Raoul's China Saloon (V5.0) Beta

The Bar Room => The Legalities Board: Visas, Permits, Taxes, and More! (ON-TOPIC) => Topic started by: Just Like Mr Benn on May 19, 2021, 12:04:11 AM

Title: Quarantining
Post by: Just Like Mr Benn on May 19, 2021, 12:04:11 AM
Has anybody come to China recently (or as will be the case with me should it happen, come back) and had to quarantine?
In discussions with an employer and it seemed as though they were saying that I'd have to quarantine in one city for 3 weeks, and then quarantine in the city of my employment (though not on campus) for another 3 weeks.

If anyone has information

1. How much does it cost?

2. Did I misunderstand the whole 6 week thing?

3. Where do we quarantine?

So yes. Just when I thought I'd escaped, they're pulling me back in, but honestly I left 3 years ago because the paperwork was ridiculous, and even without COVID I'm sure a way of making everything more difficult would have been stumbled upon.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Nolefan on May 19, 2021, 12:18:21 PM
too many different realities for quarantine depending on the city but you're looking at 14+7+7 between Beijing & Shanghai:

14 Days in a hotel of full quarantine
7 Days of regular testing and reporting
another 7 days of regular testing and reporting.

2 friends of mine went through this exact process last month getting back to mainland. They couldn't fly to Beijing so went in through Shanghai, spent the 14+7 part in Shanghai and had a choice of 2 governement approved hotels. they then flew to Beijing and did the remaining 7 at home with twice a day reporting.

Hotel was around 1000 RMB/day but they quarantined as a family with 2 adults and 2 kids.  aoaoaoaoao
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on May 19, 2021, 03:41:52 PM
There is some possibility of a plan for skipping quarantine or reduced quarantine if you are fully vaccinated with an acceptable vaccine.  Of course, different countries have different acceptable vaccines.

Stay tuned.  I'm planning a trip to the US in July or August, so I'll be 100% finding out about return to China quarantines.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on August 25, 2021, 09:21:39 PM
What I have heard, for south of China at least...

14 days hotel quarantine + 7 days community observation at a home address

If you have home address, you have 24 hours to get there after hotel quarantine. If you don't have a home address, you stay at the quarantine hotel and do your 7 extra days there.


So... "home address"...?


Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on August 26, 2021, 04:27:54 PM
My trip is now retargeted for a late October departure.  I'm just hoping the policies settle in a little more firmly by then.

If I'm really lucky, flying in or out of HK might be an option for be by then.  That should put some downward pressure on air ticket prices.  If I fly back to HK, I wonder how the mainland will view a 14 (or 21 if HK revises things) quarantine in HK vs reentering China?

The other option is figuring out the joy of getting the magical green boarding code in the US for a direct flight to China.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on October 23, 2021, 08:38:23 PM
Apparently purpose-built facilities exist in Guangzhou now...

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/29/china/guangzhou-covid-quarantine-center-mic-intl-hnk/index.html

What worries me about this arrangement is what it looks like, an attempt to shift the burden of inadequate infrastructure from all of China onto incoming foreigners. Rather than have a health management system that can service the population, have a wall to keep the mongols out.

I assume covid zero will end as suddenly as the one child policy did, but, similar to the effect of that policy, not before suppressing foreign intake enough that damage is done to the system. we might be looking at a change in work in China as we know it.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on October 26, 2021, 08:47:21 AM
Since quarantine applies to ALL entrants, Chinese and foreign.  I see no hint of shifting a burden in any particular direction.  I even saw some foreigners speculating that the shiny new facility might only be used for Chinese.

I'm hoping to be assigned to the GZ facility when I fly back.  Hotels were not originally designed with quarantine in mind.  At least one case in HK was spread from an infected person in one room to an uninfected person in the next room.  So far, every video and image I've seen pf it online looks nicer than the bulk of hotels I've stayed in (worldwide).


My personal hope is that improved vaccines and testing methods may be enough to reduce quarantine to 1 week.  Jet lag sucks and I'd rather get it over with alone.  A week is sufficient to let me get my internal clock reset and to rest after what are usually very hectic trips.  If it was only 1 week, I could get back to doing more international trips.

