New Zealander trapped in Wuhan as coronavirus spreads

A New Zealand citizen trapped at the epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak is pleading with the government to do more to get New Zealanders out. Joanna - who works as a software engineer in New York and asked not to be named - travelled to Wuhan on 20 January to visit her father for the Chinese New Year. She's now stuck in the locked-down city and has not left the house for five days for fear of catching the deadly virus. Joanna, who only wanted her first name used, told Checkpoint she had tried to seek assistance from the New Zealand embassy in Beijing, but was told they were on holiday until Wednesday. After calling an emergency hotline, she was directed to register online at SafeTravel.govt.nz and to wait for further details, she said. "I feel a little disappointed since many other countries are taking action already, but it seems like the New Zealand government is falling behind."