>> YEAH. WE SALUTE GENERAL ELECTRIC FOR
BEING PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP.
>> SO CHINA IS TIGHTENING BORDER
CONTROLS AS THE CORONAVIRUS
OUTBREAK DEEPENS WORLDWIDE.
THE COUNTRY IS NOW STARTING TO
FOCUS ON ASYMPTOMATIC CASES, AS
THE VIRUS CONTINUES TO SPARK
GLOBAL FEAR.
GLOBAL FEAR. LET’S BRING IN NBC NEWS FOREIGN
CORRESPONDENTS MACKEY
CORRESPONDENTS MACKEY FRAYER IN BEIJING.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US?
>> Reporter: BORDERS HAVE BEEN
TIGHTENING ACROSS ASIA THE LAST
COUPLE WEEKS, AND CHINA IS
EFFECTIVELY BARRING FOREIGNERS,
ALLOWING CITIZENS TO COME BACK
BUT MAKING THEM DO A MANDATORY
14-DAY QUARANTINE.
14-DAY QUARANTINE. I CAME BACK JUST BEFORE THE
RULES CHANGED.
RULES CHANGED. THIS IS MY LAST DAY OF
QUARANTINE.
QUARANTINE. IT IS NOT A CHOICE HERE.
IT IS AN OBLIGATION.
IT IS ENFORCED BY LAW.
THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTRIES THAT
HAVE STARTED PROSECUTING PEOPLE
FOR FLOATING THE RULES.
THE REAL CONCERN HERE, AND IN
MUCH OF ASIA, IS A SO-CALLED
SECOND WAVE OF INFECTIONS.
THE CONCERN IS BECAUSE, UNTIL
THIS POINT, CHINA HASN’T BEEN
TRACKING ASYMPTOMATIC CASES.
COULD BE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO
COULD BE POSITIVE FOR CARRYING
THE VIRUS BUT AREN’T SHOWING ANY
SYMPTOMS.
SYMPTOMS. THEY’RE NOW GOING TO START
TRACKING THOSE PEOPLE.
BECAUSE AS THE RESTRICTIONS ARE
BEING RELAXED HERE IN WUHAN, IN
HUBEI PROVINCE, AS PEOPLE START
TO MOVE AROUND A BIT MORE, AS
CHINA TRIES TO REVIVE THE
ECONOMY HERE, THOSE PEOPLE ARE
GOING TO BE MOVING AROUND THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. THEY COULD BE AS INFECTIOUS AS
PEOPLE WHO ARE CONFIRMED CASES
BEING TREATED FOR THE DISEASE.
SO THAT IS THE CONCERN AT THIS
POINT.
POINT. IT’S TRYING TO ENSURE THAT THEY
AREN’T GOING TOO QUICKLY AND
RELAXING SOME OF THE HARSH
RESTRICTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN IN
PLACE FOR TWO MONTHS NOW BECAUSE
THEY DON’T WANT TO HAVE THIS
SECOND WAVE OF INFECTIONS.
IF IT DOES HAPPEN, WE SHOULD BE
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS PROBABLY
TOWARD THE END OF APRIL.
THERE ARE A LOT OF COUNTRIES
AROUND THE WORLD, THE U.S.
INCLUDED, THAT HAVE LOCK DOWNS
IN PLACE NOW, THAT WILL BE
LOOKING TO THE TRENDS IN CHINA
TO SEE IF THEY MIGHT BE A SIGN
OF THINGS TO COME.
>> HEY, IT’S WILLIE.
GOOD TO SEE YOU.
YOU’VE BEEN ON THIS STORY FOR
MONTHS AND MONTHS.
FRANKLY, ALERTED A LOT OF US AND
A LOT OF THE WORLD TO WHAT WAS
HAPPENING IN CHINA BEFORE IT WAS
FRONT PAGE NEWS.
I’M GLAD YOU’RE A DAY AWAY FROM
BEING OUT OF QUARANTINE.
I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE
NUMBERS THAT COME OUT OF CHOO
THAT
THAT CHINA.
CHINA. WE’VE LEARNED TO TAKE THEM WITH
A GRAIN OF SALT, TO PUT IT
MILDLY.
MILDLY. YOU CAN’T GET GOOD NUMBERS
BECAUSE OF THE WAY CHINA HANDLED
THIS, SUPPRESSING INFORMATION,
SILENCING DOCTORS,
SILENCING DOCTORS, WHISTLEBLOWERS, PEOPLE FROM THE
PART OF THIS.
WHAT IS YOUR SENSE, ACTUALLY, AS
IF IT IS POSSIBLE EVEN TO KNOW,
BASED ON THE WAY THIS GOVERNMENT
POP RATES S
OPERATES IN BEIJING, HOW BIG THE
PROBLEM WAS AND HOW BIG THE
PROBLEM IS RIGHT NOW IN CHINA
STATISTICALLY?
STATISTICALLY? >> THERE WASN’T SEEM TO BE MUCH
OF A LAG BETWEEN WHEN THE CASES
WERE FIRST HIGHLIGHTED OR WHEN
AUTHORITIES WERE FIRST ALERTED
TO WHEN THERE WAS ACTUAL ACTION.
THE LOCKDOWN IN WUHAN WAS THE
23rd OF JANUARY.
THAT WAS JUST OVER TWO MONTHS
AGO.
AGO. THE TACTICS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT
IN PLACE SINCE THEN HAVE BEEN
QUITE AGGRESSIVE.
QUITE AGGRESSIVE. IT CHANGED THE METRICS.
SOMETIMES THEY INCLUDED PEOPLE
WHO DIDN’T HAVE SYMPTOMS,
SOMETIMES THEY DID.
SO THE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN
DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW.
CERTAINLY, NOW, WHEN CHINA HAS
WANTED TO SHOW IT’S HAD SOME
PROGRESS AND IT DOES APPEAR TO
BE RECOVERING, IT WANTS PEOPLE
TO BELIEVE THESE ARE REAL
NUMBERS.
NUMBERS. AS OF TOMORROW, THEY WILL START
INCLUDING ASYMPTOMATIC CASES IN
THEIR OFFICIAL TALLY EVERY DAY.
THIS HASN’T BEEN HAPPENING.
THIS HAS BEEN GROWING IN
SIGNIFICANCE OVER THE PAST WEEK,
ESPECIALLY SINCE CHINA CLOSED
ITS BORDERS.
ITS BORDERS. CAN’T SAY IMPORTED CASES ARE
CAUSING THE CASE ANYMORE.
IT’LL BE TELLING TO SEE EXACTLY
HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY BELIEVE ARE
ASYMPTOMATIC.
ASYMPTOMATIC. THEY ARE NOW SAYING ALSO THEY’RE
GOING TO DO A BETTER JOB AT
TREATING THOSE ASYMPTOMATIC
CASES.
CASES. IN TERMS OF TRUSTING ALL OF THE
NUMBERS, IT’S REALLY HARD TO
SAY.
SAY. THEY ARE ACKNOWLEDGING THE
IMPORTANCE OF TRACKING THE
ASYMPTOMATIC CASES IN ORDER TO
HAVE THEIR RECOVERY STORY MORE
BELIEVED.
BELIEVED. >> REALLY GOOD.
NBC’S JANIS MACKEY FRAYER, THANK