Are we mildly sick, or deathly ill?
By
Updated 5 years ago,April 27, 2020
It wasnt supposed to be like this.
January 23, 2020.
Its a warm, sunny afternoon in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China.
Spring Festival holiday (a.k.a.
Chinese New Year) just started for me.
Im celebrating with my teaching colleagues in a bar near our school.
Later on, a friend and I stuff ourselves at a buffet Ive wanted to try.
The chefs sing, dance, and play music.
A security guard takes the temperature of a visitor in Zhongshan Road, in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. The cut-off is 37.3 Celsius; anything higher and the individual is urged to go to a fever clinic. (Photo courtesy of the author.)
I sing along to Country Roads.
The Philippine chef twirls me around as my friend captures it on video.
We take some ice cream to go.
A worker cleans the steps of a building near the west entrance of Zhongshan Road, a pedestrian street known for shopping and restaurants. The area normally draws thousands of visitors a day, but officials have asked residents to avoid crowded places, and authorities are stepping up disinfecting and sanitation efforts to control the coronavirus outbreak. (Photo courtesy of the author.)
But its eerily quiet.
My friend makes a short video, narrating what its like just outside the hotel we just left.
Several hundred yards in front of us, buildings with animated lights show scenes of birds flying.
A Zhongshan Road visitor takes a break in front of a Nike store while visiting the popular pedestrian street, known for its wide variety of shops and eateries, in Xiamen, China. The coronavirus outbreak has turned the area into a virtual ghost town, with several businesses either closing, or operating on reduced hours. (Photo courtesy of the author.)
My friend pans her smartphone.
I end up in the frame, and I say, Hi!
We walk to the bus stop.
Zhongshan Road, a popular pedestrian street in Xiamen, China, is blocked off due to coronavirus security concerns. Normally open, visitors to the area must pass through checkpoints to have their temperature taken. (Photo courtesy of the author.)
I didnt realize it then, but I am at the beginning of a weeks-long vacation.
Well, its more like a staycation.
If I leave my apartment, I have to wear a mask.
Id faced several challenges when I moved to China a year ago.
Instead, I faced a challenge I had never considered.
Coronavirus, specifically Covid-19, had sprung to life a couple provinces away from where I lived.
It didnt really surprise me.
I was well aware of the laissez-faire attitude toward hygiene.
Id seen it in public, and at school.
Id seen food service workers come out of toilet stalls and not use soap while washing their hands.
Children sneezing and not covering their mouths.
Or, if they did, there was no thought of washing their hands.
Sneezing seemed slightly better than children urinating in public.
I saw that on a YouTube video, and in person.
That, and wearing masks.
Everyone looks like they just came out of surgery.
Smokers pull their N95s down to indulge their addiction.
Im hearing less spitting going, on, which is good.
Or maybe theyre spitting anyway, and Im just not hearing it.
I have a go at stay at home.
My friend is freaked about all this.
Last April, she contracted pneumonia.
She was in the hospital for two weeks.
During this current crisis, she doesnt leave the complex unless she has to.
Im not as driven.
I also email it to my principal.
After that, I browse the internet.
If the VPN works, Ill watch YouTube.
I might go back to sleep, because why not?
Ill work on editing my second novel, which I finished during NaNoWriMo.
Some malls are closed.
If they arent, most of the businesses are, and only a handful are open.
Some only allow entry to stores like Carrefour, a European retailer, and Walmart.
KTV, the karaoke bar, is closed.
Movie theaters are closed.
I really wanted to see the Banksy exhibit in Hong Kong.
If I go, Im afraid I wont be able to reenter mainland China.
You cant enter businesses without having your temperature taken.
To me, the digital thermometers look like tiny guns.
It looks like were being executed.
One terrifying aspect of coronavirus is that some peopledonthave symptoms.
They survived by getting take out, groceries, and medicine delivered to their apartment doors.
Now, people pick up goodies from tables outside the apartment gates.
Are we mildly sick, or deathly ill?
I had a month-long respiratory infection last fall, combined with laryngitis.
It took two boxes of antibiotics to get rid of it.
Im lucky it wasnt worse.
Coronavirus symptoms arent much different from the common cold or flu, which makes every sneeze or cough suspect.
As well as terrifying to hear.
I also look for irony.
I found a poster on how to combat the virus on a wall near a tea shop.
Underneath the poster was a display advertising some tea, with the words, Let Nature Take Its Course.
