A FORMER Worcester teacher is living alone on a school campus in China as the Coronavirus epidemic takes hold.

Bob Allison has been in isolation for ten days and says that the general consensus is that people are scared. He is living alone on a school campus and relying on others to bring in supplies.

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Mr Allison who was a former geography teacher at The Chantry moved to China five years ago and teaches at three middle schools in a city just north of Shanghai.

Mr Allison said: “My city of Yangzhou has a population of approximately two million. Up until last night there had been 14 confirmed cases of the virus. I am informed all of these were from Wuhan.

"I also understand many other people who had travelled from that city have been put into quarantine or their families have been isolated in an attempt to control the spread of the disease.

"I am unsure whether this is the case for other cities across China. With the exception of food stores, all shops have been temporarily closed. I am gathering information via wechat and the general consensus is people are scared and are staying in their homes.

"It is extremely quiet around. I am living in a flat located on a large school campus. I am the only person on site because, as with all schools, no one is allowed to enter, so I feel relatively safe. I have some ‘Guardian angels’ who brought some food to the school gate for me but this has dried up a bit due to escalation of the coronavirus epidemic.

"They obviously need to look to their own families first. I am rationing my food and I think I have enough for this week then I will need to call on my friends to send some food in.

"This is day 10 of my self inflicted isolation but I remain positive and disciplined in what I do. I am using my time to teach myself how to read Chinese, watching films and a lot of sleeping.

"In my opinion, the situation here will get a lot worse before it gets better but I am confident the Chinese are trying the best they can to contain the virus. Some of their actions may appear rather drastic but this is what they need to do to succeed. I would like to thank people for all the messages from England. Reading and writing e-mails helps to pass time.”

If you have been affected by the virus please email reporter jemma.bufton@newsquest.co.uk