A Quarantine Survival Kit

Entering Beijing during the thick of the pandemic is no laughing matter. China is at war with the Coronavirus and it makes no effort to hide it. Here are some tips for anyone who is keen to know more about that much-dreaded Centralised Quarantine (集中隔离）.

An ex-boss is of mine once shared with me, that the secret to surviving in challenging countries and environments, is to “have that mindset that you’re going to be living there a long time”. His term with the company took him to many countries, including Saudi Arabia and China, where he thrived and thoroughly enjoyed. I didn’t quite understand what he meant, until now.

Our return back to Beijing this time was more challenging than usual, thanks really to the extreme precaution by countries (in my case, Beijing) to combat the Coronavirus outbreak. Backbreaking overnight at the airport, stringent checks at customs, 15 days quarantine in a government-assigned hotel, all of which with two young kids in tow. We had a million questions, but answers few.

Yet, now that we’re coming out on the other side of the tunnel, it is a big sigh of relief. And not without out some afterthought.

So before this all slips away from memory, here are my two cents worth on surviving quarantine.

Preparation is key

This may sound rather cliché, but preparing mentally and physically for what’s ahead is really important. One mistake we made, for example, was to forget to pack painkillers. This is really crucial as you can’t order this drug in particular, without getting a lot of attention from the authorities. I certainly paid the price for this, as documented in my previous post.

Before we flew, there were many things we did not know about the quarantine: Will they split the adults? What is the size of the room? Would there be air-conditioning? (Hotels usually have no fans, so this is important if you’re going to survive 15 days locked up in a room, in 35deg weather!) Is there a microwave? Fridge? How can we do our washing? All of which, we didn’t have firm answers to, until we arrived at the quarantine facility.

A few things we prioritised:

• 1) Taking family/childcare leave to focus on the kids;
• 2) Setting up the place like “you’re living there a long time”;
• 3) Introducing some routine and discipline in the day.
• And lastly, to treat this whole transition like an adventure. (Perhaps even for adults this mindset works!)

1. We tried to stay busy

The period in an enclosure can feel like 2 weeks, or 2 months, depending on what we do with our time. For a family with kids, time passes quickly if you’re occupying one another things to keep busy during the day.

Ours was a combination of homework, games, TV/entertainment, exercise, chores, nap and preparing for meals. It became easy for everyone to adapt once a routine is in place, and we always ended the night with something the kids loved. In our case, it was chocolate at night, followed by a movie in bed. (Tip: Be sure to bring your HDMI cable so you can play videos off your phone!)

2. Clothes line was our life line

Personally, laundry was an important aspect to consider simply because you don’t have the facility to do it. And so one must make do with the circumstance you’re in. Our clothes line for example, was set up on the curtain line.

Laundry was done everyday. This was part of my own routine to keep busy, but it also made for a lot of water fun with the kids.

(Tip: A good 5m string, possibly some 3m removable hooks, pegs, handwashing detergent are essentials in this case. I also ordered for a little bucket to be delivered. This was useful.)

3. We cleaned like it was our home

Two weeks might not seem like a worthwhile effort to make the place like one’s home, but for us, it mattered.

With the kids perpetually dropping food on the carpet, thereafter rolling all over it, I couldn’t bear the thought of allowing them on the bed.

I arranged for our vacuum cleaner to be delivered to the hotel. We knew we’d have one more bulky item to manage when we check out, but it is worth the hassle.

Besides that, Cif, Dettol, toilet bowl cleaner were our cleaning tools (don’t forget the sponges and brushes).

One thing to note: Washing cutlery utensils in the bathroom toilet can quickly clog up the sink, which is not made to let large particles through. So be extra diligent about clearing food off plates before washing.

4. Finding a way to get ventilation

Weird I know, but it was a struggle keeping sane in the bedroom which didn’t have air-conditioning. While we were fortunate enough to be given a Suite (around 80sqm) for our family, the main room was hot like a furnace in the afternoon.

The best solution in the restricted circumstances is to ask for a fan. If the hotel isn’t able to provide one, the next best time is to purchase one online and have it delivered, as quickly as possible. That really solved our problems, especially for the kids to nap in the day, so we can finally get back to work.

5. Be prepared for shitty, spotty Wifi

Of all the challenges in quarantine, this was probably the source of the biggest frustrations for us. It’s understandable – I’ve not seen a hotel that provides strong Wifi, and the paid ones come with an old-fashioned LAN cable.

I didn’t find another solution, other than to just switch to 4G network, and hotspot the devices on my phone.

On a related note – for anyone wondering how you can do work calls during quarantine – the toilet has been the best life saver. You’re welcome!

6. Mindset is everything

Before we went into quarantine, we read a couple of unpleasant stories – ranging from very poor quality food, lack of response from hotel staff, dirty rooms and crammed spaces. Those who’ve gone through have also expressed the need to put yourself in the mindset that it will feel like an imprisonment term.

All this feedback helped, as we went in expecting the worst. And whilst the second half of the quarantine felt exceptionally long, it was alot better a situation than we had anticipated.

One of the reasons is also because it was possible to order all the food we required on the local Meituan app. This is godsent because Meituan 美团 (and Sherpa, if you need it in English) opens up all the possibilities to get things delivered to you, as swiftly as under 30 mins.

One thing I would like to point out – is not to expect to have your sheets cleaned, requests answered, or hotel staff at your beck and call. The staff who worked at our hotel were volunteers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – their specialisations are languages, yet they’ve been tasked to serve toilet rolls to rooms and answer mundane questions like whether they’ve seen our delivery orders. They’ve privately shared that their volunteer roles have become 24 hrs service to angry hotel guests, who don’t understand why they can’t get a microwave.

At the end of the day, it is important to keep in mind that we chose to enter the country during a challenging period. In these exceptional times, we cannot expect to receive the same treatment we usually get in hotels, even if we’re ‘paying’ for our overnights. We tried to be more empathetic, especially towards the ground staff who were trying their best to make their hotel guests’ stay comfortable, as impossible as it may be.

And lastly, when I look back at the days in quarantine, it may have been challenging, but my family and I really did have a good stay. We came out healthy, appreciating the fresh (?) air more than ever, and learnt a great deal about perseverance.

For the adults, it might be worth writing home about. But for the children – at least for ours – it was one of the best family adventure camps they’ve ever had. And as parents, that’s all we could ask for.