MEQUON — The coronavirus outbreak is hitting China during their biggest holiday, Lunar or Chinese New Year. It's impacting celebrations both abroad and here at home.
The party went on at Concordia University in Mequon, as Chinese students like Freja Lu couldn’t help but think about their families in China.
“I’m very concerned about my family and my friends,” Lu said.
Even though Lu’s family is miles away from Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak is believed to have started, they're still taking extra precautions.
“They are good. They are fine and they just stay at home,” Lu said.
The health crisis came during the Lunar New Year celebration, China's most important holiday that lasts for two weeks.
Instead of holding their big parties in china, families are having smaller ones in their homes.
The Milwaukee Chinese Community Center or MCCC decided to cancel their event last weekend. President Jian Sun said typically, they get 400 people to show up.
“We did extreme precaution, that's the purpose, not because we felt like a threat,” Sun said.
Sun said they also didn't want to disrespect their families and friends back home.
“When you hear the news, what happened over there, you have no such a mood to celebrate,” Sun said.
Over in Mequon Lu and Ping Zhou felt that by celebrating they're showing their support.
“We want to show our confidence and we can get through this,” Lu said.
“We want to tell them you should be brave, we can conquer this virus,” Zhou said.
As they get through the coming weeks, they look forward to a big festival next year.
“It's what we all hope for,” Lu said.
The Chinese Community Center is collecting donations to help with medical supplies in China. The donations will go towards the U.S.-China Chicago Regional Support Donation Group. You can donate in two ways.
1) Send a check to MCCC, PO BOX 664, Brookfield, WI 5300-0664. Make checks payable to Milwaukee Chinese Community Center and write Wuhan nCoV Fund in the memo. The MCCC Finance Team will provide you with a receipt.
2) You can also donate by visiting MCCC's website homepage. Click the "Donate" button at the bottom of the page to pay, and the receipt will be returned by email.