If/when China eventually does drop all inbound quarantine requirements, the facility will be mothballed, like the original "See how fast we can build it!" SARS hospitals were.  Those got reactivated when COVID showed up.  Sooner or later, some new airborne disease will happen.  Maybe in a few years.  Maybe in 20 years.  Whenever it happens, any mothballed hospital and quarantine facilities can be brought back online very quickly.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on October 26, 2021, 12:52:33 PM
Blondie in China. Nice lady. State-sponsored influencer by the look. Did a very nice hotel quarantine in GZ on Youtube. And ordered out for her food. I found that worrying. 2 weeks in quarantine, 3 if coming in without property of your own somewhere, and your food and water is managed how?

One state-sponsored video where the foreigner feeds herself rather than have hotel food is no demonstration that quarantine in general has institutional problems. I just felt a tremor in the force, that's all.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on October 26, 2021, 01:04:54 PM
Food, water, digging around in the nose - that's what I want to know about.

You can't drink from the faucet so is enough bottled water supplied?
Quarantine already costs money so how plentiful and sustaining is the provided food?
CDC says insert the swab no more than 1.5 cm up the front hooter, so what kind of punishment are the techs in China hoping to dole out?


I found 14 days of hotel quarantine in Australia quite relaxing.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on October 27, 2021, 06:20:20 AM
Between the bottled water and the ubiquitous electric kettle, I'm quite certain dehydration won't be an issue even at the worst quarantine hotel.

I'm also in a WeChat group for incoming expats.  So far, no complaints about lack of food or water.  Not unexpectedly, some people aren't all that fond of all the food choices.  Quarantine hotels do accept deliveries (not sure about the new quarantine facility - If I end up there, I'll find out for sure).  I admit that I am an excessively picky eater, so I'll be bringing along some snacks of my own.  37 Oreos is about 2000 calories.  ahahahahah

So far, all my tests in China (over half a dozen so far) have been in the back of the throat.  Not sure if the test in LA tomorrow will be throat or jamming up my nose.  Guess I'll also find out if quarantine tests are different from routine tests.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on October 27, 2021, 01:54:53 PM
Between the bottled water and the ubiquitous electric kettle, I'm quite certain dehydration won't be an issue even at the worst quarantine hotel.

In water crisis China? Bottled water will be rationed and boiling is good for pathogens, not heavy metals and complex chemical compounds.

It's not worth pretending that China has world class public facilities anywhere.

But then it's also not worth me hysterically overemphasizing failures. I think I'm claiming canary coal mine status though. Quarantine as an institution is hardly a bad thing, but aspects of it in China will prove more than usually offputting, is what I'm whining about this time.

But opinion and personal distaste are not fact.



What I'd actually like to know is how much it costs.

Also, what kind of accounting processes occur? In the unlikely event that a future employer will foot the bill for an incoming staff member's quarantine, it'll likely be as a reimbursement. So what kind of documentation does a fellow get at the end?
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on October 29, 2021, 06:38:36 AM
Happily, Guangdong has less heavy metals potential than some other provinces.  My wife often cooks using water straight from the tap and would serve tea made with that water if we ran short of filtered water.

I do promise to share all the details (good and bad) of whatever facility I'm assigned to.  I'll also let everyone know what it cost and what kind of receipts are involved.

I need to get my suitcases sorted and weighed.  I've already got some quarantine snacks packed and want to see if I have room to squeeze anything else in.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on October 29, 2021, 08:24:46 PM
After my laptop and an e-book reader, a bar of laundry soap was the most useful item I packed before heading into Oz quarantine. I found Oz hotel quarantine laundry services somewhat too high end and rather too expensive for simple clothes washing. Perhaps purpose built facilities will be more... homey.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on October 30, 2021, 09:45:59 AM
I'm about to find out.  ababababab
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on October 30, 2021, 01:44:18 PM
I'd like to know the Terms of payment too. Immediate cash or an invoice with a due date? Can it be electronic? A bank transfer? Does it have to be RMB?

In Oz the cost was fixed and included meals. An invoice was issued at the end of quarantine and you had 30 days to pay. Payment had to be in Ozbucks.



