Today, the new policy went into effect that classifies each house/apartment community into three categories according to the risk level
We were classified as the highest risk level
We are in the “locked down” tier, with the highest restrictions
The best case scenario is that we can’t leave our apartment door for the next week, then are allowed out of our door, but not our community, for another week
If we’re lucky during the next 2 weeks, with no new positive cases close to us, we will have our risk level downgraded to “precautionary”, which means we can leave our community, but must still adhere to restrictions, and can be changed back to “locked down” if there’s a positive
We haven’t found a way to tell the kids yet about the lockdown extension
It will cover both of their birthdays
We did another round of tests today
Thankfully, they heard our complaints about the mass testing potentially leading to mass spreading
So today they gave us a big box of self tests that we can do at home, by ourselves, over the next week
The previous self-administered home tests all had individual IDs and QR codes to prevent tampering
These do not
Would it be difficult for us to falsify results by having one of us four have a negative test and upload the results for everyone, every day, for the next week?
No
But would it be difficult for others to find a random pic on the internet and upload it is as a negative?
Also no
Anyway, we tested negative (scribbles added by our toddler to help avoid copying this picture for fraudulent uses)
The good news for today is that deliveries of food seem to continue to improve
We got another delivery of vegetables (thanks for the good luck wishes @ktse852!)
We made oven roasted sweet potatoes (a favorite of someone watching these tweets!) with a honey and olive oil glaze
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A year ago today, we received official notice to go into lockdown in our apartment in Shanghai for Covid controls
The initial order was for 48 hours - we ended up being in lockdown for 70 days, a bleak time that also covered our wedding anniversary and all four of our birthdays
We spent the day remembering the lockdown, but - more importantly - catching up with friends and neighbors
First stop was Century Park for a morning of fun - it was a cold and grey day, but we still had lots of fun with neighbor kids
Lunch at the iconic Waldorf Astoria on the Bund - a historic landmark that is also one of my favorite places in the city
Our symptoms continued to worsen this morning and we all tested positive for Covid today - terrible timing for the kids’ Christmas
It’s been going about as we expected:
Our 3 year old has almost no symptoms other than a stuffy nose. 8 year old had a fever and cough but seems to be already recovering
It’s hit me the worst - high fever, chills, insomnia, cough, etc.
So far no one has had anything close to serious problems though - a big relief
It’s been almost exactly 3 years since we started hearing about Covid, and now that we finally have it we are just hoping to recover quickly and then finally step out of its shadow and back into normal life
It’s hard to explain how significant the recent changes are for China’s Covid controls
It’s been a quick and emotional transition from the bleak monotony of a year of lining up for testing, scanning QR codes everywhere, and suppressing a constant fear of central quarantine
The controls are, from the messaging of the government, not a reversal or turnaround, but a new “optimized” approach
No longer do we need to perform the near-daily awkward ritual of opening our mouths wide in the front of a long line of neighbors in order to have a hazmat-suited Covid worker quickly swab us and wave us away
Now optimized, after I’ve had 174 Covid tests in Shanghai during 2022
This weekend I’ve had more friends, family, and colleagues reach out to connect in a long time, mostly around two big stories in China right now:
The Covid quarantine bus crash, and
The Chinese CDC’s guidance to avoid contact with foreigners because of Monkeypox risks
The bus crash has caught the entire country’s attention
Details are still being confirmed, but it looks like there are 27 dead and many injured, after they were all being taken away to Covid quarantine camps in the middle of the night
Key details are still being confirmed, but initial indications are that the driver was navigating challenging roads in the middle of the night while wearing PPE and driving a bus load of people who were potentially exposed to Covid to go to quarantine
I can’t put my finger on why, but today feels like a big turning point in Shanghai
People are out shopping, eating, working - lots of energy everywhere I went today
A great feeling
I went to all three of our offices in different districts, I got stuck in traffic, I got steaks delivered within an hour of ordering, I felt the wind through my hair of an open car window
I saw happy people walking around for no reason, I saw happy people riding motorcycles, I saw happy people sitting outside drinking beer and smoking