novelraw Chapter 532 Satellite City
Chapter 532 Satellite City
Various anti-inflammatory drugs, fever reducers, and immune injections were used in turn, and patients were given medication, intravenous infusions, and emergency treatments day and night.
The medical staff in the isolation area have long lost track of day and night. Boxes of antibiotics are being transported from the warehouse, and the IV stands are filled with transparent bags.
The military doctors' eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion. Some of them slid down to sit against the wall after standing for a while, and some of them trembled uncontrollably as they held the medicine trays, but no one stopped.
They all knew in their hearts that stopping might mean losing a life.
Miraculously, with such frantic treatment, the first wave of patients finally stabilized.
When people with persistent high fever start to cool down and regain consciousness, their first words are often "water".
The second word is "hunger." Being able to shout for thirst and hunger is fantastic news.
People with persistent diarrhea were finally able to drink a bowl of thin porridge, and those patients who were diagnosed with severe illness and whom everyone thought would not survive the night were actually recovering day by day.
The curve of new cases is beginning to flatten, fewer and fewer people are being sent to the quarantine area, and more and more people are recovering in the tents.
The atmosphere in the quarantine area was no longer as lifeless as before.
People started talking inside the tent, some began discussing the situation outside, and some of the bolder young people even started playing cards to pass the time.
About two weeks later, people began to recover and be discharged from the hospital.
The first batch of discharged patients was finalized only after repeated confirmation and review by the medical team, and there were only seventeen people in total.
They were the lucky ones with the mildest symptoms, the fastest recovery, and negative test results for several consecutive days.
During the final physical examination before discharge, the doctors wanted to use every testing method available.
Blood tests, X-rays, throat swabs, anal swabs, nasal swabs—no step was omitted, for fear of missing even the slightest potential risk.
After confirming that all indicators met the requirements, the large iron gate of the quarantine area was finally opened for them.
The first person to walk out of the quarantine area was a middle-aged man surnamed Chen, 43 years old, the owner of a porridge shop in Qing City, and the first person in his family to contract the disease.
The once robust man, weighing over 180 pounds, has now shrunk to just over 130 pounds, and his face is sallow.
Those are the marks left after my liver and kidneys were severely damaged. The doctor said it would take at least six months to fully recover.
He stood at the entrance of the quarantine area, facing the long-awaited sunshine, took a deep breath, and then squatted on the ground and cried for a long time.
Behind him, more and more people began to pack their luggage and walked out one by one through the iron gate that had once been a place where people could only enter and never leave.
Scenes of family reunions are common, but there are also those who never see their loved ones come out and stand alone outside the door, silently shedding tears.
After the epidemic completely subsided, Qing City conducted a comprehensive survey and found that more than 48,000 people had died from the epidemic.
Having learned its lesson, Qing City began a thorough rethinking and restructuring of the city's public health system and population management policies.
The bloody lessons are before our eyes; we can no longer let things go unchecked as before, and we can no longer allow people to enter this city without any screening or quarantine.
This proposal received almost no opposition within the city government.
Because everyone has seen the corpses piled up in the corridors and has signed far too many death notices.
The authorities issued a series of strict new quarantine regulations overnight.
The printed document was over a hundred pages long, with every clause and item meticulously detailed, leaving no room for ambiguity or compromise.
Everyone who wants to enter Qing City is treated equally and must stay in the quarantine area outside the city for a full month.
During this month, you will undergo repeated nucleic acid tests, antibody tests, and vital sign monitoring, with one test and one report per day.
All data is uploaded to the municipal CDC's database in real time.
Only after it is confirmed that there is no risk of carrying the virus can one be granted entry into the city.
A high wall was erected around the quarantine area, topped with barbed wire and equipped with surveillance cameras that provided comprehensive coverage.
Soldiers are stationed every three steps and sentries every five steps; no one is allowed to leave without permission, and violators will face severe punishment.
As soon as the news broke, the internet was flooded with complaints and protests, saying it was a violation of human rights, that people were being treated like prisoners, and that Qing City had gone mad.
Some people cursed, some cried, and some tried to force their way in, but it was no use. This time, Qing City was determined to keep the virus out.
However, a month is neither a long nor a short time, and it still seems insufficient to guarantee safety given the virus's long incubation period and mutation cycle.
Just as the first group of people who had completed their quarantine period received their entry permits and were happily moving into Qing City, bad news came from the laboratory.
As research into the "X" virus deepens, experts have conducted gene sequencing and retrospective analysis on thousands of samples.
It is becoming increasingly clear that this virus is far more cunning than anyone imagined.
It is not just a highly contagious disease, but also a deadly killer that can disguise itself, lurk, and hide itself.
It may lie dormant in the body for months without causing any symptoms.
It is also possible for it to suddenly recur in people who seem to have fully recovered, and the symptoms of reinfection are often more severe than the first time.
Even more frightening is that the antibodies produced in recovered patients have a very limited ability to neutralize this virus, and their effectiveness may only last for a few months.
To eliminate any potential risks, the decision-makers at the top had to sit down together again.
This time, the meeting room door was closed for three whole days, with armed guards standing at the door, and no one was allowed to enter or leave at will.
The arguments coming from inside varied in volume; some people slammed their fists on the table, some smashed cups, and some stormed out only to be persuaded to return.
Radicals believe the city should be completely locked down, and no one should be allowed to enter.
Moderates believe that a complete lockdown is unrealistic, and that cities need fresh blood and economic activity.
The centrists, on the other hand, are trying to find a compromise that is both safe and feasible.
After countless heated discussions and debates, a bolder and more controversial decision was finally made – to establish satellite cities.
The plan was implemented very quickly, so quickly that people couldn't quite keep up.
In the open area dozens of kilometers outside the main urban area of Qing City, which was originally a large area of farmland and wasteland, the Qing government started construction as quickly as possible.
These satellite cities are officially positioned as "gateways to Chongqing" and "buffer zones," and the planning maps are beautifully drawn, featuring residential areas, commercial streets, and even fitness trails.
But everyone knows clearly that these satellite cities are, in essence, just enlarged versions of quarantine and isolation zones.
They just made the wall prettier and gave it a nicer name.