks additional information. Individuals are asked to enter details about recent travel outside the city, as well as anything suggesting they might be infected, such as a high body temperature or strong cough” (Lynn).

This app helps to pool together the information so that citizens can know whether or not they may have come in contact with the virus. If they have come in contact, the app will give them a red QR code and tell them to self-isolate for 14 days and to continue to give the app updates. These apps also can tell you the areas in which the coronavirus had the most impact. “The technology website Abacus reported that citizens can request location data from their mobile phone carrier to show they had not been in affected areas. The report said that if requested, China’s state-owned telecommunication companies will send users a message listing all the areas they had visited within the past 14 days” (Lynn). This will help people to show that they have or have not come in contact with affected areas.  

Works Cited

Cyranoski, David. “What China's Coronavirus Response Can Teach the Rest of the World.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 17 Mar. 2020, www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00741-x.

Fleming, Sean. “China's Response Shows How Bold Decision-Making Can Contain Coronavirus.” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/chinas-response-shows-how-bold-decision-making-can-contain-coronavirus/.

Lynn, Bryan. “China Using Mobile Apps to Follow Spread of Coronavirus.” VOA, Voice of America English News, 19 Feb. 2020, voanews.com/a/china-using-mobile-apps-to-follow-spread-of-coronavirus/5295063.html.