Social distancing kept me safe in Shanghai
The people of China did it, and now it’s our turn, Emily Yun says.
North America is finally coming to realize the seriousness of the COVID -19 virus. News headlines from abroad, about how people reacted to the spreading of the virus, seemed amusing a couple weeks ago and the situation satirized in memes and late night television skits. This will never reach us … right?
I have recently returned from China. Three days after I arrived in Shanghai to celebrate Chinese New Year with my grandma in January, social distancing policies were put into effect. Social distancing saved me from COVID -19 in Shanghai. We must do the same in Canadian cities.
The next two weeks of my visit was spent almost completely indoors. Like everyone else in Shanghai, I avoided going outside, unless it was absolutely necessary. We took our temperature each day, and kept a vigilant eye on possible symptoms as we waited for more news and directions from our local government. Packages with groceries and takeout I ordered on my phone were bundles of joy I looked forward to each day. At Day 8, I caved and went out for coffee; I was bad, I know.
Fortunately, I secured a seat on one of the last departing flights from Shanghai, but my relief, when the final leg of my flight landed in Montreal, after I went through two health and temperature screenings at the Shanghai airport and took two connecting flights, was only short-lived. Although I no longer lived under government-imposed social distancing measures, I felt vulnerable in Montreal because I found that the general public showed little awareness of the epidemic that was spreading like wildfire. “The rising number of cases were all the way in Asia, surely we don’t need to worry,” was the common sentiment.
Since returning to Montreal, I’ve continued to follow both the Chinese and Western media’s virus coverage. When the Chinese news cycle was reiterating again and again the number of cases, patients, deaths, travel restrictions and medical supply shortages, that Western media were touting calmness and rationality provided a welcome breath of fresh air; that is, until the possibility of the virus becoming widespread on their home soils seemed no longer an impossibility.
Even now, as I talk about social distancing measures, I am met with skepticism. People respond with “Why? Am I not supposed to work?
I can’t see my friends? I have to put my life on hold. I’m young and not at risk, please stop making me feel anxious.”
Yes, our lives will be put on hold and yes, I will still unreservedly go through all of it again, because our cities require the co-operation of every person so they can slow down its spread. It is difficult to imagine putting your life on pause for three weeks, especially for a young person who is at low risk and who may be juggling multiple minimum wage jobs. Now is the time when we put aside our individual interests and unite in the collective interest so we can eventually halt the spread of the virus.
This is only temporary and I will almost certainly never have an excuse like this to be a complete homebody for two weeks straight again. I am ready to catch up on Netflix shows, read a great book and practise some much-needed self care.
The goal of social distancing is clear and so are its methods. Now that schools are cancelled, it won’t be easy to resist having groups of friends over.
But the people of China did it, and so did those living in Hong Kong Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan.
Being vigilant about hygiene and following social distancing measures isn’t just for your sake, it’s for the greater societal good — our overburdened health-care workers fighting on the front lines, the elderly, those with respiratory illnesses and those who are already under care in hospitals.
As I talk about social distancing measures, I am met with skepticism.