'Helping Wuhan Is Helping The World': Wuhan Natives Living In Pittsburgh Help Fight Coronavirus
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Imagine an incredibly sprawling, crowded city -- bigger than anything in the US. A city with as many people as New York and Chicago combined.
That gives you an idea of the size of Wuhan, China -- Pittsburgh's sister city and epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. And among its 11 million residents are some who are very dear to people here.
Dr. Xiaoming Li of Hampton bridges the two cities. He's a research scientist, born in Wuhan but living in Pittsburgh since the 1990s.
His father, in his 90s, still lives in Wuhan. So do Li's two brothers and their families. So far, he says, they are healthy.
Daily life, however, is not easy. Their city has been quarantined since January 22nd. Travel is severely restricted. Public transportation has been shut down. Are Li's relatives scared?
"Yes," he says. "Of course."
He calls every day to check in. He makes sure everyone's healthy and that the kids are coping with the limitations.
"They stay home, watch TV, or play games," says Li.
But along with a couple hundred others in Pittsburgh with ties to Wuhan, Li is not merely waiting for things to get better. The Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center, The Pittsburgh Hubei Fellow Association and the Pittsburgh chapter of The Chinese Association for Science and Technology launched online fundraising campaign.
They're collecting donations but they know Wuhan and its hospitals need more than money.
"They need medical supplies, like masks," says Li, but supplies are becoming harder and harder to obtain. "How can we find some medical supplies and directly send them to the hospitals?"
That's the challenge, with some suppliers of medical gear telling them they're already running short. Li believes some hospitals and medical suppliers are being told not to send help for China, out of concern that the supplies could be needed in the event of an outbreak in the US.
The CDC did not respond to questions about whether it has given any such guidance to American health care providers or medical suppliers. For their part, both Allegheny Health Network and UPMC say they have not received any such CDC guidance.
The Pittsburgh group has compiled a list of 60 hospitals in and around Wuhan that need help. They've sent some, and are still trying to find and send more. They welcome any and all donations.
Says Li: "Helping Wuhan is helping the world. We need the help. We need the support from everyone."
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.