Presumably quarantine details vary province to province, and provincial ability to publish information in English varies according to who knows what. But hopefully, one day, someone somewhere publishes an official faq or something. So far the only thing nearing official I've seen has been on airline websites.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 01, 2021, 05:28:39 PM
This is day 2.  Lunch should arrive in an hour to an hour and a half.  Someone also gave me another barcode to scan while taking my temperature.  Guess I'll run the paper through a translator to see what it's supposed to do before scanning it.

Sadly, I didn't get assigned to the new facility.  Pretty much after entry declaration, health check (temp, throat swab, nasal swab), customs, and collection of luggage, everyone gets in a line.  When you get to the front, you go to the next bus.  They even announce that you get no choice about where you go.  I don't know if any of the buses went anywhere else, but mine was one of at least a dozen than went to the same hotel in Foshan.  I recognized a few people on adjacent buses that were on the same flight.  The room is spacious (a pair of double beds and a nice sized bathtub I intend to soak in), but could use a little bit more routine maintenance.

The English copy of the guidebook said pay online (WeChat or Alipay) within either 24 or 72 hours (mentioned in 2 places).  I'll go out on a limb and guess they'd rather alternatives for foreigners without WeChat than not get paid.  I have zero idea what would happen if someone refused to pay.  They can't exactly throw them out on the street.  Official cost at this hotel for 14 days of room and food comes to 5964 RMB, which is a few hundred less that the new quarantine facility.

Deliveries are possible, but food (takeout or otherwise) and cigarettes are specifically prohibited from delivery.

Food is provided.  It's generic Chinese takeout.  Happily, I've got half a suitcase full of snacks.

The room does have a fridge (I should have gambled and brought an 8 ounce cheese brick - I could eat one in 2 days if no fridge).

The room is well stocked with almost everything.  The one item that's a little short is bottled water.  30 bottles for 14 days isn't quite going to cut it for me.  The good news is that more is available on request for 2 RMB per bottle, so death by dehydration is quite unlikely.

I've got the WeChat of an employee who either speaks English or has some really good translation software.  There was some sort of BEEEEEP every 30 seconds somewhere out in the hallway last night when I was trying to go to bed.  I messaged my contact, didn't get a quick response, so called my wife and asked her to talk to the front desk.  Reaction was typical for a Chinese hotel.  First, they send a maid or similar person who didn't really do anything.  Another couple of calls from my wife as well as from my WeChat contact (I send an audio file just to show how loud it was) finally got someone who hunted it down.  I'm about 90% sure it was some sort of "a door that's supposed to be closed isn't closed properly" alert.


The flight from LAX to GZ was a wee bit surreal.  On the way to the US, the stewardesses were dressed in their standard China Southern uniforms plus masks.  Two meals were served and a wide variety of drinks was available.  On the way back, they were in bunny suits with masks and face shields.  Food was a sack of assorted small items. Hot water, tea, and bottled water were offered a few times.  I did see one person get juice on request.

All the airport workers on the way into China were in bunny suits, as were the people unloading the buses and inside the hotel.  The only people dressed normally were a few uniformed and masked police officers keeping an eye out for stragglers from about 15 meters away.

I am allowed to open my door - for deliveries, temp checks, swabs (got one up the nose while writing this post), and to toss my trash in my very own biohazard waste bin.  There's a taped line about 30 cm from the door.  My delivery table and waste bin are on my side of it.  I guess I'm not supposed to cross it (and don't intend to test this theory).

From what I can tell, the Chinese citizens in the rooms around mine are getting exactly the same food and medical tests I have, except maybe for the person on WeChat (they can just call the front desk) and English copies of some of the documents.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 02, 2021, 07:58:11 PM
Today is day 3.  I've been stuck in a room for this long or longer 3 times before - in hospitals.  The difference was that I could have guest drop in, had some choice in food, and might occasionally be shoved into a wheelchair and taken elsewhere for additional tests or treatment.

Day 2's dinner was an improvement.  Day 3's breakfast was unimpressive, but lunch was significantly better than yesterday.

