A visitor from China provides Andrew Lewis a window into how the pandemic is being handled elsewhere and the difference is stark.
In the past year we’ve become friends with a young woman visiting from China. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, she apprenticed as a pastry chef at a Michelin star restaurant in Napa. But with the latest shutdowns in California, she’ll be returning to China. The journey won’t be easy.
She’ll get tested 48 hours before her flight. Then fly 17 hours direct from LA to Shenzhen. She’ll wear an N-95 and protective glasses, including and especially after the flight has landed and people stand to disembark. She’ll be tested again. A bus will carry all passengers to a hotel where they’ll quarantine for 14 days. Food will be delivered.
All citizens are issued QR codes on their phones indicating possible exposures. You must scan your QR before entering a building, public space or riding on public transport. Those who have tested positive are not allowed to do so.
If a positive case is detected in China, public health officers do contact tracing and may shut down an entire region to stop the spread of infection.