My Shanghai Friend Got Quarantined

A few days ago, my friend in Shanghai texted me on WeChat and said that he was quarantined in a government guest house in Central China. The following is our telephone conversation this morning.

Me: “What happened?”

Friend: “I took a train from Shanghai some 10 days ago to go to Central China on personal business. I got off the train to do my thing and my phone rang unexpectedly. The man on the phone asked if I had taken a particular train at a particular seat number. I said yes. He said that I was in proximity to someone in the same car who was verified to have been exposed to a Covid patient.”

Me: “Then what?”

Friend: “The man, a government bureaucrat representing China’s CDC (Center for Disease Control), told me that I should stay put and he would send an ambulance to my location right away. Minutes later, two people showed up in full personal protective gear from the ambulance car and accompanied me to a hotel some 30 minutes away. I was told to isolate myself for some 14 days.”

Me: “What was the hotel like? Do you have to pay for accommodation or food for two weeks?”

Friend: “The government pays for both accommodation and meals. I’ll take a picture of what my room looks like and text it to you right now (see above). The room is okay. The food is mediocre but edible. They picked me up as if I were a “criminal.” People in the street were wondering what was going on. It was quite a scene. I was never in an ambulance before.”

Me: “Do you agree with the government’s measure of putting you in quarantine regardless?”

Friend: “I miss being free. But now I cannot leave the room. I can’t even open the door. I get tested daily. Luckily, I can use my cell phone to text, email or call people so that I can at least conduct my business in a restricted manner. I agree that our government’s measure is draconian. I wish it would be more relaxed especially when the vaccination rate in China is remarkably high. Yet, overall, the government is serious in eradicating Covid within China. I am not unhappy. I just got a little bit of bad luck.”

Me: “How does the government plan to stop the spread of Covid and the new variants in China?”

Friend: “Just a few days ago, a new quasi-medical term called “space-time companion” (时空伴随者) had been coined in the China's fight against the spread of Covid. The phrase means that anyone who is suspected to be near an infected Covid person (or exposed to one) for 10 minutes within a space measuring 800 meters by 800 meters must be quarantined. This is the law."

Me: “When can you leave your room and return home to Shanghai?”

Friend: “This coming Sunday, November 14 at noon. I can see the end of my “incarceration.” We in China are more obedient than people in America for two reasons. First, the Chinese don’t want to die from Covid. Secondly, we’re brought up culturally to be obedient unlike in America. This is a key cultural difference between the two countries.”