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Chicago families worry about relatives in China amid coronavirus outbreak
The coronavirus outbreak has Chicago families with loved ones in China worried about their relatives.
CHICAGO - The coronavirus outbreak has Chicago families with loved ones in China worried about their relatives.
FOX 32 talked to one man whose wife left for Hong Kong just a few days ago. He told us he is stressing to his wife to wear a facemask and because they are hard to come by, she even took extra with her for her family members.
The scene is the same in most places of China right now. People going about their lives, but wearing face masks.
Ben Lau’s wife Yunna has traveled to Hong Kong. He says she’s visiting her sick sister in the same hospital where a man is being treated for the coronavirus.
“I am so worried. I told my wife that she was to wear the mask all the time,” Lau said.
He says the virus may spread as the country celebrates the Chinese New Year this weekend.
“There is a massive human migration in that area because it was a long holiday and those who work in the city go back to the village to visit family members,” Lau said.
Highland, Indiana native Ken Zurek is visiting family in Chung-Ching, including his 6-month-old granddaughter. They are about 500 miles from Wuhan -- the so-called epicenter of the coronavirus, but there is still concern.
“I have to be honest, I’m a little nervous now, because everything is uncertain,” Zurek said. “We are afraid to travel. We are afraid to go outside.”
He says there are confirmed cases of the virus in Chung-Ching where he’s staying. For the most part, its business as usual but he says it’s obvious people are aware of the potentially deadly situation.
Zurek is insisting that if you feel ill, go to the hospital.