9-year-old Bellevue boy stuck in China amid coronavirus outbreak

KING COUNTY --  A man from Bellevue is doing everything he can to get his 9-year-old son back home from China.

“I’ll start standing up and yelling at the top of a cliff to anybody who will listen and start trying to get any high government official or whoever to notice,” said David Neer. “There are US citizens stuck in China that just by circumstance got stuck.”

His son Daniel traveled to Hangzhou to spend the Lunar New Year holiday with his grandmother. His flight back home was scheduled for February 3, but it has since been canceled because of the Wuhan novel coronavirus outbreak.

“I am worried about him getting sick, but it sounds like his mother is doing everything she can. They’re staying in the house. They haven’t been going out. They’re wearing gloves and masks and everything when they do go out in public, so she’s taking all the precautions she can,” said Neer.

The family says the airline has offered a refund, or the next available flight two months from now in April. They’re now looking at other airline options, with the hopes of traveling back into the U.S. by later this week.

Finding a new flight is only the first hurdle. Travel restrictions are getting tighter country by country. By Monday, there will be 11 U.S. airports doing health screenings on people with a recent travel history in China.

The family’s biggest concern is how much school Daniel will miss at the end of all of this.

“He’s going to be out of school for a long time if they can’t get back from China,” said Neer.

Even after returning home, Daniel will need to self-quarantine at home for 14 days to make sure he doesn’t develop symptoms.

We’ll continue keeping in touch with the family to get an update on their return back home to Bellevue.