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My Story: COVID-19 Case Transferred Due To Unlivable Conditions

ThatsGuangzhou ThatsShanghai 2022-04-30



By Sophie Steiner


The last few weeks have seen Shanghai experience an unprecedented number of positive cases, leading to thousands of people in one of the biggest cities in the world being displaced and separated from their lives and family.


In this My Story interview series, we explore the first-hand and personal experiences of those among us that have been directly affected by they themselves or those around them testing positive for COVID-19.


This is an interview with a female, 23, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 16. She was then brought to an centralized quarantine facility in the middle of the night on April 19. After having a panic attack resulting from the unsanitary and poor conditions, she was transferred to another centralized quarantine facility where she is currently awaiting release. Here is her story.


How were you notified that you tested positive?  
I wasn't. I was interrupted from my work at home by loud banging on my door on April 16 and someone yelling my name over and over, saying I must come outside, as if I was a criminal being taken to jail.


This blindsided me, and I was literally shaking, but I tried to remain calm. I checked my Alipay app, but my recent PCR test results just send “under review/pending.”


When I opened the door, two women in hazmat suits tested me at my door. It was very frustrating since no one told me what was going on. 


I wasn't feeling ill yet, but I decided to get the home quarantine petition document ready just in case, along with other preparations for centralized quarantine. 



Overworked medical volunteer in centralized quarantine. Image courtesy of interviewee.


What was going through your head when you found out?
I started to feel a bit off by bedtime on April 16, so I did an antigen test at 3am.


It was double lined. 


Friends told me to relax because I might not even get picked up – CDC collection staff are backed up and overwhelmed. Maybe I would have time to clear the virus and retest negative.


Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky.



Transit to second centralized quarantine. Image courtesy of interviewee.



Centralized quarantine. Image courtesy of interviewee.


Describe the timeline and experience of how you were picked up and brought to centralized quarantine. 
On April 17 at 8pm, I got a call from my community manager saying I should pack my things and the CDC would be coming soon to pick me up.


I called both my boss and embassy to help me push for home quarantine, but the community manager said if I refused to go, the police would come and force me to go. 


Ultimately, I agreed to go, but requested I be sent to somewhere suitable as I had seen some pretty poorly cared for facilities online.


At 2.30am on April 19, I got a call to go outside. I waited on the road for almost an hour, confused and scared – I didn’t know where I was going or how I would be treated.


I had to walk over 500 meters with my luggage, and was just yelled at to move faster. For two hours, the unventilated bus drove around picking others up. 



Bathroom facilities. Image courtesy of interviewee.


Throughout this entire time, my heart was breaking. The Shanghai I had known and loved for 11 years was robbing me of my freedom of choice, safety and income.


When we finally arrived at the facility two hours later, they sprayed everyone with disinfectant and eventually assigned me a cot beside trashcans filled with toxic waste.



Centralized quarantine. Image courtesy of interviewee.


I was devastated. I felt I had been lied to. Whether I had complied or not, it didn’t matter.


I asked to move beds and was ignored. When I tried to plug in my phone to charge, the power strip exploded! Exhausted and in despair, I cried myself to sleep around 6am.


Did you have any COVID symptoms?
I started to feel mild seasonal allergy-like symptoms on April 16. I felt fatigued, a random sneeze, a tiny cough – nothing major. My symptoms were completely cleared by April 20.



Shower facilities. Image courtesy of interviewee.


What were the living conditions like?
The facility is like an unfinished building, with no real floor. The toilets are filthy with no privacy or proper drainage.


I refused to shower in the facilities (see image above to understand why).  I was afraid of the numerous safety hazards – faulty wiring, questionable water sources, reinfection and the potential for contracting other illnesses from the poor living conditions. I pleaded to be transferred. 


On my second morning, I had a full panic attack. No one should be forced to live in a place like that – humans shouldn’t be treated this way for any reason. We have the right to be heard and treated like patients, not prisoners. 


The nurse was concerned for my safety, called her boss and finally they told me I would be transferred.


I was also handed an antigen test and tested negative. I felt paranoid that no matter what I did I would end up back there. 


I waited for three hours to be transferred, and finally I was transferred with another foreigner to a facility just six minutes away, but it was a world of difference!



Check-in at second centralized quarantine. Image courtesy of interviewee.



Second centralized quarantine facility interviee was transferred to. Image courtesy of interviewee.


The new facility feels more like a makeshift hospital. I am in a room with five people total and a window. We also have a bathroom with a western toilet and shower.



Bathroom facility at second centralized quarantine. Image courtesy of interviewee.


Ironically the food from the previous place was better than my current facility, but I don't mind because here I have safe drinking water, more privacy, more medical staff and – most importantly – a clean bathroom. 



Dinner at centralized quarantine. Image courtesy of interviewee.


Are you able to move around much? 
At the first facility, there were more places to roam, but I stayed put, with my mask on at all times, and only near those who were leaving soon so as to avoid potential for reinfection.


In the new facility, I am able to move only within my room.


Have you ever felt unsafe during your experience?
At the first facility I was brought to, yes. I felt unsafe surrounded by faulty wiring and poor sanitation – a breeding ground for many other kinds of diseases like E.coli or bacterial infections.


There was no bottled water, just a questionably placed drinking water source right next to the toilet.



Water source at first centralized quarantine facility. Image courtesy of interviewee.


The facility was heavily understaffed, and I felt sorry for the over-worked medical staff. The nurse admitted to me that it’s not a suitable place for patients. 


Luckily, at the new facility, while I would prefer to just be at home, I don’t feel unsafe, per se.


Also, being part of a support group on WeChat with other foreigners going through a similar situation, plus having friends to cheer me on, really carried me through when I felt like I was losing hope.


Overall, what are your thoughts on the current situation?
I was grateful for the zero COVID policy originally – it kept Shanghai safe for two years, especially during the early onslaught of the fiercer strains of the virus. Right now, I think it needs to be put to rest with this less severe variant. 


The treatment of those who have tested positive – forced removal from peoples’ homes, lack of livable facilities, economic loss and lack of medical attention for those who really need it – is proof enough that this is no longer the way forward.


Focusing on the number zero is just not worth the emotional, physical and financial cost. 


The focus should be on mass vaccination with additional care given to those with compromised immune systems. Educate the masses on proper home quarantine and abolish COVID camps.


The amount of stress and the cost of this ideal has already proved what a mess and heartache it has been for Shanghai. 


This is not the Shanghai we know and love. We would gladly cooperate if we felt we could trust the process, but our trust has been broken. 


I truly hope we can quickly heal and move on to different strategies, learning from the international community that has gone through the Omicron wave. My wish is that the government will use this as a learning opportunity, taking time to listen to their people. 


As a foreigner, after my ordeal, it is so much easier to want to jump on plane and be done. But I am still holding on to the hope that my beloved Shanghai might be able to make amends and perhaps my eventual leaving could be on a better note.


I do love China, but I don’t know if I can stay or feel safe in a place that treats people in such a manner, who they themselves failed to protect in the first place.


Read more My Story personal accounts and experiences by scanning the QR code:

If you have a My Story experience you would like to share please email sophiesteiner@thatsmags.com.


[Cover image by That's]




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