COUPLE STRANDED VIRUS LOCKDOWN
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WELSH couple have spent nearly two weeks confined in their flat in South Korea during the coronavirus outbreak. Mira Amin, 30, and her partner Lloyd Price, 28, from Cardiff, had only been in the country a matter of weeks after emigrating when they were forced to disinfect their home, sterilise their clothes, and self-quarantine.
The pair made the decision to work abroad on New Year’s Day in 2019 and applied to teach in South Korea after a recommendation from a friend who lived there.
They were later hired by a company who were seeking a couple to teach at its school. The couple then moved to Changwon in December where they were given an apartment and settled into life and work as English as a second language (ESL) teachers fairly quickly.
But within months life changed and the news of coronavirus began to spread. Mira said: “I first heard about the novel coronavirus during the middle of January.
“The Korean news began to report on the break out in Wuhan. Initially I was unsure of how to react.
“Korea is clearly very close to China but information about the effects of the virus were very mixed.
“Gradually children and staff at the school started wearing masks more frequently than usual, then we were told to start wearing masks around mid-February.
“At this point the school put hand sanitiser at the entrance door and more and more concerned conversations about the virus could be heard around Changwon city.”
Mira added: “In truth I downplayed the seriousness of the issue as I wanted to enjoy my life in a new country and also I felt sceptical of how western media reports on China as it is often prone to be sensationalist. I passed it off as something you just watch happening from a screen. Then it happened here, right on our street.”
Mira told of how, a few weeks ago, they saw a quarantine container being delivered to the nearby hospital that’s located opposite their apartment.
They noticed the evening was quieter than usual and due to them being limited with their understanding of the local language they didn’t really know what was going on.
“This was when we realised something was very wrong,” she said. “We were told to self-quarantine as the virus had reached our city. Our lifestyle changed overnight – we were told to only drink bottled or boiled water.
“With very little information about the virus we both disinfected our home immediately, sterilised our clothes, and set up a quarantine.”
By Friday Mira and Lloyd were on day 12 of self-quarantine. “At first it was a shock to our system,” she said.
“Essentially you are confined but at the same time you have the freedom to do what you want within four walls.
“As a well-being advocate I knew I had to keep my mind and body busy so I started a blog to turn my boredom into creativity and also to reach out to others in the same situation.
“I had no idea I would make virtual friends from this who I hope to meet when this thing blows over. I try to limit my time watching Netflix. I plan each day out – YouTube yoga sessions, blogging, call friends and family, and we’ve even started doing jigsaw puzzles.
“I’m a very outgoing person so some days I look outside and wonder when things are going to go back to normal. Of course I really want to get back out in the city exploring and discovering new things like we were but I know this will take time.
“I’m grateful to have my partner with me to annoy and talk to - hence why I created the term Quaranteam on my blog hoping to create an online community for others in the same boat.
“It’s a surreal situation. There are so many ex-pats and other ESL teachers here confined and living alone.”
Mira said people’s lives have been “impacted heavily” as they are unable to work, children are missing out on their education, and people are longing for things to get back to normal.
She said even though it’s been “surreal” the experience has made the pair appreciate being out more and they are planning lots of exciting things when they can finally leave the apartment.
Like many places around the world South Korea is now covered with posters offering information about the virus and there is hand sanitiser in most places for the public. People wearing masks sight.
Mira said: “We are without a car here. Our school director kindly delivered us groceries to see us through the week when this first happened and another colleague recently delivered us masks as my partner couldn’t find any locally.
“Anything we receive is wiped down with an anti-bacterial wipe. In our home we have our own procedure happening that we quickly had to adapt to.
“When we have to make a quick trip to the local store to top up supplies and groceries we have to wear masks. We make the trip to the nearest store and we make it as quick as possible.
“We take antibacterial hand wipes to open doors and to make payments. We remove our shoes before entering the home. That is a common thing in Asia but now we actually disinfect the soles of our shoes. We then wipe down our clothes with antibacterial wipes and sanitise our hands before entering the living area.
“One of us stays by the door and disinfects grocery packaging whilst the other puts them in storage. When we wake up every morning we have a routine of filling a large bowl with boiled water from the kettle. We use this water for everything from washing vegetables to washing our mouths and faces.
“We top the bowl up throughout the day. When we wash our dishes and cutlery we sterilise them in boiled, hot water. It’s a nuisance but it has to be done. People are worried here.”
Mira explained the concern in the country was more for the elderly and is also a common