We’re all stuck in limbo waiting for a return to normality
Beijing’s winter has finally been replaced with glorious sunshine and temperatures between 15-30 C. This is only my second year here but I know the humid torment that is yet to come in summer.
In the meantime, we’re in that happy medium where one can go out and enjoy the weather without fear of being sunburned or bitten by mosquitoes. However, there remains the question of how much longer we all have to wear face masks.
Before the pandemic struck, I would always wear an N95 mask on days when the air pollution was bad, but wearing one every day is a new experience. Now the sun is out, wearing even a flimsy surgical mask is becoming uncomfortable. Apart from masks being a heat trap, flying insects and catkins are attempting to roost inside mine. By May, I suspect people will be tearing them off, health risks be damned.
The official advice is you should wear a mask in public places where you cannot guarantee a 2-meter distance between people. When walking an empty street or park, for example, it is safe to do so without a mask. But there’s a social pressure to wear a mask everywhere to demonstrate you’re taking your health, and that of others, seriously.
Despite this, I have rebelled. I take my mask off in quiet places and am rewarded with glares or given a wide berth. My reasons are purely vain. Being a pale-skinned Scotsman, I bronze quickly under the sun. I’ve noticed tan lines on my face. I’m worried that wearing a mask for much longer will lead me to resemble a hybrid panda with a white muzzle and brown ears. I suppose the best answer is to stay indoors. There’s no reason for complacency as a spate of new infections recently showed.
The approaching summer raises the question of enforcing quarantines and social distancing. This was easy when the weather was cold and people were glad to stay indoors. However, if a second wave of infections began in summer it would prove more difficult to keep people inside.
It’s important to acknowledge the enormous sacrifices being made by medical workers. They are the real heroes who are tackling the disease on the front line. But for the majority of us who manage to stay healthy, the boredom and loneliness of self-isolation is a serious societal problem.
Even once your quarantine is over, any avenues for restarting your life are quickly slapped down by social-distancing regulations. Beyond social occasions, it’s the sense of normality that feels most absent.
So far, the disease is on the wane domestically. Sadly, some new cases were found in Chinese nationals flying back home from abroad. Instead, the world’s attention has switched from China to the United States, Britain and Europe. Thankfully, the curve of new infections in the West now appears to be flattening. But the resumption of normal life hinges on a recovery the world over and we have yet to see the beginning of the end.
As an expat in China, it’s a double whammy of anxiety. China was the first country to report the disease, suffer its wide-ranging effects and begin to recover. But after living through it, I’m reliving the horror as I see other countries, including my homeland, go through a similar or worse ordeal.
One thing is for sure, everyone will be feeling the effects of this pandemic much further into the future. Whether it be travel restrictions, hygiene standards or temperature tests, I’m certain that nothing will be the same again.