COLUMBUS, Ohio — John McGory has been teaching at a university in Wuhan for the past 6 years. He had just retired and was just days away from leaving — heading home to Columbus — before the city basically shut down.

  • He got a seat on a plane carrying a few hundred Americans back to the U.S., but there was an issue with his visa
  • He says every time he coughs or his throat feels bad, he wonders if he’s getting sick
  • He remains optimistic that he’ll be back home in Columbus soon, but he heard it could take as long as 3 months

"Hello everybody, this is John McGory.  I'm speaking to you from Jianghan University in Wuhan,” said McGory via Skype.

The campus, the streets are empty.

"There's no cars, there's no people, there's no nothing," said McGory.

John McGory is an Ohio native now stuck in the travel-restricted city of Wuhan, China.  

"It's scary," he said.

Liz is another teacher at the university.

"Liz and I were walking past the hotel on campus and there were 3 guys with hazmat suits going into the hotel," McGory said.

When he went grocery shopping at the nearby Walmart, the greeters were taking shoppers’ temperatures before letting them inside.  Masks are required and his university is urging people to stay inside. 

"Wuhan is 3x bigger than New York and Los Angeles combined," said McGory.

On Tuesday, a plane picked up a few hundred Americans from Wuhan.  McGory was lucky enough to get a seat, but there was an issue with his visa, so he remains stuck in China.  

​Health officials say it takes about two weeks to show symptoms.

The intense restrictions in Wuhan have only been in place for about a week.  So, McGory believes in another week, they will really be able to tell the severity of the situation.

Even he is waiting to see if he develops symptoms. 

"Every time I cough, every time my throat feels a little bad, I think 'Am I getting sick?'" said McGory.

For now, he's working to quiet those thoughts and remain optimistic it will be over soon. 

At this point, John has no idea when he could be able to leave and come home to Columbus. He said he's heard everything, from a couple weeks to three months. 

For now, it's just an unnerving waiting game.