Trapped Canadian Vlogger Will Not Leave Wuhan Without Her Cat

• Born in Vancouver, vlogger Kristina Shramko said that the Canadian government refused to repatriate her with her cat Kitya.
• Authorities did not allow animals on board its emergency charter flights.
• Shramko lives in Hanyang, Wuhan which is currently on lockdown, after the deadly coronavirus infected thousands in the province.
• Since the outbreak, Shramko has stayed in her loft.

In her seven-minute video, Canadian vlogger Kristina Shramko shared about her life in Wuhan during its lockdown, describing the place like a “ghost town”. She has been quarantined for weeks with her cat, Kitya, while her boyfriend went on a business trip in another Chinese province and still could not return to Wuhan.

At the start of the lockdown, Shramko admitted she was not too concerned, citing news she heard that people were “basically contracting pneumonia symptoms”.

“First everyone says: Oh it’s pneumonia, you know it’s a regular thing, it will pass,” she said in her video. And then she heard next that it is a pneumonia turning into a full blown virus. At that point, Shramko still did not feel alarmed by it, shrugging it off and saying “people are still going to work, everybody was so fine”.

But when Wuhan had imposed a lockdown, she knew this was something serious. Since then, she has literally been sitting at home all day because everyone’s not allowed to head outdoors, unless it’s really necessary. Shramko said she lives right across one of the biggest shopping malls in Wuhan and the establishments were “pretty much close”.

She enumerated that dining places and supermarkets are closed while public transportation are not accessible since “there are no planes and no train coming in and leaving for Wuhan”.

“So, yeah, we are pretty much stuck here. They don’t advice you to go out unless you really really need to. I was shocked that literally when I was outside, if you go outside, it’s a ghost town”

On January 23, when she went out and bought food, Shramko said that the grocery store across her apartment was basically empty. There were only a few bags of condiment packages on the shelves but for the most part, they were bare.

The last time Shramko left her home, officers in the supermarket checked her temperature before she entered the premise. She said the public authority required them to wear masks all the time. So she bought food that will last her from 2 to 3 weeks.

The province of Hubei has been under lockdown since January 23 and the deadly virus has even reached other countries such as Australia, Canada, the United States, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan among others.

Not without my cat!

In her YouTube post, she wrote that the Canadian government is now locating its citizens in Wuhan and bringing them back to the country. However, Shramko refused to be repatriated without her beloved pet.

“I don’t think I’m going back. I can’t abandon her,” she said.

According to the vlogger, her cat has been with her throughout the whole ordeal and it wouldn’t be fair to abandon her. She eventually announced on Twitter account that she created a GoFundMe account to invite others to help raise money for her and Kitya.

Hey everyone, many of you have expressed wanting to send money to help Kitya and I out in Wuhan, China. So here it is! I've created a 'go fund me' page where you can donate as much as you'd like to help us out. https://t.co/chpywdXtuP

— kri3tina (@krii3tina) February 17, 2020

Shramko grew up in Vancouver where she studied and graduated a fashion marketing course. Aside from vlogging, she has also appeared in different fashion events in China.

During her one-month trip in China in 2019, she met her Wuhan-based boyfriend. She moved in the city to be with him, eight months before the deadly virus broke out.

Watch her full vlog here: