Chapter 3233

Lu Zhenghong had been in his new post in Yuedong for half a month. At this time, a patient had already appeared in a hospital in a certain city in Yuedong, who would later be identified as the first reported case of atypical pneumonia globally. This patient was a chef, and he had developed symptoms of pneumonia such as fever and coughing.

At first, he prepared to treat himself with medicine, but because he could not recover for a long time, he was admitted to the hospital. After he was admitted, the hospital also treated him for pneumonia, but after he was hospitalized, he infected many people around him, and even some doctors and nurses were infected.

By this time, everyone realized that this disease was a highly infectious one. By then, the patient was already in critical condition, exhibiting symptoms such as difficulty breathing. After emergency treatment and being placed on a ventilator, he was snatched back from the hands of death.

Although his condition tended to stabilize, it was still impossible to determine exactly what this disease was. The conditions of the medical staff infected by him were also worsening, which suddenly caused panic among the surrounding masses.

The government habitually let the media conceal the epidemic because they were afraid that if the epidemic were truthfully announced, it would aggravate the panic of the masses. However, in this era, the epidemic was no longer so easy to conceal.

Because in this era, the internet had already become a very popular new medium, and at this time, the government's regulatory intensity on the internet was far less than it would be later. On the internet, various rumors appeared, all of which were rumors about this infectious disease named atypical pneumonia.

Among these rumors, there was of course true information, but more of it was hearsay. Because most people did not understand the truth, they repeated the rumors until they were believed, and coupled with some rumor-mongers with ulterior motives, the rumors flew everywhere, which further aggravated the panic of the masses. This was something the government had not anticipated.

At this time, the government realized the power of the internet. They began to regulate the internet and blocked all remarks discussing the SARS epidemic. Discussions about SARS disappeared from the internet for a time.

That night, Su Xinghui called Lu Zhenghong. He asked Lu Zhenghong if a highly infectious disease called atypical pneumonia had appeared in Yuedong Province.

On such an issue, Lu Zhenghong naturally could not hide it from his son-in-law. He asked Su Xinghui how he knew. Su Xinghui said he knew it from the internet and overseas media.

Lu Zhenghong also knew that this matter had been spreading wildly some time ago, and both the internet and overseas media had reported this news, so it was not strange that Su Xinghui knew.

He said, "Xinghui, don't worry. We are taking measures, and nothing will happen. It should be controlled very soon."

Su Xinghui said, "Dad, I feel that this epidemic is a bit wrong and may not be so easy to control. The first patient has been ill for more than half a month, has been in critical condition several times during this period, and still shows no signs of recovery. Moreover, his infectivity is very strong. Now, more than a dozen medical staff have been infected by him, and some are in critical condition. This disease is extraordinary."

Lu Zhenghong naturally also knew that this disease was extraordinary. In addition to the reasons Su Xinghui mentioned, medical experts in Yuedong Province had been urgently studying this disease these days, but they had not figured out the pathogenesis of this disease, let alone how to treat the symptoms. Now, the treatment for this disease was all according to pneumonia, but this treatment method was not very effective.

Now, several patients had already developed critical phenomena such as difficulty breathing. It was entirely because the hospitals where they were staying had high-end medical equipment such as ventilators that they were rescued. Now, the medicine was no longer very effective and could not cure this disease; they could only wait for the patients to rely on their own physical fitness to resist the invasion of this disease.

However, to tell the truth, Lu Zhenghong had not yet realized that this disease would evolve into a highly infectious disease sweeping across China. But he had one good point: he had always trusted this son-in-law the most. He then asked, "Xinghui, is this disease really that serious?"

Su Xinghui said, "I think it is very serious. If it is not handled well, I am afraid it will spread on a large scale. The infectivity of this disease is so strong, and the current population flow is very dense. If a patient goes to another place, it will soon spread this disease to more places."

