As the death toll passed 1,000, a senior Chinese official has ordered Wuhan authorities to gather up infected citizens for quarantine at designated hospitals, according to the New York Times.
The rate that the virus is spreading has been cause of concern, but some experts suggest that the hysteria surrounding the pace of the outbreak is unwarranted. David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that much of what the general public knows about the virus is speculation and to be mindful of the fact that limited evidence is available at this time. “They aren’t truth — they’re just one step in trying to better understand this outbreak.”
To combat the potential spread of the virus, travel to various parts of China is being discouraged, especially to the epicenter city of Wuhan “for their own good,” says Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.
Shuang also made a point that foreign journalists specifically should follow all protocol given by authorities and limit their reporting for the sake of “preventative health measures and [to] avoid cross infection.”
Although China is limiting the reach of foriegn journalists, the central propaganda department has sent more than 300 journalists as part of what they are deeming a “prevention-and control” campaign.
Some Chinese citizens are concerned about the censorship and regulation of the Chinese press. Posts celebrating the arrival of foregin journalists were forced to be edited, with previous comments being deleted and new ones being disabled. News outlets have also been advised on the specific way they cover the virus.
Journalists at the Xinhua news agency, for example, have been told to keep their coverage of the virus positive, according to internal instructions seen by The New York Times. They were ordered not to continue mentioning the fact that the World Health Organization had declared a global health emergency and not to cover every infection discovered overseas.
The Burk Bulletin 