{SHANGHAI ~ January 24, 2020}
The first weeks of 2020 were already super busy, therefore my plans for Chinese New Year were very easy: staycation in Shanghai. I wanted to explore all the museums that newly opened, trying out new restaurants and cafes and just having a chillaxed time, knowing that everyone takes a break for 10 days.
Little did I know and little did the world know what the coming weeks would bring to all our personal and work lives – some sooner, some later. But as of today, March 29, 2020, it hit everyone in the world…..
I remember hearing about the Corona-Virus the week before the Chinese New Year holiday started. Some of my colleagues were already wearing masks in the office. It’s very common in China to wear masks when people have a cough which I always found very thoughtful but never did it myself. I also read a few articles about the spread of the virus and that it’s not confirmed to be transmitted by humans. Everything seemed to be far away from me.
January 24thwas my first day of Chinese New Year holiday.
I had a list with all my to-dos. Besides cultural activities I planned to declutter my apartment. Every single drawer and corner was planned to be inspected and decluttered.
Very unusual for me: instead of being lazy I started on Day 1 with decluttering my apartment and had a very productive Friday.
What also happened on January 24thwas that authorities took a dramatic step to quarantine 12 cities including Wuhan. Consequently, business was impacted and from Saturday onwards I have been pulled into business updates and the preparation of regular overviews of the situation to upper Management.
But let’s keep work aside. I want to share my personal experience going thru the lock-down here in Shanghai and observing how the world reacted to it. It’s not over yet – we are all in the middle of it right now.
Wuhan and some other cities were on lock-down and I was right at the beginning of my Chinese New Year holiday.
Things happened very quickly here in Shanghai. That’s how things are managed here in China – there is a decision and everyone follows. So within a few days Shanghai became a ghost town.
It’s usually a bit quieter in Shanghai during Chinese New Year but this quietness was different.
I live in one of the old Shanghai Lanes. My apartment is in an old art décor building from the 1930s and I’m the only westerner in the lane. There are a few entrance doors to the building, and a gate to enter the lane. It’s a very nice old lane.
I experienced that things are getting serious when someone knocked on my door on Saturday January 25. The Lane Community started to check how many people live in each apartment and if visitors are expected. Then later that day I read that people are asked to stay inside and if the go outside they should wear a mask.
Sunday was another day at home. It was raining cats and dogs – perfect day to stay inside and using the creative side of the brain.
Almost all of my colleagues and friends left Shanghai for Chinese New Year holiday so I didn’t really have anyone to talk or check-in what they think about the situation.
The check of the Lane Community the day before did make me think more about the situation and what it eventually means.
I started to look at the reports from OneTube.
China is amazing in developing or updating APPs based on whatever situation. In the case of Corona, BAIDU maps immediately added a function where people can see crowded places and avoid those. All based on GPS data and only possible due to the fact that there is no data privacy.
On Sunday January 26 Shanghai announced to close all public venues followed by restaurants and some stores.
When I checked that day, Shanghai had not even 66 cases whereof only 3 cases were in Xuhui District.
Compared to the raise of over 10.000 in Wuhan, I considered Shanghai as “safe”, however, it didn’t even cross my mind that due to the low number of cases the measures to mitigate the spread were exaggerated. For me it was crystal clear to fully comply with the restrictions, Lane Community rules and government regulations.
