April 1, 2022 to April 4, 2022
Days L1-4: Settling In the Trenches
Day 1 - Fri Apr 1st
The first round of compound covid testing was fast and smooth. Ours is thankfully more relaxed than others based on the horror stories I'm seeing from friends. The day was mostly online teaching and going full bore on a project towards minimalism. Aside from that, the highlight was taking the trash out late at night.
This had to be done discreetly because according to the rules, the trash is supposed to be left at the door for volunteers in white hazmat suits to collect. I was having none of that so I slipped out late into the night with the bags of separated trash (wet trash, dry trash, recyclable) and quietly moved towards a secondary trash location which was far away from any guards or CCTV cameras. There was absolutely nobody out, it was dead quiet. Looking both ways over my shoulder I then dropped off the trash and quickly went back inside.
Day 2 - Sat Apr 2nd
Covid test results came back 36 hours later. Negative. The long wait generated considerable anxiety. It normally takes 4-8 hours. To be clear I'm not worried about what happens if I catch Omicron, and besides my wife and are both triple-vaxxed. At worst it would be a mild case or far more likely asymptomatic case of which 90% of them are.
The big worry comes from the consequences. If you're tested positive, you get pulled from your home to one of those dreadful quarantine centers. Your close contacts, however those are defined, also get pulled out. This could mean an entire building. Or if the building isn't pulled out, the men in white hazmat suits seal off the door of everyone in your building. Once you arrive at the center, you're in an absolutely packed room with thousands of other sick people. It is full of noise, nobody can sleep, the food is disgusting, the lights never go off, and the excuse for a bed and table make any rat house guesthouse I've stayed on past cycle tours look like the Hilton. You can't get out unless you test negative twice. You also don't have the 'right' to self-isolate at home either.
In a word you're screwed and they can do whatever they like with you.
So because of this, everyone is scared shitless about catching covid and taking extreme measures not to be exposed. It's a case of avoiding the virus because they're really afraid of the State.
On that note, while making the best use of this lockdown time I couldn't help but hear a massive argument outside in the compound. My wife helped translate and it turns out a guy was walking around yelling something in Shanghainese at the compound authorities. These people in white suits told him to get back inside the house, help "support us" in the epidemic prevention, and if he continued to refuse they'd call the police. Besides this, often times the men in white would clap their hands and yell at people to stay inside the house in general.
So the stealth garbage run last night was the right call. Tonight's was even more heart pounding.
Day 3 - Sun Apr 3rd
In what came as a surprise to nobody, the first phase of lockdown was extended. Which means now in fact the entire city is in lockdown. The chances of this going on for weeks is inevitable.
These are extraordinary circumstances. Not even 2020 was like this, and the main issue now is the food supply. Stocking up earlier was a wise choice, but we are already starting to run out. We are doing our best to conserve vegetables every way we can. Delivery from outside is not happening either. My wife gets on the phone every night at midnight and frantically tries to order something from the apps but it's impossible to buy anything. It all sells out within minutes and then no orders can be taken for the rest of the day.
The second round mass covid testing for today got cancelled so that's a guarantee this thing will extend. Meanwhile I kept up with my minimalism projects and did the usual late night garbage run.
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Day 4 - Mon Apr 4
Another day, another round of mass covid testing. We did a rapid antigen test yesterday using those home test kits. Apparently China just got set up for that. They aren't as popular here as in other countries but they exist nonetheless.
Then we got a message late last night saying they would start the mass covid testing at 6am. Apparently the top brass from the Beijing central government took over the operation and are now in charge. These guys were ordered by President Xi himself. The emperor decreed that we need all test results for 25 million people in the city by the end of the day.
Not only that, but there was a positive case in our compound from round #1 testing which means they insisted on more accurate testing. That is to say, one person, one PCR test tube kit. Before they did 10 tests in one mixed tube to speed things up (presuming most would test negative).
Beijing also issued multiple statements on the news about how this lockdown is crippling the economy etc.. and there needs to be an immediate response to get cases down and Shanghai back to normal. On the other hand, some people are clearly benefiting from this. We don't exactly see the officials locked down now do we. Clearly this is all politics.
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2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
There are varying numbers of swabs per batchset with the "we are pretty sure no one in this set has C19" batches (general public) being around 10 and the "we really really really want no one in this set to have it" batches (Q hotel workers) being something like 4.
1 year ago