There’s been a lot of information circulating out there about coronavirus China. Some of it is true, and some of it is exaggerated or downright wrong (people who stopped drinking Corona beer, I’m looking at you).
Of course, if you’re worlds away from any of the epidemic epicentres (China, Italy, South Korea, Iran, New York state), then you might not be able to imagine what life is like here for most people. Or, you took your imagination too far and are picturing apocalyptic scenes straight out of the movie I Am Legend, sans Will Smith.
I happen to live in one of the epidemic countries (China), so I can tell you what life is actually like here and hopefully ease your fears a little bit. However, I live in Shenzhen, over 1000 km away from the epicentre in Wuhan, so my experience will be slightly different compared with someone living there.
In just over a month, here is what daily life in China has become:
Everyone is bored
Well, not everyone. But I’d say the biggest effect that the coronavirus has had on most cities in China is that it has sapped the fun out of everything. Restaurants, bars, movie theatres, theme parks, gyms, and recreational spaces are closed or have very restrictive rules in place. For example, a restaurant can allow patrons to dine in, but each patron must keep at least 1 meter from the next patron, and no one is allowed to sit across from each other as this may lead to infections.
It’s also been a terrible time for the movie industry, as theatres across the country are closed. Movies have had their release dates pushed back, and theatres are quickly losing money. However, Netflix and other sites like Hulu or Tencent Video have been coasting. Does nobody read books anymore?
Weekends have gone from being a time where you can hang out with friends, do side hustles, or simply de-stress outside after work, to two-day sentences in your own comfortable prison cell (aka your apartment). Okay, I’m exaggerating. You can still go outside, but what’s the point when most things are closed?
You’re screened everywhere you go
Though restrictions in my city have become more relaxed, most places you visit still force you to go through a screening procedure. This procedure involves a person pointing a temperature gun point-blank at your forehead and pulling the trigger to check whether you have a fever. If it reads 37.5°C or above, you’re dead. Just kidding, you’ll be refused entry.
At the peak of the coronavirus panic, you also had to register each time you entered or exited your apartment complex. If you are found to have any sort of fever, you have to self-isolate for two weeks.
People wear masks everywhere
This is true. Literally everyone wears a mask when they go outside. If you don’t, you will automatically be refused entry to just about anywhere. You will be a social pariah if you don’t wear a mask, even though it’s still yet to be proven just how effective masks are at preventing the spread of the virus.
If you are caught not wearing a mask, you can sometimes be fined. This depends on which city you live in and on how moody the guard/officer is on that day. Mostly, you’ll receive a mild tongue-lashing and told to get home as fast as possible (what were you thinking??). Nearly all workplaces will turn you away if you don’t have a mask on, or they will give you one before you can enter (assuming you somehow made your way there without one). Public transport and taxis will also refuse service to you if you aren’t covered up.
Subways/metros have new rules in place
Subways, at least in Shenzhen, were never on lockdown. You were free to ride them at your own peril.
Gradually, the subways have gotten a little more crowded. Many people are still working from home, but more and more people are gradually being forced to go back to work. Fears of transmission are higher. You’re technically supposed to maintain a 1 meter “safe distance” from people, but this is next to impossible given the population density in Chinese cities.
In an attempt to implement some sort of early-warning system for possible viral transmissions, subway cars now have QR codes posted on their walls. Every time you enter a subway train, you have to use an app to scan the code and record your ride to a system. If someone on the same train as you later tests positive for the virus, you will receive a notification. At that point, you might have to isolate yourself for 14 days.
I personally try to avoid taking the subway as much as possible. In the mornings, I take a company bus to work. However, the pickup point is about a half hour away from my apartment, so I have to get up extra early on workdays now to walk there. It has been quite the adjustment, but hopefully just a temporary one.
People are avoiding crowds… which is against Chinese culture
Chinese people love crowds. And I mean LOVE them. While Westerners prefer being in places around nature or congregating in small gatherings, Chinese people prefer being around throngs of other people. They prefer it so much that when they travel to different countries, they want to see people, otherwise they’ll think it’s “boring” or “no fun”. It could be because they’re used to it, or that they can’t make things fun for themselves so they rely on others to do it for them, or perhaps their more collectivist culture has taught them to feel unsettled when they’re the only ones around.
Whatever the reason, they’ve had to make adjustments. Square dancing in public places is prohibited for the time being. Banquets and large gatherings are also banned. Crowded parks, beaches, and malls are no more. There are also just less people wandering the streets.
It all feels rather unusual given that wherever I used to go, there would be people everywhere. That used to bother me as a crowd-avoiding Westerner, but now it bothers me that there are no crowds. It just doesn’t feel right. And to think that this might be a new normal, at least temporarily, is kind of depressing. However, I am glad that at least most people are practicing social distancing. It basically is the only true way of inoculating yourself against this virus until a cure is found.
So, is the government doing enough to combat the virus?
I’ve been following some Western news sites and there seems to be a narrative being pushed that the government here has mostly defeated the virus and is now slowly returning to normal.
I live here. There are specks of truth in that narrative, but I don’t think it’s entirely accurate.
I will admit that they are doing everything they can. But in a country as big as China and with such a large population packed densely into cities, it might not be enough, especially if restrictions are to be relaxed now. The initial, big wave might be over, but there will be continued fighting for at least until summer, perhaps longer.
Returning to normalcy is a slow, slow process, with lots of bumps and U-turns along the way. It will take several more months for most things to be running at 70% of what they were before. However, as restrictions lift, this might produce a false sense of security among the population, at which point I am fully expecting more homegrown cases to start popping up again, though likely at a lower rate than before. Chinese people from abroad are returning home and possibly bringing the virus with them. Personal hygiene habits learned during the crisis might not be continued to be practiced after the government says everything is okay. And I’m sure many Chinese people are raring for the chance to gather in crowds again. You can see why I’m still not convinced that this is over.
The whole world is going to be living through this for possibly up to a year. Things will get better, but not immediately, and not through magic. Like I said before, social distancing along with good hygiene habits are the best way to prevent the spread of this virus. We all need to shoulder some responsibility.
The government may claim that daily life is returning to normalcy, but making that claim this early is mostly just to score political points. In my opinion, the reality is that there will not be a return to “normalcy” for a long while. Instead, we are entering a new normal. But this might be a good thing. It might teach us to be cleaner. It might finally force us to try our hand at home cooking. It might give us an opportunity to learn new skills in this online era so that our jobs aren’t tied to a specific place of work. It might give us the chance to buy stocks on the cheap (I’m coming for you, airlines).
It’s time to get those creative juices flowing. This might be one of the worst disasters of our lifetime, but we will get through it and we will likely come out of it stronger. Just like getting the chicken pox as a kid, you’ll feel awful for a while and later it will only be a memory. Governments around the world are doing their part to fight this, and we can do them and everyone else a favour by following the orders of government officials and top doctors.
For now, keep your head down, your hands clean, and your doors closed. Sooner or later, new doors will open.