Life in China coming to normal

[kurnool NTR]

Coronavirus outbreak: Keralites employed in China return to work

Athira M

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 01, 2020 15:46 IST

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Residents wearing masks visit a shopping street in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province   | Photo Credit: AP

 

As life in China slowly gets back on track after the COVID-19 outbreak, employees from around the world are returning to their offices. MetroPlus speaks to three people on what it's like to get back to their lives in Xiamen

Riyad Muhammedali, Binoy AK and Appu VK, colleagues at Base FX, a visual effects and animation company in Xiamen City in Fujian province of China, had big plans for the week-long holiday, which was to start on January 25, the first day of the Chinese New Year. However, instead, life turned topsy-turvy as COVID-19 brought the country to a standstill. Their focus moved to finding ways to keep their families safe. Riyad opted to stay in China, while Binoy and Appu took the earliest flights back home.

Now as China limps back to normal, Binoy and Appu have returned and are back at work. Sharing their experiences over the phone with MetroPlus, the trio say that people continue to take precautions, like using masks, hand sanitisers and avoiding physical proximity. Also, temperature is taken in office buildings, apartment or shops. Almost all companies have reopened. Public transport is fully operational, including the metro. And shops are doing brisk business.

Riyad Muhammedali

(A native of Kochi, he decided to stay back in China with family)

Riyad Muhammedali with wife Amina Fazreen, son Izaan and daughter Izra Maryam   | Photo Credit: Special arrangement 

When my friends and colleagues decided to leave for their respective countries, my logic was that home was the safest place at that moment. I didn’t want to risk the health of my wife and two children, especially of our seven-month-old daughter by travelling.

Even though Xiamen, an island, is over 1,000 kilometres away from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, cases were reported here as well. I was worried when there was an exponential rise in the number of positive cases and deaths across China. But, everything was in place for the lockdown. We live in a housing society, or community as we call it. It is a huge area with a total of 10 gates, with four buildings of 32 floors inside each gate. There are four flats in each floor.

The first thing our community did was to issue passes to every adult to prevent the entry of any outsider, thus ensuring a local lockdown. We got regular updates and guidelines on the community app. Entire residential area was disinfected; they placed a plastic coating on the lift buttons and it was changed on hourly basis. Health workers took our temperature daily. Grocery was delivered via the app of the supermarket and kept at separate trays meant for each household, with the security personnel of buildings. For four weeks I stepped out of my apartment only to collect these goods.

We went by the rules and had trust in the governmental machinery after having worked here for the last three years. Our office opened three weeks ago. Positive cases are still being reported, but Wuhan hasn’t had a single case over the last one week. My wife hasn’t stepped out of our apartment yet because the fear is still there.

Online classes have started for our son who is in class one. Although cinemas and certain shopping malls haven't opened yet, life is back on track. Many restaurants were functioning during the time of the lockdown as well, but people preferred to stay at home and order things online. 

Binoy VK

(A native of Kozhikode)

Binoy AK with wife Anu and daughter Eva   | Photo Credit: Special arrangement 

I have been working in Xiamen for nearly two years now, there are eight of us from Kerala. While four of us have returned, the rest are in India because of the lockdown. Even though things are under control here now I am worried about my wife and eight-month-old daughter in Kerala as the number of positive cases are on the rise in the State.

When I reached here on March 13, I had to be on 14-day quarantine because there was a spike in the number of positive cases, presumably because people had started returning to China from their respective home countries. First I was asked to be under home quarantine, but was later directed to move to a hotel to finish the quarantine period. A taxi was arranged by people in our community itself to shift to the hotel. My temperature was monitored on a daily basis and two swab tests were also done during this period.

I left China and flew to Kerala on January 26 with my wife, Anu, and our eight-month-old daughter, Eva. Eva had a bout of fever two weeks prior to our journey. We have to arrange for an interpreter at any hospital in China since we don’t know the language: I knew treatment would be difficult if she fell ill again during the viral outbreak. But travelling had its problems as there was a possibility of getting infected while in transit. It was impossible to make my daughter wear a mask, although I had arranged for a mini-mask. Nevertheless, I decided to take the risk and took the flight to India.

We felt Kerala was safe because there were no COVID-19 cases in the state then. When we landed in Kochi, we went through a health check-up since we were coming from China. Once I reached home, I had no idea about the 28-day home quarantine, but officials of the Kerala State health department guided me. I was constantly in touch with my Chinese friends and decided to return to China once there was a decrease in the number of cases here.

Appu VK

(From Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram district)

Appu VK   | Photo Credit: Special arrangement 

I was in Kerala from January 29 to March 11 with my family. And they were not happy about my decision to return to China. I had travelled back via Malaysia and it took more than three hours to clear the immigration here. Now I have finished my 14-day quarantine in China as well, first at my apartment and later in a hotel. It was ensured that I didn’t step out of the hotel room. If I went out it was not possible to use the room key to get in again!

While I worked from my apartment, it was difficult from the hotel room because of poor internet connectivity. I didn’t work while in Kerala because the company provided work from home facilities only for those who stayed back in China.

Now I am going to office, something I have been looking forward to for so many days. Our team is working on a new project. I have worked as an animator in Sony's upcoming animation movie Wish Dragon. Things are looking bright. It is nice to see families in the park with their kids during the weekend, though they are wearing masks.

I would have stayed in China itself but for the frantic calls from my family. I wasn’t scared because I had enough food and other essential commodities at home. I also had trust in the measures being taken by the government and didn’t want to contract any infection by travelling.

https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/coronavirus-outbreak-keralites-employed-in-china-return-to-work/article31226496.ece?utm_campaign=socialflow