Stranded, quarantined, doxxed: how coronavirus made pariahs of those who left Wuhan
- Holidaymakers and students among those who left before the lockdown, only to be shunned elsewhere and struggle to get back
- Residents who were not infected describe being stuck in quarantine far from home, while Excel documents circulate their details online
But by the time he checked into a hotel in Macau, he was told to go to the local hospital, where he spent the next four days in quarantine. After testing negative for the virus, he was driven to neighbouring Zhuhai, where he spent over a week locked in a hotel, not knowing when he could go home.
“My friends told me the disease is quite serious and there’s no way I can go back now,” Jason, who wished to use only his first name, said.
The morning after Jason was quarantined, on January 23, Wuhan went into complete lockdown to try to prevent the virus from spreading. Planes and trains were not allowed to leave, highway exits were sealed, and citywide public transport halted.
Other cities in Hubei province soon followed suit, shutting in more than 50 million people, the biggest national response to an infectious disease crisis in human history.