139 days ago, we interviewed Marta from Spain who had a long time ago set up a family and life in China and was one of the first few people in the world dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. Now that the situation in China seems to be much better, we asked her for an update and found out what she thought of the way both China and Spain dealt with the pandemic.
“I don’t think people are actively encouraged to stay at home anymore, on the contrary, the local government is arranging a lot of street markets and other activities to try to encourage spending.”Q: Hi Marta, welcome back! What’s happened since the last time we spoke? How’s Suzhou and how are you?
A: Hello and thanks for having me again! Since we last spoke, the epidemic has spread all over the world as everybody knows! In Suzhou, things started going back to normal in mid-March and by now everything is more or less business as usual, with the exception that many people still wear masks and public places still check your temperature. Me and my family are fine and we don’t know anyone who was infected in Suzhou.
You are the parent of a young child so how has it been trying to keep him clean, safe and entertained since COVID-19 appeared? What tips and tricks have you been using?
During our 6 weeks or so of home confinement, my son (who was 17-18 months then) only left the house 3 or 4 times. He actually took it better than I would have expected and the second floor of our apartment, where we have a big storage room, became his playground. After courier services went back to normal at the end of February, I bought him a play kitchen online and he has been addicted to that ever since. We also read lots of books and looked up easy activities to do at home. He started watching cartoons on TV too, but I managed to keep that under 20 minutes a day!
What are the numbers of COVID-19 infected, recovered and demised in Suzhou and China right now? We’ve been hearing a lot about a second wave of infected in Beijing in recent days—how serious is it?
I don’t have the specific numbers for Suzhou but in the whole province of Jiangsu, where Suzhou is, there have been 654 infected and 0 deaths. There’s only one active case as of now in the province. In the whole of China there have been 85,279 infected since the epidemic started, 4648 confirmed deaths and 80,105 recovered. There are currently 526 active cases.
The outbreak in Beijing is worrying because it was the first incident of local transmission in over 2 months, but it seems to be under control now. China is taking the epidemic very seriously and doesn’t hesitate to take very strict measures to contain it.
What’s open and what’s closed in Suzhou these days? Have you gone back to the office to work yet?
Everything has reopened, except the places that didn’t manage to survive. Among these are several shops that we used to go to, like an ice cream store and a cake shop (sad face!). I always work from home so nothing changed for me in that regard, but my husband went back to his office on February 18, after 2 weeks of working from home.
Is mask-wearing mandatory? And are people still encouraged to stay home?
It’s not mandatory to wear a mask on the street but here in Suzhou many people still wear it. In places like malls, the security guard checking your temperature and QR code at the entrance asks you to wear a mask if you are not wearing one. I don’t think people are actively encouraged to stay at home anymore, on the contrary, the local government is arranging a lot of street markets and other activities to try to encourage spending.
Why do you think there’s been a new wave of outbreaks in China even though they had gotten things under control the first time?
I’m not a scientist but it seems this virus is a real sneaky bastard that is not going to leave anytime soon! I guess there had been some asymptomatic cases going around in Beijing and the virus was kept alive until people relaxed their precautions and it caused an outbreak again.
How do you think regulations will change again now that the second wave is happening in China?
As far as I know, people from Beijing now face some travel restrictions, but there haven’t been any new measures in Suzhou. I haven’t experienced new restrictions here in Suzhou (maybe also because we never stopped wearing a mask here).
What are your thoughts on the situation in Spain in comparison to the situation in China? Which country do you think has handled their epidemic better?
It seems Spain is doing better now and I’m told by family and friends that most people are wearing masks and keeping a safe distance outside. I think China handled the epidemic way better. Spain (and many other countries) seemed to believe the virus would not reach their borders and didn’t even prepare medical supplies in advance. I know many people don’t believe the infection and death numbers that China publishes and I cannot know what is happening in every corner of the country, but I don’t have any reason to be sceptic about the figures in Suzhou. Why? Because we don’t know anyone here who personally knows anyone that was infected (and we know a lot of people, due to my husband’s job). Meanwhile, in Spain I know 6 people who had infected relatives or friends (and 2 of them died).
What advice do you have for those in Spain after what you’ve seen and been through in China?
I think people in Spain now have more epidemic experience than I’ve had, as their lockdown was longer and compulsory! The only advice I’d give is that, seeing what has happened in Beijing, we cannot lower our guards just yet! Wearing a mask in the middle of the summer is a pain in the ass but it might save many lives.
What do you miss most about life before this pandemic?
I miss being able to travel! Not as a tourist as that is not important now, but I’m very sad thinking that I will most probably not be able to go to Spain this year and my family will not see my son until who knows when. China has closed its borders to foreigners so if I left, I wouldn’t be able to come back…
Which 3 items or people are now most important to you?
Video calls! So at least my parents can see my son and he doesn’t forget their faces. Children’s books, which my son is now very interested in. And mosquito repellent!! Because mosquitoes are a plague in the summer here.
Lastly, what else have you learned in the time since we last spoke that you didn’t know before?
When the virus was more or less contained in China, I was optimistic that things would return to normal soonish. Now that it is everywhere and out of control, I’ve come to realize that I might not be able to go anywhere for a long, long time.
Marta’s goal for the next year is to move to a bigger apartment. “So we might be doing a bit of apartment hunting.” You can find out about her progress at her blog, martalivesinchina.wordpress.com, or chat with her about the COVID-19 situation in Spain and China using the comment box below.
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Other interviews with Marta:
COVID-19 Diaries: The Situation In Suzhou, 71 Days In
Photographs courtesy and copyright of Marta. Interviewer: Sy
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