World News
Ottawa woman pleading with government to get husband out of Wuhan
An Ottawa women is frustrated with the federal government for not stepping up efforts to try and get her husband and other Canadians out of the lockdown in Wuhan, China, following the coronvirus outbreak.In this Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 photo, medical workers in protective gear help a patient get out of an ambulance in Wuhan in central China’s…
An Ottawa women is frustrated with the federal government for not stepping up efforts to try and get her husband and other Canadians out of the lockdown in Wuhan, China, following the coronvirus outbreak.
An Ottawa women is frustrated with the federal government for not stepping up efforts to try to get her husband and other Canadians out of Wuhan, China, following the coronvirus outbreak.
The city with a population of about 11 million has been put on lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading, a public health measure the World Health Organization called “unprecedented.”
“I'm just really, really worried. I really want him to come home,” the woman told CBC's Ottawa Morning.
CBC has agreed to keep her anonymous because she fears her husband might face repercussions in China for speaking out.
The husband is a professor who was on sabbatical in Wuhan when the outbreak began, she said, and the city was locked down before he could book a flight home.
Wuhan is one of 10 cities currently under quarantine in China's Hubei province. Global Affairs Canada issued a statement on Monday urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Hubei.
The woman said she and her daughter have contacted Global Affairs several times asking for help to get the man out of Wuhan, but all they have been told is that he should follow directions from Chinese authorities.
So far the government hasn't indicated whether they will repatriate any Canadian citizens from the affected areas in China, although other countries have made similar efforts.
- Coronavirus: Countries that are evacuating nationals from China's virus areas
- Mother pleads for Canada to evacuate her daughter from ‘life-threatening' situation in Wuhan
The U.S., for example, has a flight leaving Wuhan for San Francisco on Tuesday. The woman said her husband contacted the U.S. embassy in China and asked for permission to be on the flight.
“They indicated that if he wants to get on their flight he needs permission from the Canadian embassy first,” she said while fighting off tears.
“We really tried everything we could.”
Gov't says it's ‘assisting'
CBC contacted Global Affairs for comment and was directed to a statement from Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne from Monday.
“We understand the concerns of Canadians in the region and those of their families and loved ones,” it said.
“We are in contact with and providing assistance to Canadians currently on the ground.”
But the woman said that the government is not taking enough action.
“I've never [felt] something so desperate, that you don't really have that control and you really depend on your government to do something, but so far there is nothing planned,” she said.
“It doesn't seem to be necessary for them.”
There are no specific treatments for the virus, currently known in scientific circles as 2019-nCoV and only identified earlier this month.
It can cause fever and flu-like symptoms, escalating to breathing problems and more severe issues in rare cases.
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