Lu Zhenghong naturally knew that this was possible. In fact, they were also studying how to prevent the large-scale spread of this disease, but they were all missing the point. They couldn't stop trains, cars, and flights, could they? They couldn't let everyone stay at home, could they?

Lu Zhenghong said, "Then what do you think should be done?"

Su Xinghui said, "What we need to do now is to disclose information, and actively announce the symptoms and hazards of this disease to society. If there are patients with suspected atypical pneumonia symptoms such as fever and coughing, they can go to the hospital for treatment. If it is confirmed to be atypical pneumonia, the government will provide free treatment. If it is not this disease, it can be ruled out. For such patients, there must be a separate ward."

What Su Xinghui was talking about was isolation therapy, but he could not say isolation directly. In that case, at the current stage, it would cause greater panic. But using a separate ward would have the same effect, because SARS patients would be very weak, might even lose their will, and might even need a tracheotomy and be put on a ventilator, so they would not walk around in a separate ward.

However, Lu Zhenghong still had many concerns. Disclosing information was still too unthinkable for current government officials. They felt that if all information were disclosed to the masses, it would easily cause panic. Even if Lu Zhenghong was a relatively enlightened leader, he could not be an exception; he would also hesitate.

Lu Zhenghong said, "Government free treatment and using separate wards are both fine, but is it necessary to disclose all the information?"

Su Xinghui said, "It must be disclosed. Otherwise, if the information is concealed and everyone does not know the true situation, they will only believe those rumors. Although we can control the media and the internet now, we cannot control the word-of-mouth of the masses. Therefore, concealing information has no effect on calming the situation; on the contrary, it will cause greater panic."

Lu Zhenghong was a wise man. He naturally heard that Su Xinghui's words were reasonable, and now the development of the situation was exactly as Su Xinghui had expected. Although they controlled all the media, the panic in Yuedong had already begun to spread. Various rumors emerged one after another, and white vinegar, Ban Lan Gen, and masks had been hyped up. Such emotions also gave Lu Zhenghong a headache.

However, could disclosing information really calm these rumors? Lu Zhenghong still had some hesitation. Of course, the biggest reason for his hesitation was responsibility. If he made the decision to disclose the information, he would have to take full responsibility. If there were adverse consequences, in the most serious case of such a serious public event, he would have to resign in disgrace.

If he were still a deputy provincial-level cadre as before, this determination would be easy for him to make. But now he was already the Secretary of the Yuedong Provincial Party Committee and a member of the Politburo. This was the position he had reached after a lifetime of struggle. At this time, he no longer had such great drive.

Su Xinghui could also understand Lu Zhenghong's hesitation. He said to Lu Zhenghong, "Dad, if you can't make up your mind, you can tell Secretary Gu and Elder Yu about the situation. You should tell them the seriousness of the situation without reservation, analyze the pros and cons of disclosing or not disclosing the information to them, and you can ask them to help you make a decision."

Su Xinghui knew that Lu Zhenghong did not just represent himself now; he also represented the Yu faction. His decision-making mistakes would also affect the Yu faction. At that time, their political enemies would attack the Yu faction crazily. This matter might make them pay a heavy price.

And relatively speaking, concealing information was a relatively safe approach, so Lu Zhenghong's hesitation was very normal.

He asked Lu Zhenghong to report the situation to Gu Shanmin and Elder Yu and let them make the decision. The final result was very likely that they would suggest to the central leaders to disclose the information to calm the rumors and organize forces to fight against SARS.

If this could really be done, then the fight against SARS might be successful earlier than in the previous life, and the losses would be smaller than in the previous life. This achieved Su Xinghui's goal.

And Su Xinghui believed that the central leaders would definitely make the right choice, because in his previous life, they also made the right choice, just a few months late.

If the central government could have disclosed the information a few months earlier, the epidemic would not have developed to such a serious extent.

Lu Zhenghong finally made up his mind. He said to Su Xinghui, "Okay, I will call Secretary Gu immediately and report the current situation in Yuedong Province to him."