Winnipeg man raises $40K for Wuhan during self-quarantine on return from China

A Winnipeg man who recently returned from China used his two weeks in a self-imposed quarantine to fundraise for coronavirus support and prevention. 

When Gary Liu returned from a trip to China in late January, he stayed home from work as a researcher at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg to make sure he didn't start showing coronavirus symptoms.

While in quarantine, he passed his time watching TV, sleeping, eating and raising more than $40,000 for people in Wuhan, Hubei, China — the epicentre of the coronavirus.

"Winnipeg Chinese community, they have good heart[s]. They generously show their love to people in Wuhan," said Liu, who spent his time in China in Sichuan province in the Luzhou and Chongqing regions, which are about 1,000 kilometres west of Wuhan.

During his self-imposed quarantine in Winnipeg, he tried to stay inside as much as possible, even ordering food and getting a friend to leave it at his door.

It has now been two weeks and he is certain that he neither has the disease, nor has passed it along to anyone else. 

The disease has infected more than 45,000 people globally and killed more than 1,000 people, recent figures from the World Health Organization say.

People kept asking Liu how they could help people in China, so he got a fundraising committee together and gathered donations from individuals and businesses.

"I'm so proud that we have a good team," he said.

He's surprised by the amount of money raised in just 10 days.

"We care about China," Liu said on CBC Manitoba's Information Radio. 

The fundraising campaign is ongoing.

The money will go to the Canadian Red Cross and toward buying and sending medical supplies to China.