WUHAN: More than 2,000 people globally have been infected with a new coronavirus, the vast majority of them in China, where 56 people have died from the disease, according to figures released on Sunday.
The virus, believed to have originated late last year in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife, has spread to Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai, as well as the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Australia, France, and Canada.
Wuhan, where cases of coronavirus were first reported before the outbreak spread across the world, has been dubbed “zombieland” by desperate locals, the sun reported.
As the deadly coronavirus grips, Wuhan footage has emerged of Chinese residents collapsing in streets and hospitals across the city.
Harrowing pictures on social media show people collapsed on the street and in hospital waiting rooms amid the epidemic which has claimed the lives of at least 26 people.
In one disturbing clip, a man can be seen lying unresponsive on the ground while medics wearing hazmat suits and gas masks attempt to help him.
According to reports, the victim – who was wearing a protective mask – was waiting in line for paperwork when he lost consciousness and collapsed.
Another horrifying picture shows a man reportedly died on the ground with blood pouring from his head.
One local news site in Wuhan reports that the victim in the picture died from coronavirus.
Posting the image on social media, their caption read: “It is stated that a person infected with coronavirus died in blood.”
The unverified video that has been widely circulated online is reportedly showing the chaotic scenes inside a Wuhan hospital.
The footage, shared by a verified journalist, shows overcrowded hallways and staff in fully-protective body suits allegedly stepping over three dead bodies.
The video is being circulated on Weibo, a microblogging site in China after it was shared by a woman claiming to be a nurse at a Wuhan hospital.
The woman 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.
Residents in the “ground-zero” city, where the virus originated, have been told to avoid crowds and not to attend public gatherings leaving the streets looking like a ghost town – despite its 11 million population.
Other images online show a sea of people wearing masks crowding a corridor in a hospital as they wait to see a doctor.
A weibo video posted by a person claiming to be a nurse in #Wuhan Red Cross Hospital. She said medical workers and patients were stuck with three deceased in a packed hospital corridor. No one is here to take care of the bodies. #WuhanPneumonia pic.twitter.com/MKumfLDPki
— Thomas Yau (@Tominmedill) January 24, 2020
Images online, posted by shoppers, show supermarket shelves lying empty after panic buying by worried locals.
All transport links in Wuhan were locked down in a desperate bid to stop the spread of the bug.
Wuhan authorities are responding to the rapid spread of the virus by building a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to patients infected with the coronavirus.
According to the Washington Post, Wuhan Railway deleted a social media post from January 15 that said 300,000 people left the city.
As distrust with the government mounts, there are suspicions that such official posts have been deleted to shield the public from the true extent of the outbreak.
China has scrapped major Lunar New Year celebrations to stop the spread of the virus.
There are concerns that the virus could spread even more rapidly as a result.
The World Health Organization this week stopped short of calling the outbreak a global health emergency, but some health experts question whether China can continue to contain the epidemic.
(with inputs from The sun, Reuters and other Agencies)
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