CNN's team on the ground in Wuhan had to scramble to get out of the city before Chinese authorities implemented a public transport lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. Here is their account of the 3 a.m. rush to leave:
With the news that public transport -- including planes and trains -- leaving Wuhan would be"temporarily closed" from Thursday morning, the CNN team on the ground had to scramble to get out of the city.Colleagues in Beijing and Atlanta were the first to learn of the news and decided to pull the team out rather than risk them being stuck in Wuhan for an indefinite period.
Doing so wouldn't prove straightforward, however. There were only three flights to Beijing before 10 a.m., when the shutdown would come into effect, and all were almost full and carried with them the major uncertainty over what would happen if there were delays -- would departures be called off if they dragged on beyond cut-off time?
Roads were not mentioned in the announcement about the closures, but there was already reports on social media of police blocking highways, so Atlanta and Beijing decided the team should get a train out.Woken early by colleagues in Beijing, the team rushed to the closest train station, where they found a flurry of other passengers with the same idea.
Walking out of the first train station, the team was approached by one woman offering to drive people to a city about 400 kilometers from Wuhan. She wanted $300 for the journey.Driving through Wuhan en route to Hankou railway station, the team saw groups of people standing at the sides of the road, luggage at their sides, face masks on. It was not immediately clear what they were waiting for, but they were seemingly prepared for a long journey.
Arriving at Wuhan's central station, the team watched as dozens of passengers busily filed through the security screening. Officials were also using thermal detectors to scan for potential fevers. Just outside the main door, a man who looked to be in his late 60s, sat with a box of unopened face masks. He was selling them for about $1.75 each.Inside Hankou station, the crowds were shoulder to shoulder.
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