Eight Weeks On...... Wuhan - a city we almost moved to once. A city I wrote about in this blog post, that then, was a city few outside of China had ever heard of. Now the infamous city is a household name right around the globe, sadly for all the wrong reasons. The official epicentre of the Coronavirus, over 2500 people have died in Wuhan, although that figure is said to be as high as 40,000 by some, who claim China has covered up the number of covid-19 deaths. This weekend saw Tomb Sweeping Day in China. An annual celebration of loved ones who’ve passed, locals go in their thousands to cemeteries to 'tidy up' graves, remove the weeds etc, and leave offerings of ‘cold’ food and money, among other things. Instead, Wuhan locals were asked to stay away from cemeteries, in a bid to avoid further infections breaking out. Since the coronavirus outbreak, many have been unable to bury their loved ones. The grief right now, is understandably uncontrollable and raw. In recognition of this, on Saturday, China held a national day of mourning. Chinese flags were flown at half-mast across the country, the public asked to observe three minutes of silence at ten am, during which air raid sirens blasted out across the country and car owners everywhere sounded their deafening horns in a show of gratitude. While in many countries around the world, the crisis is at fever pitch, on Wednesday April 8th, Hubei Province - population of 60 million - including its capital Wuhan, will have its lock down lifted after more than two months of draconian measures, that are now, sadly, becoming all too familiar in other countries. Measures which saw ‘door to door’ health checks, forcibly isolate every single resident, all food and medicines inspected, drones hovering above streets, and people scolded for not wearing face masks - are now being removed. The last of temporary 'panic built' hospitals like this one, has been taken down and thousands of Chinese medical workers sent to help have been allowed to return home. And, in a sign the city is coming back from the brink, factories are reopening, and operations are being restored step by step. Busses and trains are being disinfected ready for people to start commuting again. Commercial flights will once again begin, excluding international routes and trips to and from the capital Beijing. And in a sure-fire sign, things are slowly returning to normal, Wuhan’s famous hot dry noodles are making their way back to the streets amid the blooming cherry blossoms. The week ending March 23rd China’s official figures showed only 233 new cases for the whole nation, most apparently from outside visitors. But don’t be fooled, life right across the Middle Kingdom is still anything but normal. Some cities have put even stricter rules in place with fears there will be a second wave of the virus. In most cities, temperatures are still taken at all entry/exit ways to any public space. The whereabouts of locals is easily monitored via high tech tracking systems and there are limits on the number of people from each house that can go shopping at any one time. Walls, corridors, streets and buildings are continually sprayed down with disinfectant and masks are still worn by most. An American friend Michael Michelini is currently in hotel quarantine in Shenyang in China’s far north, hoping to eventually be reunited with his Chinese wife and two kids after more than three months away. His temperature is reported to a We Chat group of 60 other people also quarantined in the hotel, six times a day. He’s also had a visit from health workers in hazmat suits; the first time, swabbing his throat for coronavirus, the second, a blood test. In my earlier post here, I mentioned my friend Jenna who was in lockdown with her husband Matt and two young girls in their apartment in Xi’an, Central China. Two weeks in to lockdown, the UK Embassy advised them to leave for their safety, which they did, waiting it out in Thailand for four weeks. With the coast seemingly clear, they recently got the green light to return to their home in Xi’an. Flying in via Shanghai, they landed in Xi’an at 5pm, where they were taken straight from the plane to a waiting bus, and their month’s whereabouts tracked on their phones amid a myriad of paperwork. With new rules to be implemented any day, stipulating quarantine is to be in a hotel for 14 days (at their own expense), the Gods were smiling on the family of four and finally at ten pm, Jenna, Matt and their weary girls were escorted to their home by an airport official. Once inside, their front door was literally sealed up with a big red sticker slapped on the front indicating they were foreigners in quarantine. It seems they arrived in record time with China since temporarily suspending entry of all foreigners, even those with current valid visas and residence permits. Meantime, they’ve been required to send their temperature checks in twice daily to their district government leader via We Chat, with a visit from an official in full hazmat to test them for Covid-19. All food shopping has been done online, the guards at the complex collecting it and bringing it to their door, health workers testing them regularly for coronavirus. Each resident across China has now been colour coded based on their health and travel status which can be scanned on their mobile phone via QR Codes at any given time. Red equals house or hotel quarantined. Yellow means you can go into the garden and take walks on the street and to work. Get colour coded green, and you can go (almost) anywhere. Green means you have had no contact with anyone infected or suspected to be infected with Coronavirus. Green code or not though, many so called ‘foreigners’ like Matt and Jenna are still being denied entry to many places, including hotels, subways and malls and told some roads are closed to them. A hard pill to swallow after calling China home for 13 years, says a teary Jenna. Meantime, analysts say it could take at least a year for the country to recover, largely due to softening demand from the rest of the world. And in Hong Kong, despite strict measures and schools closed since January, the city may have to impose a wider lockdown and close all non-essential businesses for several weeks, after a top government adviser warned of a “third wave” of the outbreak. So, as we all watch our individual worlds turned upside down from our respective parts of the globe, and we grapple with the human and economic devastation wrought by this unprecedented pandemic, let’s as global citizens avoid pointing the finger of blame. Stand together, united as one and remember… “After all this is over, all that will really matter is how well we treated each other.” Stay well. Nicole Webb is a Sydney Journalist, Writer and Speaker who spent seven years in China. Her debut memoir 'China Blonde' will be out mid 2020. … [Read more...]
