This photo shows Sofia Pradenas, living in Santiago, capital of Chile, making a video call to her brother Cristian Pradenas, who lives in Wuhan, China on Feb. 19, 2020. (Xinhua)
by Andres Felipe Osorio, Xi Yue, Zhu Yubo
MEXICO CITY/BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Sofia Pradenas Soto lives in Chile's capital Santiago, but she has been watching closely the outbreak of the novel coronavirus thousands of miles away in the central Chinese city of Wuhan where her brother Cristian lives.
Cristian has been living there for the past five years. He has got his master's degree and is now studying for his doctorate in international policy at the Central China Normal University, where he is now confined within his campus due to the control measures.
This photo taken about 10 years ago shows Sofia Pradenas and her brother Cristian Pradenas. (Photo provided by Cristian Pradenas)
Being able to remain in constant touch with him has helped allay her initial anxiety, Sofia said.
"The university takes very good care of us. We have a QR code with which we report our temperature and how we feel about the university on a daily basis," Cristian told Xinhua by phone from his dormitory.
Students have been provided with face masks, sanitizers, thermometers and some Chinese medicine, he added.
While the cafeterias are closed to students to reduce the chances of infection, the facilities continue to prepare meals.
This photo shows Cristian having lunch in his dormitory at the Central China Normal University on Feb. 19, 2020. (Xinhua)
"They provide us with breakfast, lunch and dinner," Cristian said, adding a mechanism has been put in place so students can purchase basic items from outside campus each week.
Management of the lockdown has been as rigorous at campus as it has been throughout the city, he noted.
Deliverymen pose for a group photo on the empty street in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 31, 2020. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
The government of Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, took a series of initiatives to lock down the city to contain the spread of the virus and set up makeshift hospitals at top speeds to attend to thousands of patients.
"For the people who are not here, it is impossible to imagine the contribution and sacrifice that Wuhan and all of China have made. They are fighting not just for themselves, but for the entire world and all humanity," Cristian told Xinhua.
Cristian (1st R) and his schoolmates pose for photos in the lunchroom at the Central China Normal University on Feb. 19, 2020. (Photo provided by Cristian Pradenas)
"I know China is doing everything it can to prevent the spread of the virus," she said, "and I know that Cristian is going to be fine."