Quarantine Here Quarantined There: The Shapes Lockdown Takes in Beijing

On Monday my roommate woke me up with a bit of a shock. They’d gotten a call informing them that they’d been to the same place as a confirmed case, and therefore would have to stay in the apartment for seven days.

I had a choice: I could either go stay with a friend or stay put, with the possibility that the door would be bolted shut from the outside, not allowing anyone, or anything, in or out. I decided to stay and started planning accordingly with the intention of doing a grocery run before getting locked in.

Then we got another call. The community health workers told us we wouldn’t be locked in, and would be able to receive deliveries and waimai taken from the gate to our door by a worker. Instead of being locked shut, the door would have a motion sensor placed on it.

If the door was opened at any time, we’d have to take a photo and report in a special group chat as to why the door had been opened.

The situation seemed similar to a number of friends who had also been told to isolate. They went to a place where a confirmed case had been, thus making them close contacts. They’d been asked to stay in their apartments for seven days, doing regular tests to ensure of no infection.

The odd thing is, while my roommate was required to test, I wasn’t (not that that’s a problem after all the required testing and all).

Two days into the whole ordeal and it isn’t all too bad considering I had been working from home in the first place. More time to reflect, start a new routine. That being said, with working from home there was still the option to go out, but now this is on hold ‘til Monday at the earliest.

In many ways, the situation feels similar to when I finished hotel quarantine in 2021 after flying in from South Korea and was required to stay at home for seven days. But this is the easiest form of quarantine, or, by extension, lockdown.

While there is uncertainty as to whether or not these seven days could be extended further, it pales in comparison to the uncertainty others have faced.

Another foreign resident I spoke with was locked down in Shuangjing after the current outbreak began. As with our case, it began with a notice. “On Apr 26, we were told to go home ASAP after our Covid test” he told me.

The block in which his compound was situated in was locked down the same night. Supermarkets remained open, and residents were allowed to move about the block. This soon changed, though, as residents were told to stay in their respective compounds a few days later.

Food was still readily delivered, and eventually, their ordeal ended and they were able to go out, but one feeling lingered. The whole time there was an oppressive feeling of being trapped, compounded by uncertainties like what would happen to their pet if anything happened or if there was a non-Covid health issue.

By comparison, the seven day ordeal seems like a cakewalk. But it’s not all there is to quarantine in 2022.

Matt Orefice, another resident I recently spoke with, had his entire compound placed under lockdown prior to the current outbreak. The compound had been given the option to go to a central quarantine location, but after words of worry from some of the older community members in regards to transportation to central quarantine and a lack of cases in the community, they were allowed to remain in the compound.

Quarantine lasted for 21 days, during which the community leaders were silent and didn’t respond to questions or concerns. This was especially true when other sections of the community were let out after 14 days, but theirs was excluded.

“There was a definite sense of disappointment from the older cadres, who are the vast majority of residents in the building. I think most of them felt a little communication would have gone a long way” says Orefice.

But Orefice did have praise for the community volunteers, who organized deliveries, testing, and helped to resolve medical situations for residents, including Orefice’s own need for medications.

At the end of the day, it seems as if quarantine and lockdown measures differ from community to community, so it’s best to be prepared and, when or if things don’t go to plan, or suddenly change, to stay calm and positive.

READ: Quarantined One Day After Giving Birth To Baby – New Mom Tells It All

Images: Vincent R. Vinci, Matt Orefice