'It's like a sci-fi movie': Bay Area native describes living in Wuhan amid coronavirus outbreak

In this image made from video taken Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, U.S. citizen Doug Perez feeds his Labrador named Chubby during an interview in Wuhan, China. As hundreds of Americans prepare to evacuate Wuhan, the central Chinese city at the heart of a new virus outbreak that has killed over 100, Perez, a San Francisco native, is staying behind. He says he can't leave behind his Chinese girlfriend or his dog and plans to ride out the epidemic. less In this image made from video taken Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, U.S. citizen Doug Perez feeds his Labrador named Chubby during an interview in Wuhan, China. As hundreds of Americans prepare to evacuate Wuhan, the ... more Photo: Dake Kang, AP Photo: Dake Kang, AP Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close 'It's like a sci-fi movie': Bay Area native describes living in Wuhan amid coronavirus outbreak 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

One Bay Area native is staying in Wuhan, China, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, because he doesn't want to leave his girlfriend.

Doug Perez has emailed the U.S. embassy to ask for help as foreign governments are airlifting their citizens out of Wuhan, but he hasn't received a response. Even if he did, he knows what the embassy will say: Because his girlfriend isn't a U.S. citizen, it's highly unlikely she could travel to the U.S. with him.

"I can’t leave my girlfriend in ground zero of a global pandemic," Perez said of an outbreak the World Health Organization hadn't yet identified as a public health emergency of international concern, though that could change as early as Thursday according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of WHO. "I think that would be disloyal. Her family is here and she’s worried about her family. I have to stick though this with her. A lot of the guys here can’t even bring their wives home because their wives aren’t U.S. citizens."

Perez is from Greenbrae in Marin County and graduated from UC Berkeley in 2014. He moved to China two years ago to teach English and chose Wuhan because he said it offers the highest salaries. When he arrived, he fell in love with a vibrant metropolis.

"It’s a remarkable city and it’s a shame," Perez said. "Before this virus, Wuhan was an up-and-coming city with great salaries and giant apartment buildings going up. The tag line for the city is Wuhan, different every day. And then this disaster happens and everything has changed."

Perez has been confined to his loft apartment with his girlfriend, their Labrador retriever named Chubby, and his girlfriend's brother for five days. Wearing goggles and gloves, he takes the dog for a quick walk around the building twice a day. The dog also has its own mask but doesn't like wearing it.

"We jokingly call him 'Chubby the apocalypse dog,'" Perez said.

Besides the dog walks, Perez said he has left his home only once to go to the grocery store because their food supply was running low. This resulted in an argument between him and his girlfriend.

"My girlfriend wanted to stay here and wait for deliveries and at first that’s what we did, but the delivery never came," he said.

At the store, they were greeted by people at the door who checked their temperatures, running a thermometer across their heads.

"It’s like they’re putting a gun to your head," he said. "It’s like being in a sci-fi movie."

He described the scene in the store as eerie with nobody talking to one another and everyone loading up on huge amounts of supplies. They spent hundreds of dollars.

ALSO: Here’s what Bay Area residents need to know about the coronavirus

The viral respiratory illness spreading rapidly in China is a new kind of coronavirus that scientists have never observed in humans before. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause the common cold. Others have evolved into more severe illnesses, such as SARS and MERS, although so far the new virus does not appear to be nearly as deadly or contagious.

The number of confirmed cases in China rose to more than 6,000 with more than 130 deaths, as of Wednesday. Wuhan, a port city of 11 million in the Hubei province, is at the center of the outbreak, and the Chinese government has quarantined the city.

Perez is connected with other Americans living in Wuhan over WeChat and some are reporting symptoms associated with the virus such as coughing and fever, but he doesn't know anyone who has tested positive.

"It has gotten so bad that if you’re showing some mild symptoms people are instructed to not go to the hospital," he said. "It’s too overwhelmed."

Perez is hopeful the city will only need to remain under quarantine for a couple more weeks but realizes it could continue for months.

"Lately, there have been delays for the food deliveries," he said. "That’s my greatest fear...food shortages and supply. From what I’ve heard, they’re shipping in as much food as they can and supplies. But I’m more concerned about civil unrest and food shortages than the coronavirus."

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.