An Australian racehorse trainer in Wuhan has the described the city as 'out of this world' as it continues to grapple with the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Rui Severino, who is working at the Yulong Jockey Club in Wuhan, said rapidly increasing cases of the deadly virus was taking a toll on the local community.
There have now been more than 1,300 casualties, including 242 people who died in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, on the same day.
Nearly 15,000 new cases have been confirmed, bringing the total to about 50,000 on mainland China.
The father-of-two told The Herald Sun increased screenings may explain the rapid rise in confirmed cases.
Australian racehorse trainer Rui Severino is working in Wuhan during the coronavirus outbreak
Mr Severino said many preventative measures are in place to stop the spread of the deadly disease, including being tested twice a day, wearing face masks and remaining indoors
'They’ve been screening every single person that lives in Wuhan and in the province of Hubei, and I’m talking in the city of Wuhan 11 million people and they go to everyone’s house, every single house, every single person gets screened and I believe that’s why we’re seeing these new cases,' Mr Severino said.
Mr Severino is still working with horses despite the outbreak, and is tested twice every day for the disease, with extreme preventative measures in place throughout the city.
Face masks are worn by everyone, and the usually crowded streets are bare, with each family of four only able to send one person out for two hours every two days for food.
'You might see one person, two people, and everyone sort of looks sideways to each other and if you’re in the stores to buy groceries everyone keeps their distance from each other. It’s out of this world,' Mr Severino said.
Mr Severino was offered to come home by the Australian embassy, but chose to stay and work at the jockey club despite the disease
Mr Severino was last in Australia over the Christmas period with his sons in Melbourne, and landed back in Wuhan before the outbreak.
He has chosen to stay in Wuhan and work with his staff despite offers from the Australian embassy to bring him home.
Mr Severino said locals are confident the Chinese government will be able to control the coronavirus, and were diligently following their guidance.
'Physically it’s not apocalyptic – there’s no armed guards on the street, there’s no people following around – but psychologically it’s very, very surreal,' he said.
Mr Severino said locals believe the Chinese government will be able to control the deadly disease, which has killed more than 1,300 people
AUSTRALIANS WITH THE CORONAVIRUS
NEW SOUTH WALES: 4
January 25
Three men aged 43, 53, and 35 who had recently travelled to China are confirmed to have contracted the disease.
Two flew in from Wuhan while the other arrived in Sydney from Shenzhen, south China.
They are being treated in isolation at Westmead Hospital and are in stable condition.
January 27
A 21-year-old woman is identified as the fourth person to test positive for the illness in NSW.
The woman, a student at UNSW, flew into Sydney International Airport on flight MU749 on January 23 and presented to the emergency department 24 hours later after developing flu-like symptoms.
She is being treated in isolation at Westmead Hospital.
VICTORIA: 4
January 25
A Chinese national aged in his 50s becomes the first confirmed case of the coronavirus in Australia.
The man flew to Melbourne on China Southern flight CZ321 from Wuhan via Guangzhou on January 19.
He is now in quarantined isolation at Monash Hospital in Clayton in Melbourne's east.
January 29
A Victorian man in his 60s is diagnosed with the coronavirus.
He became unwell on January 23 - two days after returning from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.
The man was confirmed as positive on January 29 and was subsequently seen by doctors at the Monash Medical Centre. He was assessed as being well enough to stay at home.
January 30
A woman in her 40s is found to have coronavirus.
She was visiting from China and mostly spent time with her family.
She is being treated at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
February 1
A woman in her 20s in Melbourne is found to have the virus
QUEENSLAND: 5
January 29
Queensland confirms its first case after a 44-year-old Chinese national wass diagnosed with the virus.
He is being treated at Gold Coast University Hospital.
January 30
A 42-year-old Chinese woman who was travelling in the same Wuhan tour group as the 44-year-old man tests positive. She is in Gold Coast University Hospital in stable condition.
February 4
An eight-year-old boy has been diagnosed coronavirus. He is also from the tour group where the other Queensland cases came from
February 5
The case was found in a 37-year-old man, who was a member of a group of nine Chinese tourists in quarantine on the Gold Coast
February 6
A 37-year-old woman has been diagnosed with coronavirus from the same travel group that flew to Queensland from Melbourne on January 27
SOUTH AUSTRALIA: 2
February 1
A Chinese couple in their 60s who arrived in Adelaide from Wuhan to visit relatives are confirmed to have coronavirus.
CHINA: 2
January 30
Two Australians have been confirmed as having the virus in Wuhan itself. Australia has raised the travel alert level to 'do not travel' for the city of Wuhan - the epicentre of the outbreak - and for the entire Hubei province.
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says unless people have contact with someone who is unwell and has come from that part of China, there is no need for current concern.
JAPAN: 4
February 10
Four Australians are among 65 newly-confirmed coronavirus cases aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama.
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