Westport man in Wuhan has no regrets about not returning to Ireland

STAYING STRONG Westport man Michael McGreal is pictured with his wife Laura on a visit to Ashford Castle. Photograph courtesy of Michael McGreal.

Michael McGreal has not been able to leave his home for 40 days due to the Covid-19 lockdown

Anton McNulty

A WESTPORT man living in the Chinese city of Wuhan – the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak – says he does not regret not leaving for Ireland. He has not left his apartment in over 40 days.
As Covid-19, the novel coronavirus, takes hold in Europe and arrives in Ireland, Westport man Michael McGreal believes Irish people should take precautions to prevent it spreading throughout the country.
“If you go to a place which has the coronavirus you should go home and self-quarantine for at least 14 days to make sure you don’t pass it on to people outside,” he told The Mayo News when speaking from Wuhan last Thursday.
Late that evening, the first coronavirus case on the island of Ireland was announced.
“The thing about this disease is that it can stay in your body for 14 days before you show any symptoms. In those 14 days you could infect hundreds of people. You don’t know you’re sick, and the people you’re infecting don’t know you are sick.
“Wash your hands regularly, and if you buy a mask learn to put it on correctly and seal it correctly around your face. Another bit of advice to people back home would be to stock up a little bit on 75 percent alcohol which is great for killing the virus and maybe a few masks which won’t go astray. When the coronavirus does arrive they will be hard to buy no matter where you are. It is better to be safe than sorry. If you don’t use them you don’t use them, but it is better to be prepared.”

Chained gates
A native of the Lodge Road in Westport, Michael has not been able to leave his apartment in almost six weeks after the Chinese authorities placed Wuhan and its 11 million inhabitants in lockdown.
When the crisis hit the city in January, Michael said they were informed that everything was expected to be back to normal by mid-February. However, he and his wife are still confined to their apartment – with no end in sight.
“The key is to try to keep busy, but it is only so many times you can clean the house,” explained the 35 year old, who has been living in China for 12 years. “The next step is to clean the air-conditioning unit; it is that bad now. You get up in the morning ’til lunchtime, go to bed, get up again and watch TV, read a book and go back to bed. There is only so much you can do.
“If we were told there was an end-day in sight that would be something. But nobody actually knows when this will end, so you don’t have this end-day to say we just need to hold out to April or May. We don’t have that.
“We heard news today [February 27] that one of the prominent doctors in China mentioned the [Chinese] Government are confident they will have this under control by the end of April. Whatever that means for us is not clear. Will we be stuck in our house until the end of April? We honestly don’t know.”The gates of the community compound have been chained up to prevent people from leaving, but despite the uncertainty Michael has no regrets about remaining in China.
“I don’t regret it. The way I look at this is if you throw a stone in a pond, Wuhan is the splash and Europe is the ripple. I am better off to see it out here in China because there is no point going home and going through the exact same thing again. I am so far into it now I can’t give up and must see it through.”

Food rations
Apart from the boredom, the other main difficulty is the food rations, which consist of some vegetables and a small amount of meat, which are left at their door.
“It is definitely not a balanced diet at the moment. You might get lucky and get a fresh bag of vegetables that last three or four days, but sometimes you mightn’t get the freshest and have to eat it that day. The price of food is getting very expensive now. For an example, what you will get for €20 now is two carrots, two red peppers and two heads of cabbage – that is it.”
Despite the lack of food and being trapped inside his apartment, Michael hasn’t lost any sense of humour when he revealed he lost 8kg in 37 days.
“I am losing weight … it is a great diet. Everyone should try this quarantine craic at least once in their life if they want to lose weight,” he joked.
His father, also called Michael, is living in another part of Wuhan, and the only contact they have is phone contact. Both have remained healthy and free from the virus, which has claimed the lives of over 2,000 people in China to date.
Measures that he has taken to prevent catching the virus including spraying his clothes in alcohol and washing them in bleach.
Michael, who works as an academic director for the Chinese Government in the province of Hubei, is continuing to praise the way the Irish Embassy is looking after Irish citizens.
“The Irish Embassy in Beijing contacted us, and they said to us whatever we need they will send in a diplomatic pouch. If we need razors, toothpaste or even masks they will source them in Beijing and send them to Wuhan.
“You have no idea how big of a help that is. It is probably the only thing getting to us, anything bought on line is not getting through. I am in a lot of chat groups with people from other countries, and there is no other embassy I know of doing this for other foreign citizens. It is fantastic and fair play to them.”