Not only someone at the airport jam a swab so far up my nose that it hit my brain, but I've had a girl in a biohazard bunny suit try to bruise my brain with one 2 days in a row.  I'm told I should hypothetically probably only have to endure that 3 or 4 more times.  Other than that, she or one of her coworkers checks my temperature a couple times per day.  There are also occasional deliveries of paperwork.  I've never seen who delivers the food.  Whoever does it drops it on a small table outside the door, knocks, and disappears before I can get to the door.

My wife's been checking to see what happens when I show up back in DG after 14 days.  The answers are somewhat contradictory, but it appears there's a strong chance of 7 more days in a quarantine hotel - or maybe I could just spend the extra 7 here.  I did pack enough vitamins for a full 21 days (just in case something like this happened) and I'm rethinking my rationing of quarantine snacks to make them last longer.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: El Macho on November 03, 2021, 12:41:00 PM
Good luck EL!
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 03, 2021, 03:56:30 PM
Quarantine isn't fun, but it does catch the vast majority of imported cases before there's any further spread.  Got the news last night that one of my fellow passengers was confirmed positive. aqaqaqaqaq  Thankfully not on my floor of the hotel.  From the lack of a midnight visit from the nasal swab fairy, I'm guessing that I wasn't seated near this person on the plane.  Of course, she still might show up for in some extra daytime visits. amamamamam

I'm guessing this incident may have increased my odds of spending a full 21 days in quarantine. ananananan

Oh my.  The tag on my door got changed from low risk to high risk.  aqaqaqaqaq apapapapap aqaqaqaqaq

In better news, the food has been improving a little each day.  It's all been Guangdong fast food, until dinner last night.  Finally, a spicy tofu dish. agagagagag

I've also confirmed I can get packaged, non-perishable snacks sent in.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 04, 2021, 04:34:01 PM
Day 5.  Seemed like another boring day, but then the Nasal Swab fairy returned for an unscheduled visit.  This time, it was a swab up each nostril plus a throat swab (3 orifices down, only one left unswabbed - so far).

One of the nasal ones went in so far that I think she pushed the reset button on my brain. ananananan

I'm guessing this is because of that person who turned positive.  Hopefully this triple swabbing won't be a daily occurrence.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on November 04, 2021, 10:41:51 PM
nasopharyngeal vs mid-turbinate

The nasopharyngeal is the one that goes in until it can go no further. It's been the standard for virus detection for as long as people haven't needed it too often. Now that everyone is getting coronavirus tests, the CDC is recommending mid-turbinate swabs because they don't put as big a dent in your day. Sounds however like China is sticking with the tried and true.

As such I suppose we can call it highest possible standard of care.

Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: AMonk on November 04, 2021, 11:53:37 PM
Any chance you can request/get  Spit-in-the-tube test?  :wtf:
Hubby and I have had them, and they are SOOO much less invasive yyyyyyyyyy



 agagagagag

Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 05, 2021, 04:22:13 PM
I'm pretty sure they could go farther in with the swabs, but I'm not going to give the swab fairy any ideas.

So far, I haven't seen a spit in the tube type of test in China.  That being said, all the tests I'd had before flying to the US were just moderately annoying throat swabs.  The whole up the nose thing started with my pre-flight test to get back to China.

Day 6.  Dinner wasn't bad last night and breakfast was ok.  No visits from the swab fairy (yet).  Regular morning temperature interrupted my very important task of counting the rail cars on a passing train (there's a VERY active track across the street from the hotel), so I had a slightly distressed look on my face.  (Sit around with nothing to do for a few days and a train track and see how long until you learn the importance of counting the cars.)  She asked twice if I was OK.  I said I was, since explaining the source of my distress would have proven difficult.

In more news, unless something goes wrong (goes wrong, goes wrong, goes wrong ...), I am schedule for release after 2 weeks.  I'm then going to "Home Quarantine" back in my village for one week, but it's supposed to be solo quarantine.  My lovely wife is there all the time and my beautiful daughter keeps coming and going.  So, I can't stay in my apartment.  The good news is that there are some empty apartments on other floors.  My wife has already arranged to rent one for a week.  Supposedly, after that's all over, I'll be free to run around again.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: AMonk on November 06, 2021, 12:38:47 AM
" ... after that's all over, I'll be free to run around again."

Let us most sincerely hope so akakakakak
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on November 07, 2021, 06:32:29 PM
Wondering how prices vary.