Ground Hog Day: This is what life in China’s Coronavirus lockdown is really like.
"Ever heard of the movie Ground Hog Day? Well that pretty much sums up how we feel." Those are the words of my good friend, Jenna, living in Xi'an, North West China with her husband and two girls, nine and thirteen. "With school closed until at least the 18th of February, it's get up, breakfast, exercise, play with toys, boardgames, cook, repeat," she says. Xi'an is in Shaanxi Province which shares a border to the south with Hubei Province, and its capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus outbreak. Currently over 20,000 people worldwide have developed the virus with over 400 confirmed deaths. While that figure is steadily rising, and has now overtaken the death toll from SARS, it's still only a two per cent fatality rate. But China's Communist Party is taking no chances. At least not at face value. The outbreak has prompted a response unlike any other in modern history, with Chinese authorities locking down many cities and towns around Wuhan, the city of 11 million where it's believed the virus originated in a market selling wild animals. That's tens of millions of people effectively shut off from the outside world. Anyone who's ever been to China will tell you, there's rarely a quiet moment in the nation with the world's largest population. The streets are at best, chaotic - humming with people, cars, busses, motorbikes, food carts, and street cleaners, day and night -- all fighting for their space amongst the pandemonium. The noise can be almost deafening. But not this month. "It feels very eery, like a ghost town, everything is closed down. The only places that are required to stay open are the supermarkets and hospitals. At our complex one gate is completely sealed off, with one left open for us to get out and go shopping. No one from outside the building is allowed in. No family, no friends." "The days are still and far too silent for this city of 9 million people." says Jenna, who having lived in China for 13 years, has seen it all. Her main concern though is the millions who sell fruit and veggies at the local wet markets or run local restaurants. "How are they going to get an income?" she wonders. "At least the big companies are looked after by the government." An Australian friend Robyn, who's been in China for nine years, and was due to return home to Australia any day now (flights depending) is feeling bereft that there will be no goodbyes in person, no last hot pot meals, just a quiet exit. "We are now very isolated in this crowded city," she says. She has a friend who lives in the south east of Henan, very close to the border of Hubei Province, just three hours drive from Wuhan. She tells her, all roads into my village are barricaded. "So instead of the normal flocks of people returning to celebrate Spring Festival, my village is very quiet. Everyone is bored and strangely no groups of people are milling around talking and no children are playing." Temperature taking is the new norm across the Middle Kingdom. Officials in full Hazmat-style body suits are taking temperatures at random, catching people when they go out, and when they return home, and everything is being recorded. Police and security guards are knocking on people's doors to check if anyone in the household's feeling unwell, is harbouring any visitors or has travelled anywhere in the past week. And in a nation that survives on Taobao deliveries with thousands of little Tuk Tuks weaving in and out of laneways delivering packages to one and all 24/7, now, all deliveries are left at the gates, making contact minimal. Messages come through on We Chat, the What's App equivalent, informing people there will be 'centralised spraying of medicinal drugs by aircraft." What drugs nobody is really sure. The communal areas in Jenna's apartment are regularly sprayed down with vinegar, while a friend's complex is doused in bleach. Public transport is down to a bare minimum. Didi the Uber equivalent has stopped and taxis are few and far between. If you do manage to hale a taxi and they stop, you need to show your passport; all details are recorded including where they picked you up and dropped you off. In Wuhan, naturally, things have reached another level with almost everything closed. Bibby, a Chinese local says, people are told not to go out unless it's an absolute emergency. "Supermarkets are open for a limited time from 10am to 6pm with meat and veggies the most difficult to buy, and always the first thing to run out." Face masks, which have usually only been an accessory for foreigners protecting themselves against the heavy pollution are now mandatory, or face a hefty fine. Hotel General Manager, Peter, in Shenzhen, China's far southwest, had just come through the border crossing from Hong Kong after evacuating his teenage daughter, when he messaged me. "It's unheard of but almost no-one is at immigration and everyone going through has to fill in a health declaration." He has 400 hotel staff due back from various provinces around China after Chinese New Year and is renting rooms to quarantine them. Meantime, in Hong Kong, thousands of medical workers have gone on strike, demanding the city’s government shut down all of its borders with mainland China, to keep out the spread of the virus they call WARS. Many foreigners have chosen to leave the city which is already reeling from months of pro-democracy protests, not to mention the 2003 SARS epidemic which still weighs heavily on the city. Hong Kong local, Mona, says back then, they all worked together to fight the disease but 2020 is very different. "We urged the government to close the borders as quickly as possible but they are not listening." "Because of no planning the supply of masks is extremely tight and people are queuing up for four to five hours to buy just one box of masks, with some stores selling them for HKD900 (US$115). Hong Kong infectious disease experts are urging the government to take 'draconian' measures, estimating as many as 44,000 people could be infected in Wuhan, a figure far higher than official numbers. Amongst the uncertainty, it's believed the epidemic could peak around the end of April, early May. This article from Well Women explains why, despite the risk, so many expats are still choosing to stay in China. For them, ground hog day or not, it's still home and in many instances, probably safer than travelling. Nicole Webb is a Sydney Journalist, Writer and Speaker who spent seven years in China. Her debut memoir 'China Blonde' will be out mid 2020. … [Read more...]