Coronavirus - those in China, and general discussion

[Shelley]

11 hours ago, mungouk said:

Gag reflex is what I'm most worried about.

 

Like @Lu said its over so fast you hardly have time to actually gag.

 

Do you have to do it yourself? This might make it slightly different, I would be quick, positive and just get it over with which is what happens when the nurses do it.

 

£250 really? Mine have all been free on the NHS. Is this for travel to China?

 

Hope it goes well.

[mungouk]

9 hours ago, Flickserve said:

Do you have to be tested before you fly? If so, what's the time frame before flying?

 

Yes, for flying to China you have to get tested no more than 72 hours before departure, which is a bit fiddly timing-wise but should be feasible. 

 

(Until a few weeks ago it was up to 5 days before departure.)

 

The free NHS testing centres are specifically saying now that you can't use them "just because" you need to travel, so yes I have to pay, and at the clinic nearest me you have to do the swabs yourself.

 

Then it gets done again when you arrive in China, and again once or twice in quarantine, plus an antibody test (blood test) just before they let you out.

 

Four weeks from now I'll be an expert...

[Flickserve]

35 minutes ago, mungouk said:

Yes, for flying to China you have to get tested no more than 72 hours before departure, which is a bit fiddly timing-wise but should be feasible. 

 

Be careful. The 72h rule is time from when swab is taken rather than when the test result is printed. Plenty of people flying to Hong Kong have been caught out by this. Depending on the lab, it takes a few hours from having the swab taken to it being processed. 

 

Another problem where I have heard people being caught out is with the lab being closed on the weekend delaying procesing/printing of the result. That might be an issue if you were taking a Monday or Tuesday flight out.

[mungouk]

Yes, I'm flying out on a Sunday partly for this reason.  

Apparently you no longer need to send your result to the local Chinese embassy/consulate for approval before flying though... I haven't seen any official notice that says this, but my colleague got an email back from the consulate saying the airlines are checking the negative results themselves at check-in now.

 

 

[roddy]

Man, I don't envy you folk these epic missions to get here and there. Feeling quite lucky that I've basically not had to move for the last six months, bar a couple of trips to the hills. Thanks for keeping everyone updated.

[Jim]

Minor signs of returning lockdown here in Shunyi; barriers re-erected at one of the village entrances and we'e had track and trace questions relating to the outbreak in Qingdao. No temperature checks coming into the village yet but will see if that's still true in a minute when I go to fetch daughter from school.

[mungouk]

I heard similar from a colleague's father-in-law, who works for a residential community in Jinan (Shandong)... they've been going round asking all the residents if they went to Qingdao during the Golden Week holiday.

 

[ChTTay]

Actually, the feedback I’ve had from recent arrivals here regarding the airport nasal swab is... bad. It would be more in line with what mungouk has heard. Apparently they really get deep in there, lots of twists... 

5 hours ago, Jim said:

Minor signs of returning lockdown here in Shunyi; 

Yes, supermarkets actually asking you to scan/register using the health app again. Otherwise haven’t noticed anything else yet. 

[Lu]

(Small update: I tested negative, fortunately. The call came some 50 hours after the test, pretty good.)

[Jim]

No temperature checks after the school run, waved through, but they all know us well now, think they might be stopping strangers. Just for track and trace questions if that, though.

[Flickserve]

HK hopefully gets its first travel corridor 

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/spore-hk-set-to-launch-air-bubble-which-may-allow-leisure-travel-without-need?xtor=CS3-18&utm_source=STiPhone&utm_medium=share&utm_term=2020-10-15%2015%3A10%3A06

[Takeshi]

Exciting news, but as a foreigner working in HK, I'm too paranoid to leave because if for whatever reason I can't get back, my life is screwed.

 

I guess it makes sense for HK and Singapore to want to have a bubble because the two cities are otherwise small and surrounded with a border, so there is no sort of "domestic travel" option for people other than day trips/staycations, and everyone is just stuck in their city.

 

Meanwhile everyone on wechat is showing off their trips to Western China over national day...

[Sarah McAfee]

I would love to hear thoughts from everyone, no one in specific, about the relationship between the Chinese population and American population. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Is it a good relationship? Bad relationship? Thoughts you might have about Chinese people or American people considering Corona? I would also like to hear about experiences, positive or negative, about interactions you've had or things people have said to you regarding this topic. It doesn't have to be your experience either. A friend and I were having this discussion earlier and figured I would get some more opinions. 

[Saxondale]

@mungoukwhen are you flying back?

[mungouk]

8 hours ago, Saxondale said:

when are you flying back?

 

25 October, BA flight. COVID test appointment is on Thursday. 

 

Can't come soon enough!

 

[Shelley]

@mungouk Hope it all goes well for you.

 

 

[Saxondale]

On 10/17/2020 at 7:46 PM, mungouk said:

25 October, BA flight. COVID test appointment is on Thursday. 

safe flight!

[mungouk]

Thanks guys.

 

The swab test yesterday wasn't as bad as I feared... for the mouth swab she went for the back of the roof of the mouth, but not far enough to make me gag.

The nasal penetration experience wasn't painful, but it was still unpleasantly weird.

 

I suppose you get used to it after a few times.

 

[xinoxanu]

Just heard this from someone in Chengdu:

• Upon return to China, this person was first subjected to a 14 day quarantine in a hotel. Not allowed to leave the room. 
• Followed by a 7 day quarantine at home. Not allowed to leave the house and multiple signs were placed all over the compound warning the residents that a laowai had returned from abroad, and to please keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't break the quarantine. 
• Followed by a 7 day open-quarantine restricted to the neighbourhood, 小区. No shopping malls or public transportation allowed.
• Followed by an extra 14 days of mandatory, daily reporting of the person's temperature to the local health authorities.

Huge FYI if you are planning to return to China anytime soon, especially if you come from a high-risk European country.

[Demonic_Duck]

I believe part 1 of that is standard and should be expected (including not being allowed to leave the room). But given the maximum incubation period is still thought to be 14 days, were they told any reason for the increased quarantine period? Did someone in the hotel they'd been at turn out to have the virus, for example?