NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Neenah mother and her two young children were in Wuhan, China to celebrate the Chinese New Year with family. Now, they are quarantined and stuck in an apartment because of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Samuel Roth tells FOX 11 he did not go with his family to China and is working to get them home.
“What is stressful is the uncertainty of how long the city is going to be under lockdown. Their inability to, if they wanted to leave right now, they can’t.”
That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday. Daisy Roth, her 5-year-old, and her 10-month-old daughter weren’t offered seats on the State Department’s charter.
“Hopefully there will be forthcoming evacuation efforts and you know really the motivator of it was, my family had gone to China to enjoy spring festival and go to school, but if they’re forced to stay in lockdown at the apartment, well they can be bored in my home. So if we can get them back we’d like to.”
In the meantime, Roth is trying to stay positive.
“Right now, I’m not as afraid of the virus as I am afraid of anything else that my children could catch.”
Roth knows his family is doing what they can to stay safe and get home.
“They’re staying inside, resting plenty, eating well, eating healthy and washing their hands often.”
Entertaining the kids has been a challenge.
“You’ve got a five-year-old who she’s got energy, she wants to go do things, she wants to go see things and you have to tell her no we’re going to stay inside, you want to wash your hands again? That’s not the most entertaining thing for a five-year-old, but that’s what we’re doing.”
For now, videos and calls will bring this family together. Even when they’re across the world.
Roth is in contact with his congressman and senator to try and get them home as soon as possible.
Coronavirus has been linked to 132 deaths worldwide. Almost 6,000 have been infected, mostly in China, but some overseas. In the United States, there have been 5 confirmed cases so far.
