COVID-19

Traveling is a very difficult thing during Covid-19. I got a call reporting that my mother was critically ill in February one day. I started a difficult journey back to China at that moment. I checked the web from the Chinese Consulate. I know that I must have a Nucleic Acid report 48-hour before I board the plane. That report must be negative. Moreover, that test had to be examined by a consulate designated lab. As well, the airplane ticket was very expensive. The price was three times higher than usual, and it was only one way.

I got the Nucleic Acid report. It was negative. I was so lucky, even though the charge was very expensive. It cost 400 Canadian dollars. I also had to upload the report to the Chinese consulate. I could only board the plane after receiving the green code from them. Fortunately, everything went well, and I finally boarded the plane. I saw that many passengers were wearing protective clothing, and only his eyes could be seen all over the body.

The plane arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport. After getting off the plane, we found that the airport was empty. There was only our group of passengers who had just got off the plane. And all the staff in the airport wore protective clothing. I felt as if I had come to a scene in a Hollywood blockbuster. I queued, scanned the code, checked, checked out, collected my luggage, walked out of the gate, and then was led to a work desk to register. Then I waited for the bus to take me to an isolated hotel. After resting for half an hour, the bus arrived. When I boarded the bus, I found that the whole car only picked me and another person up. I enjoyed a VIP treatment.

Arriving at the quarantine hotel, the staff led me into the room. All the staff was wearing isolation suits. I was told I was not allow to leave this room for 14 days. Three meals a day would be delivered to the door. I started a life of isolation under house arrest. During this period, the staff came to take my temperature twice a day. I had the only chance to contact people at this time. However, they were all wearing protective clothing, and I could only see their eyes. The 14 days of quarantine cost about 1,500 Canadian dollars.

When I came back to Canada, a similar experience was repeated. I was less nervous at this time. I checked before boarding, show a negative report certificate at the airport, and got my boarding pass. Canada required three days of quarantine in a hotel. I needed to book a quarantine hotel before boarding. When I arrived in Canada, I presented the Nucleic Acid report and the hotel booking information. I entered Canada smoothly, and my experience after that was similar to that of China: I queued up for nucleic acid testing, got on the hotel’s shuttle bus to the quarantine hotel, I couldn’t leave the room, and I had three meals delivered to the door. The difference is that the Canadian staff did not wear isolation gowns. I saw real people. It's so kind. Of course, the risks faced by the staff are high. I received the nucleic acid report two days later, which was negative. At this point, I finished quarantining in the hotel. I could go home and continue home isolation. The three-day quarantine in the hotel cost about 850 Canadian dollars.

This epidemic is really unprecedented in human history. Everyone in the world has experienced it and everyone's life has been affected. This hard journey made me feel the scourge brought to us by this epidemic. I believe that human beings will overcome this epidemic and our lives will return to normal. But, don't you think that there will be another unknown outbreak of an epidemic?