- Videos of people on lockdown in Wuhan show creative ways of passing time indoors.
- A coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China has now killed 106 people and infected more than 4,500.
- There are around 11 million people living in Wuhan, and they have been in lockdown since Thursday.
- Videos show people doing lion dances, fishing out of indoor fish tanks, and playing quoits.
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As millions of people in central China remain under quarantine in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, a fresh problem is emerging: boredom.
To combat the tedium of spending days stuck at home, citizens of Wuhan and cities nearby are getting creative, with videos posted to social media showing people fishing indoors, dancing, and playing indoor games.
The coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China has now killed 106 people and infected more than 4,500.
The virus has spread to at least 14 other countries including the US, and authorities have quarantined the entire city of Wuhan, as well as 11 other cities in China, in an attempt to stop the deadly virus from spreading any further.
There are around 11 million people living in Wuhan, and they have been on lockdown since last Thursday.
Videos posted to social media networks like Weibo show that rather than wallowing in boredom and apprehension, many people are trying to make light of their situation and find creative ways to pass the time.
Manya Koetse, editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, a publication reporting on social trends in China, shared a clip of a man doing a lion dance, using what appears to be a bucket for a head and a blanket for the body.
The video below circulated on the Chinese messaging service WeChat, according to Shenzhen-based writer Michael Standaert, who posted it on Twitter.
The video shows a series of clips featuring some creative ways to pass the time indoors.
The clip opens with a man fishing indoors from a fish tank, before moving on to a couple playing what appears to be ping pong, and finishes with a man playing playing quoits - a traditional game involving throwing a ring onto a spike.
One unnamed woman in lockdown in Wuhan spoke to The South China Morning Post and said: "Most people are staying home" during the lockdown.
"We normally stay home with family during the Lunar New Year holiday, we have plans to travel for some activities in the city, now we have to cancel them," she said to the South China Morning Post.
One video posted by Janis Mackey Frayer, an NBC correspondent in Asia shows footage of people chanting "Jiāyóu!" - which according to Frayer is a phrase said to lift someone up during a struggle, or keep going.
In another video, shared by Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-run tabloid Global Times, Chinese citizens can be seen jokingly gambling with protective face-masks while playing the popular game Mahjong. It is unclear if the video was taken in Wuhan or another quarantined city.
According to a report by the Guardian another issue that has emerged for people in Wuhan is having to explain to their children why they can't leave the house.
In response a booklet was released on Chinese social media platform Weibo advising parents on how to tell their children about the quarantine. It has been viewed 870,000 times since January 26, according to The Guardian.
It is not yet clear how long the city and the surrounding area will be under quarantine, but current restrictions affect around 50 million people.
- Read more:
- Wuhan, China, and at least 11 other cities have been quarantined as China attempts to halt the spread of the coronavirus. That's about 50 million people on lockdown.
- One map shows where the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has spread - more than 2,800 cases are confirmed across 14 countries
- The Wuhan coronavirus has killed more than 100 people and infected more than 4,500. Here's everything we know about the outbreak.
Second: don't completely isolate yourself but spend quality time with a friend or family member. pic.twitter.com/VJjGisjRQw
- Manya Koetse (@manyapan) January 27, 2020Video going around on Wechat of creative ways to pass the time during the outbreak: pic.twitter.com/xMRPdcgCc3
- Michael Standaert (@mstandaert) January 27, 2020Across #Wuhan, a show of determination with voices chanting 'Jiāyóu!'. It's what people say to lift somebody up during a struggle; to literally 'add oil' or 'keep going'...though doctors here took to social media urging them to stop given the risk of spreading the virus. @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/DkIhsJ3HqW
- Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisfrayer) January 28, 2020Masks are in short supply across China due to severity of epidemic. A video circulated in internet in China conveys black humor. Mahjong is popular in China, often involving small sum of gambling. But for these people, bets are masks. pic.twitter.com/lmTcizl9za
- Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) January 28, 2020