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posted by martyb on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:10AM   Printer-friendly
from the keeping-it-away-from-others dept.

A Chinese town has been sealed off and 151 people placed in quarantine since last week after a man died of bubonic plague, state media said Tuesday.

The 30,000 people living in Yumen in the northwestern province of Gansu are not being allowed to leave, and police at roadblocks on its perimeter are telling motorists to find alternative routes, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said.

Other reports said that earlier this month the 38-year-old victim had found a dead marmot, a small furry animal which lives on grasslands and is related to the squirrel.

He chopped it up to feed his dog but developed a fever the same day. He was taken to hospital after his condition worsened and died last Wednesday."

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:22AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:22AM (#73097)

    What, China can't 'seal off' a town? You think the CDC can't quarantine a town in the USA? You think you have freedoms that Chinese don't? Freedom to be delusional American flag-waving idiots.

    • (Score: 2) by tibman on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:26AM

      by tibman (134) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:26AM (#73099)

      Probably just to show it was a metaphor and not literal. You can read a lot in those quotes : )

      --
      SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:30AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:30AM (#73101)

        30,000 people ... are not being allowed to leave

        That's NOT METAPHOR, jackass. >:P

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:56AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:56AM (#73110)

          > That's NOT METAPHOR, jackass. >:P

          Yes it is a metaphor. [cbs.com]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:52AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:52AM (#73131)

      They aren't 'air quotes', but actual quotes. It seems likely that the words 'seal off' were precisely the words used by the official who explained what had been done, and/or the precise wording of the Chinese Government's press release.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by dyingtolive on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:48AM

    by dyingtolive (952) on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:48AM (#73106)

    I hope the dog is okay, at least.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
    • (Score: 5, Funny) by aristarchus on Thursday July 24 2014, @07:13AM

      by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday July 24 2014, @07:13AM (#73153) Journal

      Or at least that the dog does not have too many ticks, literally or metaphorically. I mean, figuratively or allegorically. Or hyperbolically.

    • (Score: 1) by Main Gauche on Friday July 25 2014, @03:30AM

      by Main Gauche (2933) on Friday July 25 2014, @03:30AM (#73580)

      I did come here looking for a dog joke, and I have to say I feel let down.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by dioptase on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:49AM

    by dioptase (3290) on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:49AM (#73107)

    This is the very reason we were taught in school to never play with dead animals. I'm dead serious. It was to prevent kids from contracting the plague.

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by aristarchus on Thursday July 24 2014, @08:01AM

      by aristarchus (2645) on Thursday July 24 2014, @08:01AM (#73168) Journal

      But were you allowed to play with dead animals out of school? Yeah, chopped found-dead marmot has bad news written all over it. Kind of like SARS and civet cat, even if not dead. But this does remind me of the tutorial on how to install Linux on a dead badger. I don't remember plague being mentioned as a possible downside.

      • (Score: 2) by bugamn on Friday July 25 2014, @01:29AM

        by bugamn (1017) on Friday July 25 2014, @01:29AM (#73553)

        Well, it [strangehorizons.com] did say:

        Prolonged use of a zombie badger may cause acne, insomnia, leprosy, unusual weather, or the end of time.

        Maybe plague can be fitted under "end of time"?

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 24 2014, @12:06PM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 24 2014, @12:06PM (#73223) Journal

      This is the very reason we were taught in school to never play with dead animals. I'm dead serious.

      No worries, mate, I wasn't going to play with you anyway.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2) by Theophrastus on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:04AM

    by Theophrastus (4044) on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:04AM (#73114)

    ..disease control the world over. (and the one method which affords no apparent resistant form to mutate into) i suppose China just does it with a bit more absolute control. (still, we have the TSA)

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:35AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:35AM (#73124) Journal

      still, we have the TSA

      A lousy and expensive theatre play, I don't know how much control though.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Thursday July 24 2014, @07:13AM

      by wonkey_monkey (279) on Thursday July 24 2014, @07:13AM (#73154) Homepage

      (still, we have the TSA)

      Which makes people spend prolonged periods crammed together in an area that thousands of people coming and going all over the world pass through every day...

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by isostatic on Thursday July 24 2014, @09:25AM

        by isostatic (365) on Thursday July 24 2014, @09:25AM (#73186) Journal

        But don't worry, you won't be able to take a flat battery and a bottle of water anywhere! Your "bombs" will simply be dropped into a big container with other "bombs" and left until the end of the shift.

    • (Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:32PM

      by The Archon V2.0 (3887) on Thursday July 24 2014, @03:32PM (#73296)

      > (and the one method which affords no apparent resistant form to mutate into)

      Ain't that the truth. Fucking Madagascar.

      • (Score: 2) by pbnjoe on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:10PM

        by pbnjoe (313) on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:10PM (#73323) Journal

        "I think I just heard someone sneeze in Brazil. Lock down everything!"

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Subsentient on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:26AM

    by Subsentient (1111) on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:26AM (#73120) Homepage Journal

    Seems a bit heavy handed, but I can't argue with this. Probably the right thing to do.

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
  • (Score: 2) by ticho on Thursday July 24 2014, @05:05AM

    by ticho (89) on Thursday July 24 2014, @05:05AM (#73136) Homepage Journal

    In related news, last phone call from the quarantined city ended up with an old army doctor saying "Everything is going to be all right"...

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by mrchew1982 on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:12PM

      by mrchew1982 (3565) on Thursday July 24 2014, @04:12PM (#73325)

      Awesome World War Z (book!) reference. Bravo.

      Too bad the movie seems to have killed all of the books momentum. I can't even entice people to listen to the abridged audio book anymore...

      • (Score: 1) by ticho on Thursday July 24 2014, @09:59PM

        by ticho (89) on Thursday July 24 2014, @09:59PM (#73491) Homepage Journal

        Indeed, shame about the movie. The audio book is awesome, though, I sometimes listen to it when running.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Dunbal on Thursday July 24 2014, @11:07AM

    by Dunbal (3515) on Thursday July 24 2014, @11:07AM (#73203)

    I sure hope the rats and their fleas understand that they can't leave the city. Seriously, does China not have the ability to make ciprofloxacin?