At some point I was reading about a Shanghai quarantine hotel costing 10,000 a week.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: AMonk on November 08, 2021, 03:50:06 AM

At some point I was reading about a Shanghai quarantine hotel costing 10,000 a week.


10.000  aoaoaoaoao 

Ozzie money?  US money?  RMB?
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: kitano on November 08, 2021, 08:52:27 AM
I did a quarantine to enter Vietnam last year. They let me choose my hotel and I got a nice one so it was kind of better than real life
China scares me because apparently you don't get to choose your hotel, One guy from our group chose the cheap hotel and he was in a box room with no window for two weeks
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on November 08, 2021, 12:25:38 PM

At some point I was reading about a Shanghai quarantine hotel costing 10,000 a week.


10.000  aoaoaoaoao 

Ozzie money?  US money?  RMB?


RMB.

But that report was from the very early days of quarantine. These days some other report was saying 7000 RMB for 14 days.



Honestly, what I'm really concerned to know is how employers propose to view quarantine expenses. Are they reimbursable as travel expenses or just a dumbass tax for people weak-minded enough to come and work for them? Bitter, cynical me supposes the latter and laughs at idealist me hoping for the former.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 08, 2021, 06:37:07 PM
My hotel cost is 350 RMB per day, including breakfast.  Lunch + Dinner = 76 RMB per day (38 per meal).

Total damage for 2 weeks comes to 5964.  Somewhere, I saw the prices of the new facility in Guangzhou.  If I recall correctly, it was about 6300 for 2 weeks (including food for one person).

I'm seeing repeats on the menu from last week.  I want to see a few more meals to be certain, but if it's exactly the same as last week, I may see if it's possible to cancel lunch and dinner on Saturday (both were among the worst) and get my 76 RMB back.

If I understand things correctly, I should be collected Sunday morning to be taken back to a week if isolation in my village.  That will also be boring, but at least I can have good food served hot.


Something disturbing happened this morning.  Someone was shouting into a megaphone somewhere on my floor.  It was only 2 or 3 sentences and I was far to startled to even try to figure out what was being said.  I asked my English speaking contact on the hotel's staff.  She said some people had been out of their rooms.
 aoaoaoaoao apapapapap aoaoaoaoao

I wonder WTF is wrong with those idiots.  Yes, quarantine is boring and the food where I am sucks (and is generally served cold or almost cold - management evidently didn't notice those insulating boxes Metuan uses to keep food warm), but there is always the chance that the person in the next room could turn positive tomorrow.  If someone interacts with such a person, they may not turn positive until after discharge (and not everyone is going into another week of isolation - how people who've passed 2 weeks are handled varies locally).  This could result in someone starting another outbreak just because they wanted to chat with the person next door or across the hall - and end up causing entire cities to be shut down.

Maybe they should suggest to those who can't handle 14 days alone (or who don't have enough inner voices to keep them company) that they have a one-time option to pair off during the check-in process.  This would save money on the room, but would put someone in a bad position if the roommate turned positive (so far, I only know that one person from my plane did) or if the two decide they hate each other.  On the other hand, this might make the situation less stressful for many people.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on November 08, 2021, 08:39:00 PM
Probably varies by province, but what I read about the +7 days community observation is you have to have a home address with a separate entrance and separate air conditioning system. I don't know what counts as a home address (and whether or not for the plebs an employer provided apartment counts), but  I'm sadly assuming separate entrance means basically no kind of living space like you get in an apartment block where everyone uses the same stairwell.



In Oz quarantine, they did daily mental health telephone calls from a medical professional. Pretty clearly, 14 days isn't always a vacation.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 09, 2021, 03:38:01 PM
Since the plan is to stuff me into a solo apartment inside my own building, I'm not going to tempt fate by asking if a separate entrance is an absolute requirement.  The one requirement they were very plain about is that I'm 100% required to be alone inside once I enter.

Menu does appear to be weekly.  If I recall correctly, today should be one of the better days.  Emergency ramen should also be arriving today.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on November 09, 2021, 05:54:09 PM
I wonder what's happening in Tier 2 China.

