Joshua Wong 黃之鋒  😷Verified account

2/The deadly new coronavirus outbreak remind us of SARS in 2003, started in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and has entered the stage of transmission among families and hospital, it is a full-blown community epidemic.

3/ We are all terrified because this new virus reminds us of how the Chinese government covered up the severity of SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) which infected 8,098 people and took away 774 lives across 30 countries in 2003.

4/ In 2003, the outbreak of SARS was traced to the selling of wild animal, like snakes, civet cats and bats in wet markets in China’s Southern Guangdong province, and the first patient was infected after preparing for a meal of chicken, cat and snake, and later infected others.

5/ During the initial stages of the outbreak, the Chinese government concealed information from the public, limiting mitigation efforts and exacerbating the spread of SARS. Chinese government did not notified WHO of SARS until Feb 2003, allowing it to flourish and spread to HK.

6/ It infected 1,755 people and took away 299 lives. I was just a kid at the time, I remember school was cancelled and I was staring at the news everyday for updates on infection and death numbers, I can still recall how desperate we were.

7/ Similar to SARS, the Huanan Seafood Market, which sells meat is sold alongside live animals like dogs, hares, and civets, in Wuhan is thought to be the starting point for the virus outbreak.