A Fife student, returning to Scotland after a six-week stay China, has urged fellow academics to heed the warnings surrounding the Coronavirus as the global health crisis continues to escalate.
Ruo Xi Wang, an international relations student at St Andrews University and President of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, flew into Edinburgh airport on her return from Beijing on Saturday.
She said: “Concern among the Chinese student community has grown in recent days as news of the Coronavirous continues and we are now seeing many members of 600 to 700-strong Chinese student community routinely wearing face masks as they go about their business in St Andrews.
“But that has sadly attracted a certain amount of suspicion among the public, wary of a possible threat, despite there only currently being two confirmed cases in the UK.
“The university has also issued advice and we are supporting fellow students, particularly those who have returned from China, who may have concerns and have put them in contact with the relevant heath bodies.
“Students are generally very up-to-date on the Coronavirus development and we will continue to monitor the situation and act accordingly.”
She added students are being continuously updated regarding all aspects of the Coronavirus outbreak and offered support and advice on individual concerns.
Ruo had been in China visiting family as part of the New Year celebrations when the health crisis emerged. More than 360 people have died as a result so far.
The 26-year-old said the problem has been made worse in China due to the reluctance of older people to act on the warnings issued by the Chinese authorities.
“From the beginning of the outbreak concerns over the virus were being widely discussed on Chinese social media by younger people who were quick to take precautions.
“However, older people and people away from the big cities have been slower to act to the warnings.
“Only after the virus became more widespread was there the urgency among the older generations to protect themselves and wear the precautionary face masks. When the virus took hold concerns then grew very fast.”
Ruo said that on her flight out of Beijing everyone on the flight, including staff, wore face masks for the duration of the journey to Dubai.
“Despite it being a nine-hour flight, everyone wore their face masks for the duration.
“We were met by airport staff in Dubai who were also wearing masks, however, myself and another Chinese family were the only one on the flight into Edinburgh wearing the precautionary masks.”
A spokeswoman for St Andrews University said it would continue to offer advice and regular updates to students regarding the Coronavirus on its website which can be found online at.news.st-andrews.ac.uk