Land in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou and do 14 days quarantine, then if a future employer has their shit together you have 24 hours to to travel into Tier 2 or Tier 3 territory and hole up in some campus apartment more or less guaranteed to be significantly less comfortable re food, water, bedding, furnishings and internet. Might just be better to do 21 days in q-slam instead...

Job market right now must.... suck?



Kudos to those sticking it out.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 10, 2021, 04:22:16 PM
I have heard of at least a few people deciding to stay for 21 days in their arrival hotel and get fully cleared instead of dealing with regs where they go.  In some places, the secondary isolation is for more than an additional 7 days.

In my favorite little town in Hunan, a hotel I've stayed at a number of times was turned into the official Quarantine hotel.  I'd far prefer to be there than the place I'm in now.  It really comes down to whether the person in charge wants to treat those paying for quarantine as hotel guests who must stay in their rooms vs. treating them as a literally captive audience with no right to even ask about the possibility of modest improvements in the service.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 11, 2021, 05:16:24 PM
The swab fairy just visited again.  Both nostrils and the throat again. aqaqaqaqaq  I was sort of expecting her.  If the schedule holds, she'll be back on Saturday.

I had to take a nasal swab and get a blood test to get on the plane.  I'm slightly surprised that there hasn't been at least one additional blood test.  I really don't want to get blood drawn over and over, but I'd think they'd want one more just to be even more sure.  Then again, maybe that's going to happen on Saturday.

Once I'm moved from here to isolation, I'm hoping any new swab tests are throat only.

Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 15, 2021, 08:08:43 PM
 asasasasas asasasasas asasasasas asasasasas

Where to start.  Let's go with Saturday.

The swab fairy returned.  One swab up each nostril and an extra thorough swabbing of the back of my throat.  I was starting to close the door so I could attempt to recover, but she wasn't done with me.

She broke out another swab that looked more like a vert short bristled test tube brush.  If you think a cotton swab up the nose is bad, be aware that there's something out there that's far far worse and it's ready to explore your sinuses.  aqaqaqaqaq Then she got the other nostril with one of those prickly implements, then redid my throat.

So, I was done.  All I had to do was get up on Sunday, pack, and I'd be whisked away to the safety of a private apartment in my village - and would likely only be hit by a normal swab or two during isolation week.

I'd been asking for confirmation from the hotel that all was arranged.  I also bugged my wife several times asking if everything was good on our end.  My town said they hadn't heard anything yet.  My hotel contact told me not to worry.  My wife accused me be being stupid and paranoid.

I wish my wife hadn't made that accusation.  I'm very good at figuring out potential failures before they happen.  Whenever she makes such an accusation, the odds of my worries being proven correct suddenly shift from "possible, but rather unlikely" to "brace yourself for imminent disaster."

I got up early on Sunday to finish up packing.  9 am, no car.  Hotel contact says "don't worry" and wife says "you are being stupid and paranoid."  11 am, no car.  Village health people say they are waiting to hear from town people.  Noon, no car.  Wife and hotel contact person finally begin to realize something is amiss.  Multiple calls to village and town people show zero orders.  Turns out that somehow, the message from the hotel about my release was delivered far later than it should have been and went to my city instead of town.  Car was dispatched at about 12:30, but plans had been changed.

Donguan decide that I and one other person from my hotel (Chinese, so this wasn't a special foreigner thing) needed to spend a week in a hotel inside the city.  Goodbye hot meal cooked at home.  Hello to a new round of hotel provided takeout.

The car took me and the other person away a little after 2:30.  The driver proved to be incredibly skillful. at taking detours to escape a traffic jam only to have a brand new traffic jam form in front of us.  So, instead of a 2 hour trip to the new hotel, I got to take a 3 hour trip to the hotel.  llllllllll

The new room was tiny and not very clean, but I could live with that.  Dinner finally arrived (it was a no-lunch day).  Amazingly, the rice was fairly warm, unlike in the first hotel, so living with the food seemed like an option.  What I was having trouble living with was the fact that I had more than one roommate.  The roommates were quite small, but I really don't like sharing a room with roaches.

