02-07-2021, 10:56 AM
(CNN)More than a year after the first cases of Covid-19 were detected in Wuhan, China, Go There travels back to the city of 11 million people to hear about the lessons learned from the pandemic. David Culver was in Wuhan in January 2020 -- when he had to leave hours before a massive lockdown -- and has since revisited the city twice, getting to know the stories of ordinary residents who were the first to experience a once-in-a-100-years virus outbreak that has since swept the world.
We asked readers to submit questions about his experience.
What surprised you the most when you went back to Wuhan?
David Culver: The biggest takeaway for me was the amount of grief, sorrow and anger that's still there. And I think others were obviously hesitant and doubtful that the government was going to be able to be fully transparent at the local level in what was going to be transpiring. And then in April, when we went back, it was kind of the shock of coming out of the 76-day lockdown. And so I think that shock was still in place. So you didn't really get to the authentic truth of what people were experiencing. It's beyond the numbers. And I think it had become so highly politicized. And when you set aside the geopolitical and you look at the human faces who are deeply affected by this, I think that struck straight to my heart. To be quite honest, it broke me and my team down emotionally to be experiencing that, to realize, "Wow. These are moms, sons, or a sister." The individuals are being impacted. And it was an awakening moment for me.
- More -
We asked readers to submit questions about his experience.
What surprised you the most when you went back to Wuhan?
David Culver: The biggest takeaway for me was the amount of grief, sorrow and anger that's still there. And I think others were obviously hesitant and doubtful that the government was going to be able to be fully transparent at the local level in what was going to be transpiring. And then in April, when we went back, it was kind of the shock of coming out of the 76-day lockdown. And so I think that shock was still in place. So you didn't really get to the authentic truth of what people were experiencing. It's beyond the numbers. And I think it had become so highly politicized. And when you set aside the geopolitical and you look at the human faces who are deeply affected by this, I think that struck straight to my heart. To be quite honest, it broke me and my team down emotionally to be experiencing that, to realize, "Wow. These are moms, sons, or a sister." The individuals are being impacted. And it was an awakening moment for me.
- More -