COVID Scare

I know like a week ago I posted about how Covid is not a thing in China, or at least doesn’t have much of an impact on daily life, but then, there were a couple of outbreaks locally. One in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, and one in my new home, Shenzhen.

Due to the new Covid cases from the Yantian Port outbreak beginning at the end of May, restrictions have been getting tighter around Shenzhen, showing green QR codes and testing whole districts and before travel, as more and more cases have been discovered.

As of when I’m writing this, 16 cases have been publicly announced. But this is China and what is said in the news is not always the whole story. It seems a little extreme to go through all the trouble and expense for 16 cases that are contained within 2 districts near the port in Shenzhen.

One of the foreign teachers at my training center has been hounding the students and parents about wearing masks, complaining to the Chinese teachers when she sees someone not wearing one, and generally being loud. But, as much as I hate to admit it, she does have a point – I don’t want Covid.

Notification

After a week of her yelling, which I’m sure the apartment complex nextdoor can hear, I was looking forward to a nice quiet weekend. Unfortunately, my apartment complex sent me a message.

Basically, it says that on June 5th some people met and decided that the entire district of Futian, where I live, all 1.77 million people, need to get a Covid test in the next 3 days, between the 6th and the 8th.

I was sent the notice in the evening of the 6th. This testing requirement is off to a good start, right?

My apartment also sent an address for where to go to get the test done. However, when I went to make sure I found the right place on a map (It’s too hot to be wandering around lost), I was informed that the location had changed and they’d tell everyone where to go later.

Later, when I did get the updated location, it was, unfortunately, much farther away than the first location. Originally, I only had to go about a block, now, I’d have to go to the next metro station, about half an hour walk away.

Getting There

As I walk to get my mandatory Covid test, the sun is shining not quite so brightly, the birds are singing, and people are pulling up their masks as I approach. It’s a lovely morning!

It was a very nice day for a walk. Made even better by my brand new sun umbrella. It was like walking in my own personal but of shade the whole way! I can’t recommend getting one enough, if you live somewhere hot and sunny.

After closely following the directions from my Chinese map app, and wandering around a street that, according to my map, was the wrong one. I decided to try going to what looked like an apartment complex with some stores on the first floor. Maybe it’s somewhere in there?

Showing the guard my message with the directions, he had no idea where I was supposed to go but he let me in. This isn’t off to a good start.

The first building was a little more helpful. But we don’t speak the same language so all the help I got was a “go out and turn right” hand gesture. Still thinking it was in the complex, I continued wandering around.

Nothing looked right. I was expecting a line, tables, and lots of people. Just plants and the occasional person wherever I looked.

I went out a different exit than the one I went in as it was closer to where I was and it was the end of the road the hand gesture told me to use. It was the far end of the wrong street I went down earlier.

Just outside, I found the line.

Testing

I also found some very helpful people that half filled out a form needed to give me yet another green QR code. I’ve found that if I bring enough forms and documents and act clueless enough, all the hard parts, like typing Chinese and knowing my own address, of these forms get done for me.

Standing in line for an hour, I made a couple new friends. I had a sun umbrella that I let them share with me to get out of the, now, brightly, shining sun. Before I arrive one lady was trying to use a fan to avoid the sun and a group of other people were refusing to leave the comfort of the shade to wait in the sun and keep up with the rest of the line.

Finally, we were nearing the testing area. I got separated from my new friends. When it was my turn to go into the waiting tent, I became head of a line of people. I still don’t speak Chinese. Hopefully, there’s lots of pointing. That I understand.

After a brief wait, I followed a guy in a red vest (a volunteer) to a table where the medics with the tests waited to stab me. Happily, China prefers the throat swab to the nasal swab, that America favors. Once I gagged and pulled away, they decided they were happy with the swab. I got up and went to wait for the rest of my line to get tested. The volunteer was waiting for me.

Then it was on to join another line. There were people at tables with lots of paper lists. I have no idea what the purpose of this line was. But, I did get my name checked off a piece of paper.

I have no idea how they are keeping track of everything. Normally, when getting a Covid test, I get a little vial with a barcode that was printed specifically for me. Here, the best I could tell is that they scanned everyone in line’s QR codes and the first test’s barcode and are going to assume all the tests after that is in the same order as the people in line.

I also have no idea how they got a piece of paper with my name and address on it while I was waiting in line. I didn’t see any printers.

But, I did it! I managed to find a place with vague directions and take the test all without anyone being able to speak English. I’m so proud of myself!

And I got a sticker!

Results

Just under 30 hours later, a couple apps updated to let me know that my test results are in.

I still don’t have COVID-19.

Elsewhere in Shenzhen

Shortly after I had gotten my test, other foreigners around Shenzhen, mostly in the neighboring district of Nanshan, as they famously have a foreigner friendly area called Shekou (sounds a lot like ‘circle’), were trying to figure out their own testing requirements. There were a lot of questions being asked about where to go, what forms need filling out, how to fill them out, when they’d get their results, and what the consequences of not getting tested would be.

I wish everyone health and luck until this, hopefully short-lived (I want my summer vacation), scare is over.

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Update: I found out what the consequences for not getting a test is – your green code turns yellow, meaning you can’t take the metro, go inside most buildings, or go to work.

If you have any questions about any of the terms I’ve used, look in the glossary.