Affirming claims that far more people are sick and dying than the communist Chinese government is letting on, The New York Times recently published a sobering exposé about some of the families in Wuhan that are having to watch their loved ones suffer and perish due to medical scarcity.
What some had previously pegged as a "conspiracy theory" is actually turning out to be true, as many of the 11 million people who live in Wuhan are being forced to wait in lines outside at-capacity hospitals in the hopes of being seen by a doctor – only most of them never actually get that chance.
"Layers of bureaucracy stand between residents and help," writes Amy Qin for The Times. "And the long lines outside hospitals for testing and treatment suggest that the outbreak is spreading far beyond the official count of cases."
The fact that officials in Wuhan are feverishly building new hospital compounds to accommodate potentially hundreds of thousands of patients suggests that Qin is right, as are the area locals who told Beijing reporters that the rest of the world has no clue how bad things really are over there in Wuhan.
"The situation that we've seen is much worse than what has been officially reported," stated 32-year-old Long Jian to reporters outside of a hospital where his elderly father was being treated for coronavirus.
"Those who can get diagnosed and treated are the lucky ones. In our neighborhood, many who weren't able to get diagnosed ended up dying at home."
If you're not already on your death bed, Wuhan hospitals won't even admit you
Ever since the government of Wuhan locked down the city, sealing off streets and banning most forms of transportation besides a few approved emergency taxis, local residents have mostly been stranded inside their homes.
Some have chosen to bike or walk to wherever they need to go, assuming they have the strength, energy and ability to do so. But unfortunately for those who are sick, this is not a viable option, and they're basically being left for dead.
Calling 120, China's version of 911, is also no longer feasible, as Wuhan residents are being told that there are already hundreds of others waiting before them for emergency services.
Wuhan's medical services are also refusing to see people unless they have "severe symptoms," the definition of which some locals say is outrageously unrealistic. Many people with actual severe symptoms are being told that they're not serious enough to warrant medical attention, in other words.
In other cases, patients are being told that they can't be admitted to area hospitals without a proper coronavirus test. But as the media has been reporting, testing kits are likewise in short supply, which means most people will never get tested, and thus won't ever be admitted to a hospital.
"I'm very dissatisfied with the government," says 64-year-old Amy Hu, who tried to seek medical services after suffering a fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea. Hu was told by a doctor that she had, in fact, contracted coronavirus, but because no diagnostic tests were available to confirm this in accordance with government standards, she couldn't actually be admitted to the hospital for treatment.
"It's like only when the patients are close to death can they be admitted to a hospital," Hu futher lamented to the media.
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