When David He and his wife, Ying Hu, arrived at Indianapolis International Airport on Feb. 1, they were greeted by friends.

But there were no hugs, no handshakes.

Instead, their friends came in two separate cars, one of them filled with enough groceries to last a week. The keys to that car were handed over to the couple, who drove straight to their home in Carmel. For the next 14 days, they only left the house to check the mail.

This extreme act of caution was in response to the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, in late December. The couple had just gotten back from a three-week trip to Shanghai, and after a 10-day quarantine there, they holed up at home for two more weeks.

The latest World Health Organization Report confirms 81,109 coronavirus cases worldwide, and more than 2,700 deaths in China. In the U.S. there are 56 confirmed cases, including travelers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship. While Indiana has not yet reported a case, many in the local Chinese community are staying vigilant to ensure it stays that way.

Canceling and postponing events

The Indianapolis Chinese Community Center has about 2,000 members and runs a Sunday Chinese language and enrichment school, and hosts and participates in many annual events. One of their biggest is the Indy Chinese New Year Gala, which was scheduled for Jan. 26. But after discussions, the organization decided it was best to cancel.

"During winter break some students and parents were in China visiting families and relatives and they just came back," said Renhua Li, principal for the Chinese school. "We cannot track where they came back from. We would rather be safe than sorry."

Quanbo Xiong, executive director of ICCC, said after hearing concerns from parents of students in the Chinese school, they also canceled classes on Jan. 26, Feb. 2 and 9. When school resumed on Feb. 16, attendance was sparse. About 20 regular students pulled out entirely for the semester.

The group also planned a Chinese New Year event for early February at the Fashion Mall at Keystone. Xiong said some members were worried that mall goers might not want them there amid virus concerns, so they axed the event. Xiong said mall management did not ask them to cancel the event.

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"I think this panic and concerns are mostly coming from our own Chinese community," Xiong said. "Out of the community, I don't see any panic."

Xiong said if things improve by the end of April or beginning of May, they'll follow through with the Chinese New Year celebration. Before the summer break, ICCC has its annual Chinese School Picnic and the IPL 500 Festival Parade on its calendar.

Problems for some businesses

Caisy Lun, marketing manager for Taste Restaurant at Lucky Lou, said the popular dim sum restaurant has seen about a 30% decline in business since news of the coronavirus broke. She believes the slowdown is because of virus concerns.

"We haven’t seen anybody sick," she said. "It’s safe. Our staff has all been here, and none of us have been back to China, nor our loved ones. We don’t have any point of contact from anyone with China as of late."

Lun is hoping things can go back to normal soon.

"We’re here to serve the community of Indianapolis," she said. "Despite these concerns, we hope to keep serving people and introducing the people of Indianapolis to dim sum culture."

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Colin Renk is executive director of the America China Society of Indiana, a chamber of commerce between China and Indiana that has about 65 to 75 member businesses. Renk said one issue for its members is travel between the U.S. and China. The coronavirus outbreak ramped up around the Chinese New Year holiday on Jan. 25, when many people go back to China.

"Some Chinese and American workers had gone back to China to celebrate with families, and got stuck back there in the quarantine," Renk said. "There is a lot of international travel between China and the U.S., so there has been a displacement of workers on both sides."

Another problem is the Indiana companies that rely on suppliers and factories in China to create their products. The coronavirus outbreak has kept employees at home, unable to work. Renk said the ACSI had to postpone an upcoming trip to China to court new businesses. Still, there is one silver lining.

"One good thing about Indiana is at least on the China side the factories are spread out and not just in one province," Renk said. "So it spreads around a lot of risk. It will be hard to tell who's going to be affected later this year. Time will tell."

Staying busy for nearly a month

As an executive for a European tech company, He travels every other month to China. He and his wife arrived in Shanghai on Jan. 8, spending most of the time in the eastern Chinese city and a couple days in Beijing.

They already planned to stay with David's parents after he finished his work. On Jan. 20, the first coronavirus case was reported in Shanghai. So the couple was forced to stay cooped up in the home of He's parents for the next 10 days.

"It was very tight to stay at home all the time," he said. "If we went in and out of the apartment building we had to register. The only thing we would do was watch TV, check email, go on the internet, make phone calls."

At the airport in Shanghai, He and Hu had their temperature taken by officials. The flight back home around that time is usually full, He said, but theirs was at about 85% capacity. Every passenger donned face masks.

When they arrived in Detroit, no one took their temperature. Instead, they received a CDC health alert card.

"Watch your health for 14 days after leaving China. If you develop a fever, cough, or have difficulty breathing, seek medical care right away," the card reads.

It further explains to call ahead before going to see the doctor, share any symptoms and let the office or hospital know you were in China. Before getting back to the U.S., He arranged the self-quarantine.

"I didn't want to contaminate a taxi driver," he said. "My friend has a car they don't need to use ... I called the insurance company to make sure I can drive it."

After the first week, friends brought more food and the couple was also ordered grocery delivery from Kroger and Fresh Market. Again they passed the time watching TV and going online.

He said they never were frustrated or upset during the self-quarantine. He got a lot of work done, practiced his golf putting skills in the basement, read the book "Surrounded by Idiots" by Thomas Erikson, and did some day trading. He said his wife shopped online, cleaned the house and cooked. She made He a special tofu dish and cake to celebrate his birthday on Feb. 11.

He usually plays badminton four times a week and swims one mile a day. So on Feb. 14 when they lifted their self-quarantine, he went straight to the gym.

Li said the ICCC has been asking members who have traveled outside of the U.S. to self-quarantine themselves. Xiong is impressed by the positivity and support from the non-Chinese community, and wants people to know that the Chinese community here is being proactive.

"We're doing everything we can to prevent this kind of contagious disease to spread," he said. "We think we are one part of this big community, big family, we are (responsive)."

Contact IndyStar reporter Kellie Hwang at 317-444-6032 or kellie.hwang@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @KellieHwang.