Since April 1, Guillaume Thao Vikham has been strictly confined to his Shanghai apartment. The most populous city in China, more than 25 million inhabitants, is trying to stem its worst outbreak of Covid by alternating the closure of its eastern part and its western part. In a logbook, the Caledonian recounts the isolation, the successive tests, the complicated access to food, the wait.
“The whole city is silent”, wrote Guillaume on Sunday, April 3. “You hear the birds all day. The sky is blue and the air is pure. It only happens occasionally during the year, when the factories close. [seulement] factories, which are closed, but more than 25 million people restricted to their homes. The streets are deserted since only delivery people with derogations or employees of the aid services (firefighters, doctors, nurses) have the right to circulate.
Ambiance of its own street:
The rue de Guillaume, Calédonien in Shanghai.
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We are far from the Caledonian confinements. “Here, there is no certificate to go shopping, or authorization to go for a walk for an hour, within a radius of one kilometer. The only rule is to stay at home, period. isolation where we take people who test positive, asymptomatic or not. The goal is to stop the epidemic at all costs. We separate families, children, adults, whatever”he points out. “This worries people a lot. Are all these measures necessary? [Mais] it worked in Shenzhen, Xiamen and other cities where there were clusters. »
“The foreign community is increasingly worried (…) Strict rules are applied in the event of positive people in your location, and depending on the level of proximity. :
- if case in the building, fourteen days more in lockdown at home.
- if case in your block of buildings, seven days of lockdown + seven days of quarantine at home
- if case in your neighborhood, seven days of quarantine at home.
Queue for the April 4 PCR test, grouped by floors.
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“The Big Difficulty”emphasizes Guillaume, “is that there are very few possible deliveries for food supplies. In addition, all buildings are locked with padlocks and the only exits allowed are when someone comes knocking at your door for the test session PCR. They are officers in white coats, volunteers from each neighborhood and by residence, who come and escort you. It almost feels like something out of a science fiction movie. The good news is that the volunteers are human and friendly. After all, they are in the same situation as us since they are also residents.”
“The atmosphere in my building is calm. A WeChat group (Chinese equivalent of WhatsApp) has been created with all the residents. People help each other and communicate the various information on the new measures and others. live in my 21-story building. So, some offer to cook a little more for these people, or to give extra food in case of need. It is heartwarming to see a little help and sharing, in these hard times.”
“It’s funny to live this, more than two years after the first official confinement”, confides the Caledonian. “But this one is more violent, stricter, more restrictive. The fact that all the restaurants are closed also changes the situation. And only a few stores are open. In addition, the delivery people who are also subject to the rule of staying at home most of them are also blocked. One in ten delivery people work, or maybe even less. And the demand opposite is strong, there are certainly thousands of people who want to order food every day.
“Mobile applications for ordering crash often. With messages saying ‘service temporarily unavailable’. Normal, when you have hundreds of thousands of people trying at the same time. The government has decided to help the population (…) One box per apartment was distributed, containing potatoes, carrots, onions, ginger, and other vegetables. This is the paradox of the Covid equation in China. How to regulate the flow of (…) million people and the biggest city [du pays] ? How to deal with food?
Basket of vegetables offered by the government.
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Our confined observes the “big logistical effort”. An example: the test results are coming “between 12 hours and 36 hours after (…) But it’s a machine rhythm (…), the pace is hellish: the authorities want to test every 48 hours. Finally, the government decided to opt for self-tests in residences where there have not been positive people for some time and this is the case with my residence.
On the following day, Monday April 4, the news fell: “Containment is extended for a few days. Predictable”, reacts Guillaume, who tried to regulate any impatience. “Better to avoid a disappointment.” The reason for this extension? “The number of cases detected is much higher than what was [prévu] and we discover cases in several buildings every day. There is no official announcement yet on the exact release date, but it looks like it will be on a ‘compound-by-compound’ analysis, understand district by district.”
As long as my morale is good, I have enough to eat and occupy myself, then everything is fine. As we say at home: Don’t worry!
He then describes this major operation to supply the city with material and human reinforcements. “About 12,000 people have arrived in Shanghai from all over China. The contingent consists of 2,000 military personnel and 10,000 medical personnel to support the ‘battle’ against Covid. Media footage shows a back-and-forth of Chinese Air Force wide-body Y-20 planes Chinese replicas of the Russian IL76, taking place on the city’s airport tarmacs for two days .”
Coming and going of large carriers on the tracks of the city.
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“It’s hard to ignore the anxiety-provoking climate that reigns over WeChat groups and among expatriates”, continues William. “The French consulate has created help groups managed by volunteers by neighborhood [ou] sector. A good initiative. It broadcasts official information, emergency numbers to contact in the event of a positive test, some advice is also given for ordering food. A question from the French community? The impossibility of going to the consulate for the first round of the presidential election.
“My personal situation is quite comfortable compared to close friends. A couple of friends, whose wife is pregnant and with a baby a little over a year old, have been stranded for fourteen days already. Because their neighbors have tested positive. They have a plane scheduled for April 8 to return to France permanently. They are uncertain of whether they will be able to take their flight, as well as the management of their move under lockdownand the worry of being separated if one of them tests positive.”
“You need several authorizations to be able to be authorized to leave the residence only. And then manage the transport to the airport. But it is impossible to go directly to Pudong airport for the Shanghai‐Paris flight because you need a PCR test done at the hospital, before the volt. In addition, the streets are patrolled by the police and the taxi driver needs an ‘epidemic pass’ to be able to circulate in the city. A real obstacle course.”
“My friends’ flight is scheduled in three days”wrote Guillaume again on April 4. “I hope they will be allowed to leave their compound, otherwise they will have to push back. But since 2020, there have been very few flights between China and Paris. This is yet another parameter to be managed. for expatriates, or even professionals like me, who need to travel for personal or professional reasons.”
“And that’s without taking into account the prohibitive price of tickets. Where you could find return tickets between 500 and 800 € [environ 60 000 à 95 000 F CFP], it is necessary to count today between 2,500 and 4,500 € [ de presque 300 000 à plus de 530 000 F CFP] depending on date and availability. Yet another difficulty related to the restrictions due to the Covid.”