"Due to the recent outbreak of the new strain of legionella pneumonia in our city, the city will be placed under lockdown from 19: 00 on the 3rd of August. Please return home as soon as possible. Do not panic and wait patiently for evacuation arrangements … "
On the television screen, the male presenter's expression was serious. His voice was solemn and full of confidence.
No matter which channel was switched on at San Hai City, the signal was this breaking news.
The internet was already under lockdown but all phones in the city received the same message. Every now and then, there would be a new message.
The notice started at 2 pm and the lockdown would begin at 7 pm. The timing was so tight that it caused fear and anxiety to the citizens.
Some people wanted to drive away from San Hai City but regardless of whether they were locals or locals, they all realized that all the entrances and exits were under lockdown. The whole city was on lockdown.
Some people wanted to rush to the supermarkets but they realized the supermarkets and malls were all locked down.
In the news report, the presenter explained it very clearly.
The legionella bacteria was airborne. It was naturally produced in the natural environment and grew in artificial water supply systems such as air conditioners and heating and cooling systems. These systems would discharge the contaminated aerosol and once inhaled, the human body would be infected. Symptoms such as fever, sweating, dyspnea and coughing would appear.
Therefore, places like supermarkets and stadiums were the places where the infection was the most serious.
All the air conditioners, showers and humidifiers in the city had to be shut down. Furthermore, all the artificial water supply systems had to be shut down. Starting from midnight on the 4th, the water supply would be cut off. The citizens were advised to store their water but it was best not to drink it. Even if they wanted to drink it, they had to wait for at least 10 hours. Those with water should stay away from the faucet. Do not panic.
The prevention team would first quarantine the infected and suspected infected people one by one before evacuating the rest of the citizens.
"Please stay at home patiently." The presenter emphasized, "Do not panic."
The press release was obviously carefully crafted to make the citizens understand the severity of the situation. In fact, it did not even mention the word 'outbreak' but 'emergence'.
However, those who studied medicine noticed the strangeness in the press release. The legionella bacteria had never been this contagious before, so what did the 'new strain' mean?
Not everyone understood the legionella bacteria but the severity of the emergency measures was felt by every citizen.
Li Mingqiu had graduated from university six years ago. He was nearing his thirties and was a programmer in an IT company.
When the afternoon notice was released, everyone in the company was in a state of panic. Everyone wanted to leave immediately, but the leader said that they should stay in the company and wait for the evacuation. Those who were walking on the streets were the ones who needed to go home as soon as possible.
"Those with children to take care of can go first. The rest of you should think about it yourselves. The traffic outside is very chaotic, and there are many people. It's easier to get infected if you go out and run around. "
This was the truth. Looking out from the window of the middle floor of the office building, the pedestrians on the street were in a hurry. The taxis did not stop at all. The traffic was already on the verge of a traffic jam.
Because Li Mingqiu wasn't a local, and he wasn't married or had children, he shared an apartment with someone. There wasn't anything good about going back, so he chose to stay in the company.
Half of the colleagues stayed behind, but not all of them left because of their families. Some of them left because they wanted to buy some supplies. "I don't know how long we'll have to wait for the evacuation. The germs can contaminate the water. If we're late, all the mineral water will be gone." Some of them didn't think it was a big deal. "It's just a scare tactic."
The central air conditioner was immediately turned off. In the hot summer of August, the office immediately became extremely hot, and the windows had to be closed according to the instructions.
"The epidemic this time might be more serious than SARS …"
"Yes, the government must know it's a rush to do this, but they still did it."
The office was sweltering. The 10 people who stayed behind stayed at their seats. After the initial heated discussion, they were now at a loss for words.
At that moment, Wei Xiaoru, who was on the phone with a fellow doctor, put down her phone. She sighed at the nervous group, "My friend said there are many types of legionella bacteria. This time, it should be a new strain, different from the ones before. To prevent legionella bacteria, we need to keep the windows open to prevent it from growing in an ideal environment. "
"Then why are we closing the windows?" Zhang Dawei gasped, this was also the question on Li Mingqiu's mind.
Wei Xiaoru thought back and said, "The main carrier of legionella bacteria is the aerosol described in the news, but normally it can only travel with the wind within a radius of 200 metres and survive in tap water for about an hour. Now we have to close the windows and cut off the water supply, according to my friend, there are only 3 possibilities.
"One, this new strain has a wider range of transmission and can survive longer in water. Two, the disease control center believes that San Hai City has been … contaminated. Lastly, the first two are probably true. "
The group looked at each other. Even though they did not know much about medicine, they understood the gravity of the situation.
'Spread with the wind? Spread with the water supply? Humans need to breathe and drink. '
"The whole city has been contaminated?" Zhang Dawei's face was filled with anger. "What the hell is going on, are they hiding something again? Why are we being evacuated now?"
"My friend said …" Wei Xiaoru was also confused. "This epidemic might be spreading too fast, even the government is caught off guard."
The group was worried and anxious but they could only wait. The wait lasted until 7 pm. Sirens blared across the city, martial law had begun.
They looked out from the office window. The streets had already become deserted. Only the vehicles from the disease control center and martial law enforcement vehicles passed by occasionally. There were also disease control center personnel in white protective gear walking by and grabbing individual citizens who were still wandering outside and taking them away.
However, the news already stated that coming into contact with the disease control center members would increase the risk of infection so it was best not to purposely leave the city.
Furthermore, they would not be taken away from San Hai City but to be quarantined and treated if they were suspected to be infected.
After the sirens, the announcement came again. "Please return home as soon as possible …"
The news also said that if anyone around them showed signs of coughing, please stay away from the suspected patient and call the helpline. If you showed symptoms, please call the helpline to get treatment as soon as possible.
Why evacuate the patients before evacuating the rest?
Lee Mingqiu pondered this question for the whole afternoon. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that other than the lack of manpower, the whole of San Hai City had been contaminated …
The disease had an incubation period, it was impossible to tell who carried the bacteria and who did not. One patient could easily spread the infection to thousands of others.
Therefore, they could not evacuate randomly, they had to wait for the patients to show themselves first to confirm which parts of San Hai City were still clean.
Perhaps only the healthy people in the clean areas would be evacuated in the end …
Everyone was silent when suddenly a quiet colleague, Lin Mingda, who was sitting at his office chair, coughed violently. "Cough, cough …"
All of a sudden, they all turned their heads to look, only to see that Lin Mingda's complexion had unknowingly become somewhat unsightly.
This was bad. Lee Mingqiu's heart tightened and his body felt like it was about to collapse. Wei Xiaoru's face paled as well.
"Ah!" Zhang Dawei took several steps back and said in a panic, "Call for help, call for help …"
"I, I …" Lin Mingda wanted to say something but the coughing only intensified. "I, cough, cough …"
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