Georgia father desperate to get wife, baby out of China amid coronavirus outbreak

ATLANTA — Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now say there are 35 cases of coronavirus in the United States.

Eighteen of those cases were passengers on a cruise ship in Japan.

The family of a Georgia man who is stuck in China amid the outbreak talked to Channel 2′s Audrey Washington about their desperation to get him back to the U.S.

Farrell O’Donnell is waiting to learn if her brother, Nick Turner, and his family can fly back home. Turner, an English teacher, is from Georgia but is currently living with his wife and baby in Zhengzhou, China, right near Wuhan, where the virus first broke out.

“That’s their biggest concern, too, that more people in this area are contracting this virus," O’Donnell said.

O'Donnell said her brother filed for a temporary visa for his wife, a Chinese citizen, to enter the U.S. Turner's wife is not sick, but the visa application is being delayed, so now the family is stuck.

“They are quarantined for 21 hours out of the day," O'Donnell said. "Nobody is going to work. Nobody is going outside.”

Turner sent O'Donnell a picture of his neighborhood with few people on the streets. He said not many people are around and the food supply is running low.

"Just no one on is outside," Turner said via text message. "Let me know if you can help."

O'Donnell said her brother and his family are desperate to get out before things gets worse.

“The virus is spreading, so he’s worried that they will catch it or that they will run out of food," O’Donnell said.

The family reached out to the State Department for help. Next, they plan to retain an immigration attorney to help with the situation.

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