I sent pics to my wife showing the first roach I photographed and also the layer of dust on the floor.  She forwarded it to the hotel.  They sent me a mop and a broom. Then I spotted and killed another roach.  I also pointed out that if I was going to clean the room, I should be paid like the rest of the staff.  The hotel send a maid (in full bunny suit - all staff I've seen anywhere since I got on the plane back to China have been dressed that way.  She tried to sweep barely under the edge of one of the 2 small beds in the room.  I'd already stuck the broom farther in and dragged out more than she got.  I wasn't going to risk a giant roach nest under the center of one of the beds.  I think she was surprised when I grabbed the foot of the bed and lifted it up enough to expose the large pile of  . . . stuff that had accumulated under the bed since sometime in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

Eventually, both beds had their archeological treasures swept up.  She was about to run off, but I grabbed the broom and swept quite a bit more dust off the exposed areas of the floor.  She got the hint and then mopped the exposed areas of the floor.

I requested a new room, but the hotel assured me that the thorough excavation cleaning my room had just gotten was enough.  To be sure, I'd managed to convince the maid to lend me a can of bug spray.  I only used a limited amount, but even with the windows open, I was left feeling rather dizzy.  Eventually, it cleared enough for me to try sleeping.

At about 2 am I woke up.  Turning on the lights revealed 2 roaches in the floor and one on the wall not far above my pillow.  I got pics and killed all 3.  I waited until morning to send the pics to my wife.

Thankfully, they decided to move me to a new room this morning.  It's bigger and I haven't seen any roaches (yet).

Breakfast and lunch fell into the "adequate" category, which still far outshines the food at the first hotel.  I'm now on day 16 of 21 in quarantine.


So, I'm stuck here until Sunday morning.  If I was in the isolation in my village, I was going to have my wife stuff Stripy Emperor into a cat purse on Wednesday and set him down 2 meters outside my door so I could sing "Happy Birthday!" to him.  Instead, I'm still in quarantine somewhere on the south side of town. ananananan


Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: AMonk on November 16, 2021, 12:42:19 AM
 aoaoaoaoao apapapapap


Adventures and frustrations galore llllllllll qqqqqqqqqq

Trusting your next transition goes much more smoothly :candyraver: agagagagag
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 16, 2021, 03:45:00 PM
The food remains adequate.  I suppose if I hadn't had to put up with the room temperature, low qualify food at the first hotel, I'd probably give the new hotel's food a lower rating.

No roaches in the new room so far. agagagagag

It's Tuesday morning.  I've got 5 days until my planned release on Sunday morning.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on November 16, 2021, 06:31:56 PM
How's the laundry situation?

In Oz quarantine I spent a lot of time in a hotel robe and, ahem, boxers and t-shirts. Was fine until I'd had enough of the first robe, reached for the second, and found it to be a size small. Wore it anyway.

What I mean though is, the shorts and t-shirts were easy to launder in the bathroom sink, and quick to dry in the very not-humid hotel central air. A manageable workaround for staying basically sanitary for two weeks. Three might be a stretch...

The hotel I was at collected bed sheets and towels once a week too. They left replacements outside the door (with a printed sheet of instructions on how to make up a hotel bed).



Cockroaches tho.... that's a definite no thanks
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 17, 2021, 03:44:38 PM
Still roach free in the new room.

I did some laundry in the sink of the first hotel.  The new hotel sink looks like it would serve equally well.

Since there's zero chance of a maid bursting in, I decided to . . .  go all the way to avoid getting any more clothing dirty.  I do have a bathrobe to throw on when I grab food, get my temp taken, etc.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: AMonk on November 18, 2021, 12:01:07 AM
 :wtf:


 ababababab bfbfbfbfbf


 agagagagag
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: El Macho on November 18, 2021, 08:54:00 PM
You’re more than halfway through the final week!

Those Christmas tree shaped nose swabs are no joke. My poor son and wife both got tested with those and it hurt.

With a six month old and preschooler at home I’m pretty jealous of all the time you have to sleep tbh 😉
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 22, 2021, 04:08:51 PM
Sadly, the schedule wasn't set up to accommodate napping or even sleeping in on weekends.  Breakfast arrived in the 7:20-8 am range every day.  Temperature checks and/or nostril probing happened about half way between breakfast and lunch, plus half way between lunch and dinner.


