247 Please Do Not Panic
“Due to the recent appearance of a new strain of legionella pneumonia, the city will be placed under lockdown after 19:00 on August the 3rd. Please return home as soon as possible. Please do not panic and wait for imminent evacuation…” On the television screen, the male host announced seriously. His tone was severe yet powerful, filled with confidence needed to win over the disease. In San Hai City, every channel broadcasted this latest news. The internet was brought under control, and every phone in the city received similar messages that came every few minutes. The announcement arrived at 2 pm, and the lockdown would start at 7 pm. There was not much time for people to prepare, causing unrest in the citizens.
Some wanted to hop onto their cars and leave San Hai City but they discovered with despair that all exits were blocked off. Others hurried to the supermarket to buy necessary provisions but they were stumped to find all the supermarkets and malls closed. In the news, the host had explained it quite clearly. This new strain of legionella pneumophilia relied on airborne transmission. Even though it originated from nature, the bacteria could fester in manmade ventilation and supply channels like the heating vents, water pipes and air-conditioning vents. These channels inadvertently helped spread the bacteria through the circulation of infected aerated solids. Exposure to the bacteria would cause symptoms like fever, sweaty profusion, difficulty in breathing and coughing. Therefore, places like stadiums and malls were the most dangerous because they were huge health risks.
Once the announcement was made that afternoon, the whole company was gripped by worry. Everyone wished to get off work early but the supervisors said that all workers should wait at the company for the evacuation notices. “Those who have children at home can leave but the choices are open to the rest. The traffic outside is a mess and there are people everywhere, the chance of infection is probably higher if you leave the company.” That was the truth. Looking out from the company window, people scurried down the streets and the vehicles could barely move, the traffic system was practically paralyzed.
Since Lee Mingqiu was not a local and single, he had no reason to return to the apartment he shared with his roommate, he chose to stay at the company. About half of his colleagues made the same decision. Not all who left had to return to take care of their children, some went fighting for provisions. “Who knows when the evacuation notice will come. This bacteria can travel through water so I need to store up on boxes of mineral water.” Others thought these people were over-reacting, saying, “It’s probably nothing.”
The company’s central air-conditioning system was switched off. In the middle of the summer, the office space instantly turned into an oven. To make things worse, they were forbidden from opening the windows. “This might be more serious than a bout of atypical pneumonia…””Yes, that is true from how urgent the city had issued the lockdown.”
The people who remained sat at their cubicles. After the initial intense discussion, most conversations had died down. Suddenly, Wei Xiaoru, who had been talking on her phone with a doctor friend, suddenly sighed openly, “My friend said there are many different strains of legionella pneumonia bacteria but we are probably dealing with a new one, one that is different from any known strain. Good air circulation is necessary to prevent festering of the bacteria as it deprives them of the ideal environment to grow.”
The news also said that should one discover someone with symptoms around, one needed to stay away from them immediately and call the hotline for help; if one suffered from the symptoms, one should also call the hotline to seek immediate treatment.
There was one question that bothered Lee Qiuming, ‘Why is the government evacuating the patients before the normal citizens?’ Probably as Wei Xiaoru’s friend had claimed, the whole San Hai City was contaminated already…
The illness had a latent period so it was hard to tell who was infected and who was not. A single victim could expand the infection radius indefinitely. Therefore, evacuation could not be made that easily. First, they needed time for the victims of the sickness to surface, to weed out the unhealthy ones from the rest. Then those who remained would probably be the only ones who were allowed to evacuate to another city…
The office was silent when suddenly Lin Mingda, a colleague who normally kept to himself, started to cough. Instantly the rest whipped their heads towards him. Lin Mingda’s face had blanched by several degrees.
‘Oh no.’ Lee Mingqiu’s heart tightened and he felt woozy. Wei Xiaoru next to him had color drained from her face.
“Ah!” Zhang Dawei jumped backwards and gasped nervously, “Call the hotline, quickly call the hotline…”
“I, I…” Lin Mingda wanted to say something but it was swallowed up by his endless hacking, “I, cough, cough…”
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Some wanted to hop onto their cars and leave San Hai City but they discovered with despair that all exits were blocked off. Others hurried to the supermarket to buy necessary provisions but they were stumped to find all the supermarkets and malls closed. In the news, the host had explained it quite clearly. This new strain of legionella pneumophilia relied on airborne transmission. Even though it originated from nature, the bacteria could fester in manmade ventilation and supply channels like the heating vents, water pipes and air-conditioning vents. These channels inadvertently helped spread the bacteria through the circulation of infected aerated solids. Exposure to the bacteria would cause symptoms like fever, sweaty profusion, difficulty in breathing and coughing. Therefore, places like stadiums and malls were the most dangerous because they were huge health risks.
Once the announcement was made that afternoon, the whole company was gripped by worry. Everyone wished to get off work early but the supervisors said that all workers should wait at the company for the evacuation notices. “Those who have children at home can leave but the choices are open to the rest. The traffic outside is a mess and there are people everywhere, the chance of infection is probably higher if you leave the company.” That was the truth. Looking out from the company window, people scurried down the streets and the vehicles could barely move, the traffic system was practically paralyzed.
Since Lee Mingqiu was not a local and single, he had no reason to return to the apartment he shared with his roommate, he chose to stay at the company. About half of his colleagues made the same decision. Not all who left had to return to take care of their children, some went fighting for provisions. “Who knows when the evacuation notice will come. This bacteria can travel through water so I need to store up on boxes of mineral water.” Others thought these people were over-reacting, saying, “It’s probably nothing.”
The company’s central air-conditioning system was switched off. In the middle of the summer, the office space instantly turned into an oven. To make things worse, they were forbidden from opening the windows. “This might be more serious than a bout of atypical pneumonia…””Yes, that is true from how urgent the city had issued the lockdown.”
The people who remained sat at their cubicles. After the initial intense discussion, most conversations had died down. Suddenly, Wei Xiaoru, who had been talking on her phone with a doctor friend, suddenly sighed openly, “My friend said there are many different strains of legionella pneumonia bacteria but we are probably dealing with a new one, one that is different from any known strain. Good air circulation is necessary to prevent festering of the bacteria as it deprives them of the ideal environment to grow.”
The news also said that should one discover someone with symptoms around, one needed to stay away from them immediately and call the hotline for help; if one suffered from the symptoms, one should also call the hotline to seek immediate treatment.
There was one question that bothered Lee Qiuming, ‘Why is the government evacuating the patients before the normal citizens?’ Probably as Wei Xiaoru’s friend had claimed, the whole San Hai City was contaminated already…
The illness had a latent period so it was hard to tell who was infected and who was not. A single victim could expand the infection radius indefinitely. Therefore, evacuation could not be made that easily. First, they needed time for the victims of the sickness to surface, to weed out the unhealthy ones from the rest. Then those who remained would probably be the only ones who were allowed to evacuate to another city…
The office was silent when suddenly Lin Mingda, a colleague who normally kept to himself, started to cough. Instantly the rest whipped their heads towards him. Lin Mingda’s face had blanched by several degrees.
‘Oh no.’ Lee Mingqiu’s heart tightened and he felt woozy. Wei Xiaoru next to him had color drained from her face.
“Ah!” Zhang Dawei jumped backwards and gasped nervously, “Call the hotline, quickly call the hotline…”
“I, I…” Lin Mingda wanted to say something but it was swallowed up by his endless hacking, “I, cough, cough…”
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