Mad Chaos: January 31, 2020 – Following China’s Household Exit Restrictions

Today is our ninth consecutive day of self-quarantine in Guangzhou （广州市） due to the coronavirus （冠状病毒）.

I woke up in the afternoon.  As soon as I opened the door, my son came over and hugged my leg.   I came into the living room to take care of him.

Do It Yourself Child Face Mask

Within an hour I prepared for a trip to the local mall.  I suggested to my wife that she also get out of the apartment when I return.

“We should take our son across the street to the courtyard so that he can get some fresh air and play out in the sunshine,” I suggested.

She said, “That sounds like a good idea.”

I said, “We will take him out when we have a face mask for him.”

I have visited various pharmacies and supermarkets to ask for face masks, and baby face masks, but no one can supply them to us in Guangzhou.  Instead, I asked my wife to make a child face mask for him using our own material.

She mentioned, “I am looking online on how to make one.  I will get the material and then make one.”

Discussing Emerging Coronavirus News Reports

We also discussed recent news reports regarding the coronavirus outbreak.

Racism towards Chinese people abroad has gone up dramatically.  The Chinese community in Canada （加拿大） has begun to feel racist abuse in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Racism in Australia （澳大利亚） towards Chinese communities has also risen.  The Chinese football team has been quarantined in Australia after the seventh consecutive case had been confirmed.  Many Chinese restaurants left empty due to race-based fears.

America （美洲） finally evacuated its nationals on a flight from Wuhan （武汉） to a military base in California, where they will be quarantined for 14 days.

There were also reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) will declares that the coronavirus is a global health emergency.

The Brisk Walk To Rock Square

Wearing a face mask （口罩）, by 3:30pm I exited our apartment complex.

This time I made a time lapse video of my trip to the mall.  I wanted to show people overseas how close the convenience store, market, bus stops, metro station and mall was to my home.  The video also showed how empty the mall was.

The walk to the mall once again reaffirmed my optimism regarding the dire coronavirus outbreak situation in China.

I feel, as an adult you should be fine to go outside into public spaces because the number of other people on the streets are quite low.  China these days resembles a lazy Sydney （悉尼） suburb.  You would only encounter other people every twenty meters walked.  There really are not that many people in public today in Guangzhou.

As long as you practice keeping 1-2 meters of distance from people and you steer clear of those that do not wear masks or look sick, then you should be fine.

Could Flight Increase Chances Of Coronavirus Symptoms

I have a theory about the coronavirus.  Anecdotal reports have begun to emerge of people who have travelled overseas by airplane developing coronavirus symptoms within days of air travel.

It has been suggested that the coronavirus lays dormant in people before symptoms show.  I speculate that flying on an airplane will reduce your immune system to a point where the dormant coronavirus becomes exposed.

As soon as your immune system is compromised by the stress of air travel, the immune response to coronavirus will lower to a certain threshold.  It seems plausible that an asymptomatic person infected with coronavirus could then exhibit a fever and other coronavirus symptoms.

Shopping During The Coronavirus Outbreak in Guangzhou

Rock Square was fairly desolate.  Outside in the large, open courtyard a few people loitered around.

The security guard at the mall door used a hand-held thermometer to check my temperature.  The mall inside was even quieter than outside.

I came up to Starbucks （星巴克） on level 2.  The Starbucks staff greeted me at the door with a handheld thermometer to check my temperature too.

The mall and Chinese businesses all follow stringent health and virus prevention measures.

With a caramel macchiato in hand, I cruised around the mall for a few minutes.  There was nothing to do however, so I stopped at the bakery on the return home to purchase bread buns.

One Person Per Household Exit Restrictions In China

When I returned home I saw my wife was dressed well in her pink, French beret, with her hair done up nice for her day out in the mall.  My wife had to wait for me to return so that she could leave.

China has a new law – which has varied degrees in different provinces and cities – which limits how often you leave home to go into public spaces.  Wuhan has strict controls.  Rumor says that Guangzhou will also have a one-person-per-household quota, which means only one person from the household can leave every day.  Some cities the restriction is every two days, and some cases like Wuhan are more severe.

She said, “I am going to fix my glasses in the mall.  Then I will do some shopping and buy some things from the supermarket.”

I said, “Okay, just be careful when you go to the supermarket because there are a lot of people around.”

Spending Time With Son

For the next two hours I took care of my son while my wife was shopping in Rock Square （乐峰广场）.

I became seated on the couch and watched my son walk around the television room, picking things up.  It was very easy to take care of him today.

When he appeared to be hungry I opened up his snacks and fed him.

We watched Peta Pig together.  Then I turned Teletubbies on so he could sit on the living room floor, transfixed.  I could see however that he was getting tired.

At one cute moment he walked over to the bedroom door, taps on the door and says, “Ah!”  Now I understand that means he wants to go to sleep.

I spun him around in my arms, singing to him, until his eyes glazed over, and within a few minutes he fell asleep.

Diary Of A Mad Chaos: Coronavirus In China
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