Yes, a quarantine for 40 million people in the middle of a country is unprecedented. News reports are that all transportation of people in an out of area around Wuhan is severely restricted.
While it is unlikely that the a lab is the source of the virus, the exact origin of the outbreak is still not known. One problem with figuring out what has been going on is that the earlier response from the government was to arrest people posting about the virus:
It is difficult to say what the actual death rate is for people with the disease since the number of reported infections is going up very rapidly. One issue that deaths can occur a week or longer after the patient has symptoms:
It is also possible that one person may spread the disease to many people possibly without showing severe symptoms:
Whatâs alarming is just how fast itâs spreading. Two confirmed cases in the US another probable, and a couple of dozen suspected cases under observation.
If there isnât some rapid action on either cutting off travel from China except for Americans and permanent residents returning home or a much more in depth screening process at the ports of entry it could be a real mess in a hurry.
Weâre already having a pretty rough flu season, and if people with the flu or who are weakened as a result of the flu start getting exposed it could get serious fast.