LIFE IN CHINA QUARANTINE ZONE.
HOW A CANADIAN IS FARING AS CHINA, AT THE CENTRE OF THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS, CLAMPS DOWN TO HALT ITS SPREAD
At the height of the COVID-19 crisis, my wife and I went for a walk in Wuxi, our home about 600 kilometres from the hot zone of Wuhan.
It was sunny and 9 C, a beautiful day, but we were largely alone on the usually bustling streets. Every non-essential shop was closed, including restaurants, coffee shops and tea houses. Starbucks, usually crowded, was locked, shut but not closed: you had to order online, and wait at the door for someone to bring it out to you.
We saw only one dumpling house open, takeout only. We saw half-a-dozen grocery stores open. Pharmacies were open with only a desk and clerk blocking the entrance. You could purchase meds if you showed ID. If you ordered cough, cold or antibiotic medicines, you would be recorded and reported. The logic was simple: If you don’t have any symptoms of COVID-19, would you need these meds? “Just in case” didn’t excuse you from being reported.
You could forget about getting your hair done, or getting treated for a toothache — dentists weren’t going into possibly infectious mouths.
This is what life was like for a Canadian living in Wuxi, a city with relatively few cases of COVID-19, at the height of the crisis in China.
Every vehicle entering the city had to stop for a health survey, and each occupant was given an infrared temperature check. Those with a fever were told to report to the nearest viral treatment centre for a full checkup under tight sterility conditions. Those without a fever could continue to their homes.
Only Wuxi residents could enter the city. If you had been in Wuhan or anywhere else in Hubei province, you faced a mandatory twoweek, closed-door quarantine. The community provided meals to your door and removed waste from outside the door. Daily temperature checks were mandatory for those under quarantine.
For the past two weeks, there have been no new reported cases of COVID-19 in our province, which has 2.5 times the population of Canada. Restrictions have been eased, but life remains tightly controlled.
Some restaurants have now been allowed to open, but patrons must be seated at least a metre apart and nobody can be face-to-face. Entry to all businesses and public buildings requires a temperature check and producing a QR code issued by the Health Bureau signifying proof of good health.
Many restrictions remain in full force and effect.
Our complex, comprised of five buildings and 240 apartments, was blocked at all but one entrance. Only vehicles registered in this city were allowed entry to the inner driveways and parking areas. Everyone had to provide proof of residency and face a temperature check. No visitors to anyone at any time.
Our complex has had no cases. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Groceries are easily purchased online and delivered to the entry gate, outside the barrier. After picking up the packages at the gate, we wash our hands. After we unpack the bag, we wash the bag and then our hands. Then we wash the contents of the bag. We don’t know how many hands it went through before we got it. And so it goes.
The neighbourhood remains remarkably quiet.
Construction of a new subway line, directly below our window, is proceeding at about 10 per cent of its prior pace. New housing construction is at a standstill. I see buses fewer than once per hour, yet we’re on a normally busy inner-city main road. There are no trucks — dump trucks, freight trucks or transport trucks — except the rare home delivery truck.
The cross-town expressway seen from our window is virtually empty after 9 p.m. We usually see one or two accidents daily on the roadways outside our window, but we have not seen a collision of any sort for at least six weeks. An abundance of caution has translated into driver behaviour as well.
A curfew now extends from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., but who cares? There’s really no place to go.
One big exception is supermarkets, which are tremendously busy. However, we prefer not to go there since we fear being in the company of unknown people.
We did not travel at all during January. We present no risk to others, but the converse may not be true. Even when briefly venturing out for walks, we dare not enter any area where food is being served or people are congregating.
It’s hands off everything. We press elevator buttons using just the tip of our house key.
We go through a quick check of the bags we are carrying when entering our complex; no animals dead or alive are allowed. We also have a quick temperature check. A uniformed guard plus a member of our “elected” housing committee staff the gate.
We wash our hands immediately upon re-entering our home. No fruit or vegetable is consumed without first being triple washed.
The city cut power and water to all non-owner-occupied living units to help prevent any of the many migrant workers in the city from returning home undetected and without inspection.
One evening, we got a knock on our door. It was one of our neighbours who had come home and was shocked at what had happened. We gave him the proper contact phone number. Despite our sympathy for his initial dilemma, we were not going to let him into our home.
How does one keep occupied when you cannot really go anywhere or do much more outside than take a walk? We watch videos, we play Chinese poker, we read and we surf. Most fortunately, there have been no interruptions to internet coverage.
We also clean and do laundry. My wife is an excellent cook. She tries to make a balanced diet of fresh vegetables, starches and proteins. She has more time to be more creative and original. I am the chief beneficiary. We love to barbecue, but it’s too cold and windy. We have to be satisfied with grilled, steamed or stir-fried hot dishes.
I have one genuine worry: Not everyone has the patience or understanding of what is required to be part of the solution. Some people feel caged in. They become stir crazy.
In an apartment complex less than a kilometre from ours, an older gentleman tired of being “locked in.” He went to the rooftop and jumped. You won’t see that in the daily report of deaths due to COVID-19.
Now, here’s the big question: When will this be over?
I can’t leave China due to this virus. I can’t enter Canada without going into a two-week quarantine. To me, this is SARS déjà vu.
We’ve been in self-imposed solitude for more than three weeks now. The past three days have seen a reported jump in worldwide new cases. Is this a sign? Is this just the end of the beginning?