Americans living at the epicenter of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak aren't mad at China - they're outraged with the US: 'Why aren't the embassies calling us?'

Emily Wang/AP Photo

Health Officials in hazmat suits check body temperatures of passengers arriving from the city of Wuhan at the Beijing airport on January 22, 2020.

• While many have criticized the Chinese government and local authorities for how it has handled the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, Americans at the epicenter of the outbreak are outraged with US authorities.
• Dr. Diana Adama, an American citizen who is currently in Wuhan, told the US government has failed to provide Americans on the ground with critical information about the coronavirus outbreak.
• Adama said escalating panic and the lack of credible information about the illness has made living in the city a "nightmare."
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With 200 dead and at least 9,700 infected, the Wuhan coronavirus has unleashed a pandemic and global hysteria in its wake. As countries around the world grapple with how to contain the illness, many have criticized the Chinese government and local authorities for how it handled the early days of the outbreak.

But for Americans at the epicenter of the virus, they aren't upset with China - they're upset with the US.

"Americans have been sitting here with no information and no knowledge," Dr. Diana Adama, an American citizen currently living in Wuhan, told Insider. "When I called the US consulate and the embassy on the weekends, nobody was answering."

Living at the epicenter of the Wuhan coronavirus

Xiaolu Chu/Getty Images/Business Insider

A composite image showing guards at Wuhan's Hankou Railway Station on January 22 and a man wearing a mask buying groceries in the city on January 23.

Even as critical supplies like surgical masks and food run low in Wuhan, the one thing that Adama says foreigners need - but are lacking - is critical information about the coronavirus.

"We need to know what's going on and what are the facts. We've been struggling for information every day," Adama stressed on a phone call with Insider. "I'm stuck here at home and [authorities] are not giving notices. I'm confused and terrified. And it's not about just the virus, but we don't have any information," she added.

Adama has been living in China for the past 15 years working as a teacher, and moved to Wuhan last September. When she started a new job at the end of December, Adama says she and another foreign teacher raised questions with their employer after they began experiencing the pneumonia-like symptoms now associated with coronavirus.

It wasn't until after Adama was hospitalized a couple of weeks later that her employer began warning employees about a possible virus going around.

"On [January 21] we had a school event and everybody was wearing masks. In [my foreigners online] group, we were told there's a bad virus going around, but nobody was concerned," Adama told Insider.

But Adama said the lockdown Wuhan and its population of 11 million people made the gravity of the pandemic feel real - then the panic began to settle in. Overflowing hospitals, shuttered businesses, and empty grocery shelves paint a picture of the hysteria at the center of the outbreak. Jarred Evans, a US citizen evacuated from Wuhan, China, amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak compared the city to a ghost town after the lockdown was implemented.

Adama said living in Wuhan, China feels like being in a movie and that the escalating panic is turning the city into a "nightmare."

"I went to every shop in my area trying to find food and a lot of the stores were closed. I couldn't find any produce - all the groceries were gone," Adama said, who has mostly remained in her home since the city-wide lockdown. The educator is vigilant about wearing her vapor-cartridge face mask, gloves, and designated shoes when she ventures outside.

"The worst thing is not knowing."

Miguel Candela/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Health care members make first aid to people as they cover their faces with sanitary masks after the first cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Hong Kong in Hong Kong.

For ex-pats like her who don't speak Chinese, Adama said there is little to no reliable sources of information about the pandemic. According to the teacher, she and other foreigners have struggled to find information on where to get food or whether it's safe to go outside. She's only received "simple" and "vague" warnings and recommendations from her employer on how to protect herself.

She and other foreigners have established their own networks, sharing what little credible information they have on WeChat and Facebook groups restricted to people they think they can trust. (Facebook recently announced it would be removing misinformation about the virus on its platform.)

"There's a lot of fake news circulating around," Adama said. "Online trolls come into these groups and are trying to... escalate the gravity of what's going on or downplay it - and people are naturally doing that, too."

Since the coronavirus outbreak became international news, Adama, who is a registered traveler with the US State Department, says she has had little communication with the US embassies and consulates despite multiple attempts at reaching out. US embassies are supposed to assist and provide information to registered citizens in the event of an emergency, such as the coronavirus outbreak.

"Why aren't the US embassies calling us? They just told us to stock up on food. The Portuguese Embassy and the Philippines Embassy were in touch with their people," Adama told Insider. "Americans are getting our information from the media outside."

When the US State Department organized a plane to evacuate US government personnel out of Wuhan and other US citizens on Wednesday, Adama claims US authorities failed to notify her about the flight despite the fact that she lives near the outbreak's epicenter.

The teacher said she only found out about the chartered plane after talking to people online and later found it on the US Embassy website. The American educator resorted to making public pleas on Facebook and Twitter for information and help.

The State Department did not comment on Adama's claims except to say that the agency had "no higher priority than the welfare and safety of US citizens abroad."

"The Department of State is working with the US Government interagency and PRC counterparts on staging additional flights for US citizens to return to the United States from Wuhan," a spokesperson from the State Department told Insider.

Although the US government intends to evacuate more American citizens as early as next week, Adama says she plans on staying in Wuhan to help battle the coronavirus. She says while she now considers China her home, she hopes the US government will do more to help American citizens at the epicenter of the outbreak.

"I would like to make a plea to the US government to get help. We need to have better systems in place for credible information and need to focus on containing the virus," Adama told Insider. "It's about survival at this point, but the worst thing is not knowing [what's happening.]"

• Read more:
• The Wuhan coronavirus has killed more than 200 people and infected at least 9,700. Here's everything we know about the outbreak.
• The US is monitoring people in 36 states for the Wuhan coronavirus. Here's what we know about the 6 confirmed US patients.
• Video shows what it was like on the plane evacuating US citizens out of Wuhan, as one passenger describes doing the wave to pass time
• Wuhan is running low on food, hospitals are overflowing, and foreigners are being evacuated as panic sets in after a week under coronavirus lockdown
• The Wuhan coronavirus seems to have a low fatality rate, and most patients make full recoveries. Experts reveal why it's causing panic anyway.

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