‘It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie’: American in Wuhan reveals unfolding ‘disaster’ in coronavirus-stricken city with food supplies running out and hospitals overrun
Doug Perez, 28, of San Francisco, California, teaches English in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak
He was offered a seat on a charter flight that transported 195 Americans back to the US, but declined because he’d have to leave behind his Chinese girlfriend
Perez says he rarely leaves his apartment except to walk his Labrador dog
He and his girlfriend had their temperatures checked outside of a grocery store in what he describes as ‘something out of a sci-fi movie’
More than 8,000 people have been infected worldwide and 170 people – all in China – have died
By MARY KEKATOS SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER
DAILYMAIL.COM
30 January 2020
An American stuck in the locked-down city of Wuhan, China – the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak – has described it as ‘something out of a sci-fi movie.’
Doug Perez, 28, a native of San Francisco, California, says he was offered a seat on the recent charter flight that transported 195 US citizens back home on Wednesday.
But Perez, who teaches English, says he declined the offer because he would have to leave behind his girlfriend, a Chinese citizen, and their dog.
This makes him one of the around 1,000 Americans left behind as the infection continues to spread, sickening nearly 8,000 people worldwide.
‘A lot of foreigners are stuck here,’ Perez told the Associated Press. ‘There is no way on Earth many of us, including myself, are going to leave our loved ones.’
Perez says he rarely leaves his apartment unless it’s to walk his dog, a Labrador named Chubby, after fitting him with a mask.
‘Whenever we leave [the home], we bring the dog,’ he told Fox News Rundown. ‘So we only take him out for walks. That’s the extent of us leaving.’
Perez said that when they went to the grocery store to buy food, they both had their respective temperatures outside the shop.
‘We’re lining up to have our temperature tested in one of those temperature guns. It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie,’ he told host Dave Anthony.
Since the outbreak began in December 2019, more than 8,000 people worldwide have been infected with the virus and 170 people – all in China – have died.
Five cases have been confirmed in the US: Maricopa County, Arizona; Orange County and Los Angeles County, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Snohomish County, Washington.
On January 23, authorities announced that planes, trains and buses leaving Wuhan were canceled. Tollways on roads out of the city were also shut down.
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