Life Threatening Alerts and Tragics around China This Week

Just as the pandamic situation ease in China (Beijing haven't reported local cases for 3 days), more life threatening alerts and tragedies took place in this short week.

Following we put togarther a recap of the dangerous situations and suggestions for keeping you and your family safe.

North China

Three plague spots found in Inner Mongolia after 1 case of bubonic plague was reported 

Three locations in a city in North China's Inner Mongolia' Autonomous Region were found to have cases of plague virus after a local farmer was confirmed as being infected with the disease and 15 were quarantined for observation, the local health authority said Tuesday.

Medical and disease control experts sent to Urad Middle Banner of Bayannur City found plague bacillus at three locations, including one where the infected patient was found. Previously, four dead rats with the virus were found in the same location on June 18, the China News Service reported Thursday.

The patient was confirmed as having bubonic plague on Sunday and is now in a stable condition.

The level III early warning took effect later on Sunday in the region. Fifteen people who had close contact with the patient have been quarantined at home.

The plague is a severe infectious disease that is highly transmissible and has a high fatality rate. It's a Class A infectious disease, the highest classification under China's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.

Source: Global Times

 How to prevent bubonic plague?

• Do not touch or eat wild animals in plague-endemic areas. People who enter the plague epidemic area should be protected from insects and fleas to prevent arthropod bites; 

• Stay away from marmot caves, and do not sit or lie around the cave of the rat or marmot. Mosquito repellent can be sprayed around the place of residence and clothing. 

• Once encountering sick and dead rats (marmots and other dead animals), suspected plague patients (fever and lymphadenopathy, fever and chest pain, cough), patients with unexplained high fever and sudden death, they should be reported as soon as possible.

East China

A case of dengue fever diagnosed in Anhui

According to Guangde City Health Committee, on July 5, a resident of Wanguishan Community in the city was diagnosed as a dengue fever patient in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anyi Medical. 

The patient has a history of traveling in India, Myanmar, Pakistan and other countries and is currently being treated in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical College.

 Prevention and control of dengue fever

The Municipal Center for Disease Control is instructing residents around the patient's residence to carry out mosquito control. 

The transmission route of dengue fever is mosquito bites, which can be prevented and controlled. Residents who have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and nausea, please go to the Municipal People's Hospital and the Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in a timely manner.

Southwest China

At least 21 dead after bus falls into reservoir in Guizhou

At least 21 people were killed and 15 injured after a bus fell into a lake in the city of Anshun, Guizhou province, on Tuesday, local authorities said.

The bus driver surnamed Zhang, 52, was a local resident and had driven the bus route since 1997. Zhang also died in the incident. The case is under further investigation. 

The passengers included senior high school students who were about to sit the life-changing college entrance examinations, or gaokao, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

A piece of video footage, which was taken from a roadside monitoring camera and released online, showed that the bus travelled slowly on the road around noon 12:17. It suddenly veered left, crossed the road, broke the barrier guardrail and fell into the reservoir.  

Ministry of Transport urged public transport companies to pay close attention to the mental and physical conditions of drivers after the incident. 

 How to escape when a vehicle falls into water

When the vehicle falls into the water, it will not sink immediately. You can escape from the door or window in a minute or even two minutes before sinking. Even if the car sinks under the water, it may take half an hour to fill the vehicle with water.

If the windows and doors cannot be opened, you need to smash the windows with a sharp object such as a hammer. Hitting the four corners of the glass makes it easier to break.

If the window does not break, wait for the car to get flooded. When the water depth in the car is close to the head, take a deep breath and push the door. When the water pressure inside and outside the car is close, and the door is easily opened.

South/East China

China renews rainstorm alert as heavy torrents pummel provinces

Heavy downpours continued to wreak havoc across vast stretches of China yesterday as the country renewed its alert for rainstorms and multiple provincial-regions enhanced flood response.

China’s national observatory yesterday renewed its orange alert, the second-highest, for rainstorms. Heavy rain is forecast to continue until this morning, in large parts of southern China, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters upgraded the emergency response for flood control from level IV to level III on Tuesday afternoon.

Statistics from the China Meteorological Administration on Tuesday showed that the accumulated precipitation since June 1 in east China’s Anhui and Zhejiang provinces, central Hubei Province, and southwestern Chongqing Municipality, is the highest compared with that of the same period since 1961.

Jiangxi upgraded its emergency response for flood control from the fourth to the third level as of 10am yesterday. Rains that began on Monday have impacted nearly 399,000 people, the provincial emergency management bureau said.

On Tuesday, Zhejiang raised its flooding emergency response to the top level along the Qiantang River.

In an unprecedented move, the Xin’an River Reservoir, the largest flood control project in eastern China, opened all its nine spillways yesterday morning to release floodwaters. It is the first time that the reservoir has opened all the spillways to discharge floodwaters since it finished construction in 1959.

In Hubei, a landslide caused by heavy rainfall swept away nine people in Huangmei County yesterday, which suffered a precipitation exceeding 200mm.

Severe flooding caused by torrential rain disrupted the college entrance examination in Shexian County on Tuesday, as most of the 2,000-plus students were unable to reach their exam sites on time.

 How to protect yourself in rainstroms&floods?

What to do if blue or yellow alert is issued？

You should stay inside and shut all the doors and windows. Always remember to keep an eye on the gas systems in case there might be a leak.

　　　　If there's heavy rain, try not to ride a bicycle or drive.

 If the torrential rain suddenly falls when you're driving, try to find somewhere with high ground and park the vehicle there. 

What to do if an orange or red alert is issued？

Those who are in the mountains or hills, or near a river, should move to safer areas at once.　　

Large-scale group activities should be halted and participants should be moved to a safe area.

Pedestrians need to look for safe shelter. If your car suddenly dies while driving through a flooded area, check the surface runoff. If the runoff is collecting fast, the driver should abandon the car and leave the area immediately.

What to do to protect ourselves from lightning？

If you're outdoors, squat down and keep your legs together to lower the hazards brought on by step voltage. Stay away from trees or electric pylons, ground connection lines and metal water taps. Don't touch anything made of metal or use a mobile phone while outside during a storm. Don't stay in lowland areas, water areas or on the top of mountains.

If you're indoors, shut all doors and windows. Stay away from metal water pipes connected to the roof. Remove or unplug any wires that may lead a lightning current into the household. Try not to make telephone calls or answer the phone. Don't take a bath using a solar-powered water heater.

Hope you find this piece helpful!

If you have other questions about living in China, feel free to reach AnyHelper real-time Q&A system via AnyHelper WeChat menu (Scan code below), our lovely volunteers are online from 9am-9pm everyday to help you!

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