This is coronavirus ground zero.
The city of Wuhan has become the centre of a killer virus that has now claimed the lives of at least 17
The once buzzing city of Wuhan has been reduced to a ghost town as doctors dressed in ominous hazmat suits continue to treat 440 cases of the bug, which has already claimed the lives of 17 in the city.
The Sun Online travelled to the deadly epicentre as cases rapidly increased to 300 in just one day, with fears that it could be declared by the World Health Organisation as a global crisis.
The Huanan Haixian Shichang market is thought to have been the epicentre of the virus and remains closed today
Desperate residents wearing facemasks has become the norm, so much so that many stores have completely sold out, leaving many frantically searching online for supplies.
Those who find a seller are routinely ripped off in the process by those appearing to cash in on the crisis.
A few residents ventured outdoors wearing protective face masks as officials advised against travel in and out of the city
The grey and largely deserted city of Wuhan, in the Hubei province and bigger than the city London, feels apocalyptic as its 11 million residents prepare for what could become a global crisis.
Blue and white police tape flutters in the fog-heavy breeze beyond the shuttered gates of Huanan Haixian Shichang, a once-thriving market at the epicentre of the outbreak.
Video shows how deserted the city of that has 11 million people after the lockdown. See below...
Red plastic barriers mark a cordon of 10 meters or so outside the main entrance which opened its doors to sell everything from dried prawns to live porcupines as well as the trade of ‘illegal wild animals’.
The only signs that the virus was first discovered here on January 1 are a camouflage tent and a handful of paranoid guards on the lookout for any journalists trying to take photos.
Medical staff transferring a Thai 70-year-old patient, who is suspected of being coronavirus infected after traveling back from China's Wuhan. Credit: EPA
Reporters who have been here since last night said it’s extremely high security around the market and hospital, with security guards and police threatening to arrest anyone taking photos or filming.
Rong Bao, 27, works on a stall selling cooked meat in a wet market less than a mile from the close market.
A picture posted on social media appears to show a patient being covered to prevent infecting others.
VIDEO: Coronavirus Patient sealed in a PLASTIC TUBE to avoid contaminating others as medics in hazmat suits transport him
She said: "Every day the police are coming here to check everything and make sure the stalls are clean and hygienic. If not people are told to clean up and will be punished."
Our on the ground reporter, who is too fearful of the Chinese authorities to be identified, says there is little activity on the streets with people shutting themselves indoors.
The mass movement of people for Chinese New Year could easily trigger an unstoppable global bug with ‘super-spreaders’ fuelling the crisis. Credit: Crystal Wilde
She said: “Only the main transport hubs, such as the airport and the train station indicate that this is a city of 11 million, as families jostle with their suitcases, eager to escape to their Lunar New Year destinations, the most important festival in the Chinese calendar, in case an all-out quarantine is enforced.
"There’s a notable difference as soon as I land in Wuhan. In the airport, almost every single person, including staff, is wearing a face mask.
A lone travel waits for transporation as she tries to flee Wuhan city after lockdown
"There’s hand sanitizer on every desk and some staff are wearing gloves. I walked through an infrared camera in arrivals but no one seemed to be paying any attention.
"Travelling into the city by cab, even drivers who are alone in their cars are wearing masks. With the fog, pollution and rain."
A patient thought to have been infected was seen arriving at a hospital in Wuhan
Despite warnings against travelling in and out the city, train stations and airports remain busy in what is described as the ‘largest annual human migration of the year’, Chinese New Year.
This amount of mass movement could easily trigger an unstoppable global bug with ‘super-spreaders’ fuelling the crisis.
Wrapped up in a puffer coat, her small voice muffled further through an airtight face mask, Wang Chenlin, 42, said: "I have seen the news but nobody really understands the situation.
Hospital staff wash the emergency entrance of Wuhan Medical Treatment Center, where some infected with a new virus are being treated. Credit: AP:Associated Press
"It seems like it’s more or less the same as SARS. I’m scared but I have to go back because it’s New Year and my parents are on their own.
"They are wearing face masks every day but they’re old so they don’t go out that often."
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This article first appeared on The Sun.
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