A Thai student trapped in China during the coronavirus outbreak has spoken about her fears of dying of starvation as the city is locked down.
Pasnicha Krutdamrongchai, a student at Wuhan University, begged the Thai government to evacuate its citizens from the city.
‘Right now most students over here don’t have enough food because we didn’t stockpile food in advance due to the sudden shutdown,’ she posted to social media.
‘We can’t go outside to buy food anywhere and supermarkets nearby run out of food.’
Ms Krutdamrongchai said she didn’t know if she would die first from the virus or from starvation.
Pasnicha Krutdamrongchai, a student at Wuhan University in China took to social media on Sunday to beg the Thai government to evacuate people
A Thai student trapped in Wuhan said people are running out of food and doesn’t know whether she will starve to death or die of coronavirus first
Wuhan is now in lockdown with travel both in and out of the city and surrounding areas cancelled.
Ms Krutdamrongchai said she is stressed the Thai government is not doing enough to get its citizens out of China, Coconuts Bangkok reported.
Her friends and classmates from the United States, Japan and Indonesia have all been contacted by their country’s embassies.
Japan rescued its citizens on Tuesday, while South Korea will charter a plane into Wuhan on Thursday.
‘I’m still waiting for help from Thai government. If I continue living here, I don’t know if I’ll starve to death or die of the virus first. I really want to go. I’m waiting with hope,’ she said.
China has confirmed there are now more than 6,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 132 deaths.
WHO officials said Wednesday it’s possible that coronavirus could be spread by touching surfaces after infected people have – like railings or medical tools , then touching ones mouth or nose (file)
The virus is believed to have originated late last year in a food market in the Chinese city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife.
Health experts think it may have originated in bats and then passed to humans, possibly via another animal species.
The World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted to several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan at the end of December.
Chinese authorities confirmed they had identified a new virus a week later.
The new virus, identified by scientists as 2019-nCoV, is a coronavirus, a family of viruses that include the common cold and more serious diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Coronavirus infections have a wide range of symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties.
People wearing facemasks to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in the city, wait for medical attention at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan on January 25
It is unclear how deadly the new virus is.
Although severe cases can cause pneumonia and death, there may be many cases of milder disease going undetected.
Many of those who have died had pre-existing medical conditions or were elderly with weakened immune systems.
All but around 70 of the more than 6,000 cases so far identified have been in China, mostly in and around Wuhan.
The other countries with confirmed cases include Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, the UAE, the United States, and Vietnam.
The Chinese government has put Wuhan into virtual quarantine to try and stop the spread of the virus.
A number of foreign governments have advised against non-essential travel to China and have begun flying their citizens out of Wuhan.
Medical staff members wearing protective clothing to help stop the spread of a deadly virus which began in the city, arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan