Many in Wuhan to stay home for holiday amid outbreak

Many in Wuhan, Hubei province, have given up travel plans and are choosing to stay at home for the upcoming Spring Festival amid the ongoing pneumonia outbreak.

Zhou Shijie, who works at a government institution in Wuhan, said she will spend the holiday at home with her husband and parents.

"We will not go outside unless it is absolutely necessary. My parents have bought enough food and daily necessities for the holiday, so there is no need for us to go outside," she said.

The family had planned to visit nearby cities during the seven-day holiday, but they have canceled their trip due to the viral pneumonia outbreak.

"I guess the safest place currently is my home and our family have taken all precautions, including washing hands regularly, keeping it ventilated and wearing masks when going outside to reduce the risks of contracting the new coronavirus."

Huang Dong, a first-year graduate student at Wuhan University, will also stay at home for the festival as her plane on Friday to her hometown in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, has been cancelled.

Most of her classmates returned home last month, yet Huang stayed in Wuhan for the winter vacation to finish translating a book.

"It will be the first time that I cannot spend the festival with my parents. I am disappointed but I understand why the government decided to temporarily cancel all flights and trains departing from Wuhan."

Huang has not finished translating the book and she said she will spend most of her time continuing the translation.

"It will be a very different and memorable Spring Festival and I will chat with my parents a lot to let them know that I am taking good care of myself."

Bai Yu, a university teacher at Wuhan, said she has canceled dinner reservations at restaurants for the festival. Instead, Bai and her husband will eat dinner with their parents at home for the Chinese New Year's Eve and then spend the rest of the holiday at home with her husband.

They will not visit other relatives and have canceled travel plans to nearby Xianning city in Hubei province, Bai said.

Bai's parents have also canceled their trip to Sanya, Hainan province, during the festival.

"I guess I will just catch up on some TV series and variety shows at home," she said. "I also need to prepare teaching materials for the new semester and do some reading for the research paper I have been writing.

"Much remains unknown about the new pneumonia. What ordinary people like me can do is stay healthy, remain vigilant and hope for the outbreak to die down soon."