A few days before my release, my wife was told I'd be out at 11 on Sunday.  Then the day before, she was told I'd be released "sometime after breakfast."  She showed up at about 8:10 am, only to be told that I'd be released before lunch.  My final swab fairy visit was on Saturday morning (2 swab fairies - one for each nostril, thankfully no swabs with bristles).  I checked my health code Saturday evening.  It was still red, but had he updated negative test results.  At about 10 am, on Sunday, they brought my Quarantine Graduation Certificates for me to sign and fingerprint.  I checked my health code after they left and it was green.

The returned and tossed me out the door at 10:30.

Once I got home, my wife steamed a big plateful of pork and cabbage jiaozi for me.  After 3 weeks of food ranging from cold to modestly warm, those very hot jiaozi were the best tasting jiaozi in the history of the universe.

The cats complained that they hadn't been petted enough.  I did my best to make up for this.

Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on November 22, 2021, 04:39:49 PM
So...

Anal swabs?




It's not a zero tolerance policy if they steer clear of the butt
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 22, 2021, 05:34:30 PM
The swab fairies at the airport and at both hotels somehow overlooked swabbing or probing anywhere near my hindquarters.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Calach Pfeffer on November 22, 2021, 10:14:19 PM
Wow. Not sure how on board we can be with this 0.1% tolerance approach

I see the strategy though. Beyond dastardly foreigners and the prissy seals they place over their prison wallets, the most obvious vector for infection are the nose pokers moving between rooms. Do they at least  change PPE every time? If they don't, any later outbreak can be pinned on "privacy".

The real People's War won't wear pants.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 23, 2021, 04:27:02 PM
Every person I saw was in a bunny suit.  At hotel 1, they never entered the rooms.  Swab fairies in both hotels were using hand sanitizer on their gloves and/or put on fresh gloves for each person tested.

Food (or something resembling it) was dropped off with zero contact.  It was set on a small table outside the doorway as the person pushing the cart passed.  9 times out of 10, even if I opened the door very quickly, the delivery person was far down the hallway before I could reach out to grab my meal.

Temperature checks were done by thermometer gun to the forehead.

Based on all of the above, the odds of staff spreading the infection between rooms is incredibly low.  On the other hand, there was at least one incident in hotel 1 of one or more people exiting at least one room.  If this involved people from at least 2 rooms interacting, that would be a much more likely way to spread the virus.

I have read that the dedicated facility in GZ uses robots for food deliveries.  There's also a device to monitor body temperature inside the room.  These features would further reduce the chances of a staff member spreading the virus.


Remaining thoughts:

Anyone can put up with cold, low quality food for a few days, but doing so for 2 weeks is terribly demoralizing.  If the dedicated quarantine facility in GZ has resolved this issue, I hope it's expanded as quickly as possible.

I had to get a nasal swab and a blood test before being allowed on the airplane.  Is this blood test able to reliably detect an infection earlier than a swab test?  Are there any other forms of testing that can reliably spot an infection earlier than a swab test?  I'd happily put up with things worse than a bristle brush up both nostrils if the result was being proven to be safe for release in 12 days or less.

Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: El Macho on November 25, 2021, 07:37:56 PM
When my in-laws returned to China in spring of 2020 they had to stay in (and be billed for) separate rooms in the quarantine hotel (lol) BUT everyone was allowed to hang out together in the hallway.

A Chinese co-worker told me her friends who just went back to China and are in quarantine are having their meals delivered by a robot that can ride elevators by itself. I want to quarantine at that hotel.
Title: Re: Quarantining
Post by: Escaped Lunatic on November 26, 2021, 07:43:36 PM
What happens in a hotel where people can hang out in the hallways and one person turns positive?  Logically, EVERYONE should have their quarantine period start over.  The advantage of not hanging out is that if one turns positive, the rest are very unlikely to have been infected.

Policies on families seem to vary.  I've heard of double occupancy rates.  At my second hotel, there was a woman across the hall from me who had a child in the room.  I never even heard the child until we were all riding the elevator down when they kicked us out of the hotel at the end.

The dedicated Q facility in GZ is supposed to have delivery robots.  Those sorts of things are becoming less expensive and more popular, so I expect that a few regular hotels might have them.