I’m writing a fresh update because a lot has changed in the days and weeks. Things are changing fast. I’m in Guangzhou, China and we are back in business. Certain things, like schools and movie theaters are still on the out, but we are seeing major gatherings again. This is due to our nearly zero infections in about two weeks now.

Rules that got us here: Isolation in the form of physical contact outdoors and personal space. Masks are an obvious idea, but more importantly, disinfectant at every point of entry. This manifests with every shop offering gel sanitizer. Every public space like cafes, spraying down tables every 30 minutes with a light disinfectant. People using keys for elevator buttons. Washing hands as an automatic first stop on return home. In addition, there are guards at every doorway to both shops and communities. They check for your purpose and health. They have inquiry about your business at the location and also, they take temperatures with gun-like thermometers that were initially pointed at foreheads, but now, the wrist or palm of the hand seem to be in vogue. These things work.

For a quarantine packing plan, read this.

We are ordering things online more. The digital economy was already miles ahead of the US. Think Apple-pay but for everyone, in multiple platforms. Cash is not needed for anything. You can go to a restaurant, a clothes shop, or a farmer’s market and pay with your phone here. No need for cash = fewer germs being shared. I know people who haven’t carried cash, here in China, for years.

It’s still awkward, with the masks and the vigilance for intentional germophobia (probably not a real word) but it’s done the job. I dare you to look at the numbers. This is where you want to be. Ironically, this is the safest place in the world right now in relation to this virus. The makeshift hospitals were a huge help in containing the hot-spots.

Vigilance is necessary. The president of Brazil and Tom Hanks have it. You could get it too. Even if it doesn’t kill you, rumor is, flu is annoying. Nobody wants it. Gel sanitizer, washing hands, the masks as a courtesy (before they’re enacted as law, as they are here), these things will make a world of difference in your likelihood of infection.

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A few other tips that I picked up:

When I go shopping or pick up packages that have been delivered, I don’t deal with those things extensively for 24 hours. The virus will normally die outside people in less that 24 hours, on even the most comfortable of flat surfaces. So, I just put things down and come back to them later. (Edit: after writing I saw an article from NPR speaking of newly discovered indicators that it can survive on stainless steel up to three days.)

I’m working from home now, and that is a struggle for the matter of keeping me on schedule. So, I have multiple whiteboards that I use to organize – visually – what I’m doing. I have my static schedule in a color-coded large-scale image so that I can’t miss it. And I have the auxiliary matters off to the side to remind me of what I want to get done otherwise. I have to thoughtfully get myself out of the house. Between the anxiety of being outdoors with the media enhanced invisible death cloud of COVID-19 in the wind, and having a lot of work on my hands that could keep me busy, if I just stayed and worked, I have to remind myself that getting out and walking around the block is a healthy and valuable thing. (Interestingly, the invisible death cloud isn’t really there.)

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Video-conferencing is amazingly easy. (Teachers, take note) I use Zoom every day in my classes. It’s a great application that is well suited for what we are doing. It has a bunch of features like break-out rooms for group-work, and muting all participants, and recording of the session, that all make for an ideal work environment for teaching and learning. I know other companies are on it as well. I’ve heard good things about Classin and Roombox (Chinese) from other teachers, and I’m sure there are more. This isn’t a review article, just personal experience. In addition, I saw Pathable step it up another level for actual large-scale events. (Also, it’s the only US based company in my list, but they also integrate Zoom in their structure. They offer a good bit more.) I would absolutely go with them if I had a need to that extent.

Also, I’ve found that the anxiety of looking outside at the world with a new angle of fear led to a great opportunity to revisit the art of calming. Breathing techniques and yoga-like stretching are part of how I survive. I plunked 30$ down for an app by Brian Eno that plays background noise that’s simply brilliant, especially with the pounding of two metro stations being built outside my window going 15 hours a day. The thoughtful breathing has been a welcome addition to the med-kit.

What I can say is that the reason that China is now on the mend and will be back to normal sooner than later is that people were willing to accept the call to a higher good, they accepted that isolation and going along with the authorities’ plans would be the best course of action. I can only hope that Italy and the rest of the world are as successful.

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I’m most worried about the people who are already at-risk folks. Refugee camps at the Greek border, the addicts on 1^st Ave. in Seattle, the homeless camps in downtown LA, the otherwise less-obvious medically delicate folks that receive treatment regularly, but are closer to the danger-zone than others. These are diabetics, cancer patients, folks with kidney and lung diseases that on a normal day are already working hard enough to keep it together. This is very dangerous for them. Please be careful with others, and yourself.

Remember one of the weirdest parts of this virus: you can carry it for up to 14 days and not know it. (Link goes to the CDC website for further reading.)

So, constant vigilance is needed. But it isn’t that hard to make the changes, and they do make a difference.

In China, there’s a phrase that is roughly translated as “Keep fighting!” or something to that effect, it’s used at sports meets, and when cheering on a city that is in lockdown. It is pronounced Jia Yo! (Not precise pinyin, but useful for readers.) It is what you say to someone who needs encouragement when times are tough.

加油！

We are where you want to be. I hope you get here soon. The daily infections rates are no larger than single digits outside Hubei (the region that includes Wuhan) and even there, it’s so low that President Xi visited earlier this week and the make-shift hospitals have all been closed down because there’s no need for them anymore.

They’ve halted wild-animal markets and actively taught 1.4 billion people uniform-lessons about sanitation and germ-control. They’ve mobilized how-many million volunteers to sit at apartment and village gates to take people’s temperatures and keep people who don’t live there, out.

That last part is important. When they were keeping outsiders out, they were often keeping locals in. I saw a number to the tune of 400,000,000 people were restricted for movement. This extra time with family was impactful. The chorus was one of harmony. I saw video of whole sets of buildings, tower-blocks, singing together~

Sure, there were struggles. Divorces are reportedly higher this year than last. 2,500+ people were arrested or given citations for animal sales violations. And it is anything but a vacation to have to stay in your house or apartment for weeks on end… But, social cohesion is tighter than it was.

People are in the psychological-reset of wartime, where “we’re all in this together” ~ and yet, it’s being done without the loss of life that normally comes with war. It’s incredibly empowering.

Take note. It is the civic connectivity and social cohesion that is going to shine at the end of this weird debacle that is the Novel Corona Virus Situation. So please, stay clean and healthy ~ volunteer to help ~
Keep fighting~