A letter to my foreign friends, with love from your neighbor
“MY dear friend,
The inconvenience for the time being;
It is for the health of you, of me, and of everybody. So, thank you for everything! Quarantine against the virus is no isolation of warm hearts. We are right here with you, Because we know, warm hearts WARM hearts.”
So reads the English text on a letter to foreigners quarantined at designated hotels far away from home. The letter, translated into Chinese, Korean and Japanese, is from the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Pudong New Area New Social Stratum Association.
Along with the letter were some gifts — fruit, a panda doll and some snacks for those under confinement. There were also carnations for women under quarantine on the International Women’s Day.
Four members of the Shanghai New Social Strata Association — Chen Haibo, Zhu Jiangliu, Tao Xiaotao and Dong Wei — spent a day visiting eight supermarkets and several other shops to prepare these items, which they paid for by themselves.
“More and more foreigners are entering China via the Pudong and Hongqiao airports these days,” said Chen, vice chairman of the Shanghai New Social Strata Association.
“But in light of the coronavirus epidemic in other countries, our government has taken new measures to prevent the spread of imported infections. This may cause inconvenience for those in quarantine.”
According to the latest measures by Shanghai to contain the virus, all people who lived or traveled in South Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan — the four countries hardest-hit by the coronavirus outside China — in the 14 days prior to their arrivals in Shanghai must undergo 14-day quarantine at home or in designated places, such as hotels, when they came to the city.
Those without fixed residences, or whose residences cannot provide a quarantine area, have to be quarantined at designated hotels, where medical and hotel staff serve their basic needs and monitor their health conditions, including their temperatures and possible symptoms of infection.
“We contacted SPAFFC to see what we can do for them and eventually decided to give some supplies, such as coffee and tea, so they can have some comfort and feel the warmth of the city,” Chen said.
He said that the government has provided enough accommodation and other basic needs, and his group want to do what they can to help the government and those quarantined expats.
Zhu, a supervisor of the organization, said some foreigners are new Shanghai residents.
“I came to Shanghai over 10 years ago and have settled down in the city, which has become my home,” she said.
“There are more than 200,000 foreigners living here. They are also Shanghai residents and have made contributions to the economic and social development of the city.
“As Dr Zhang Wenhong (director of the coronavirus treatment group in Shanghai) said, when people are quarantined, they are also making a contribution to Shanghai, to make the city a safer place for all of us.”
Officials from SPAFFC and the consulates of countries, including South Korea, Italy and Iran, also visited some designated hotels to extend their greetings to quarantined expats.
Like quarantined Chinese, each of the expats lives in a single room, but children 14 years old or younger can stay with a parent.
They are supplied with all their basic needs and their garbage is collected at their door by staff.
There are interpreters and interpreting machines to help staff communicate with expats.
“We call them every day to hear about their needs and also provide psychological counseling if necessary,” said staff member Yang Wenhong. “We have also invited qualified companies to prepare halal food for Iranians and kimchi for South Koreans.”
Yang said a South Korean girl loves painting, and staff bought paintbrushes, drawing boards and paints for her.
“We deliver a card to the quarantined expats every day, notifying them of their remaining days,” he said.
The hotels said quarantined people can ask staff for help with purchasing extra supplies or make online purchase by themselves.
They can receive parcels, though all of them must be dropped in the lobby and delivered to the recipients by staff.
“We handle more than 300 parcels every day,” said a staff member at another hotel in Pudong.
Some of the expats have sent messages to thank the officials and Good Samaritans for their warm greetings.
A South Korean at a hotel in Changning District wrote: “The greetings from the SPAFFC at this special time make us expats at the designated quarantine places feel the inclusiveness of Shanghai.”