Beijing quarantine

Increasingly COVID-19 closing doors worldwide. Beijing had exempted some foreigners from the 14 day quarantine. We calculated the pandemic was spreading in Europe so we decided it was best my wife quickly returned from Brussels – considered not to be a risk country – to Beijing. No real quarantine for her while she does avoid going around. That door seems to be closing very soon, any moment now anybody entering China will face the quarantine. China not mentioning it was the first to vehemently oppose travel restrictions…
Obviously that will not help the economy to return to any “normal” situation.

Read the China Daily editorial of 6 March 2020:
“Risks of reverse current virus spread highlight importance of coordination: China Daily editorial”
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/05/WS5e60de5ba31012821727cac7.html

I quote:
“Thus, it is strongly suggested that the country should consider expanding its 14-day quarantine requirements from those having recent traveling experience in the four worst hit countries — the Republic of Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy — to all visitors coming from outside, including Chinese nationals. … As such, although the country remains open to those from outside, a no-one-should-be-omitted 14-day quarantine should be imposed on all those wanting to enter the country. While this will drive up the administrative costs given the still sizable population flow into the country each day, it should be adopted immediately to plug the obvious loopholes to help the country to defend itself against the virus and thwart the cross-border spread of the virus.”

You are warned.

Online Health Declaration for entry/exit China

See this article with instructions on how to fill out in advance the form.
Link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/OZFhA6Uxa5lb5fSFU8qmTw

Be aware you need to be able to scan the QR code.
See some screenshots, go to the site for the full introduction.

Cheap airline tickets?

Chinese airlines offer dirt cheap tickets to fly. Now who would use them? It makes no sense, wherever you go, or return to Beijing you face quarantine.
Few people seem to understand the enormous difficulty to do any business now in China as practically speaking you can’t travel to any place. If you do Beijing – Tianjin and you return then you face 2 weeks quarantine.
Yes you can do ZOOM, SKYPE and other. Some people need to travel to SIGN contracts. Or visit notary and alike.

Alipay and Wechat health apps

As I mentioned, I could not do any of those. While I still believe the WeChat one is only for Chinese ID, I got some valuable feedback, see here. I will try this again but with a Chinese friend (who is a bit of a specialist in those things) as there is always Chinese stuff popping up, and difficult fields to fill in. In my case I never know, is it my passport or my Green card, etc. I don’t want to do something wrong. The same friend had set up my WeChat, Alipay and Taobao so she is familiar with my “problems”.

“FOREIGNERS GUIDE TO ACCESSING HEALTH QR CODE”
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/rTxr5qqWl5699B1CHyUBiQ

See some screenshots from that link and screenshot of my mobile (the last step I did before stopping).

We were initially looking in Alipay for another link (“Alipay Health Code”) and that one did not work for me. That link is talked about but … does not appear directly within Alipay. Talking about confusing. I keep you posted. Any tip is welcome.

Trends wrote yesterday:

Volvo top guy Geert Bruyneel: “Economists in Europe have underestimated the impact of the coronavirus.”
I think not only Europe, but worldwide… I clearly agree with him since the early days.

Volvo-topman Geert Bruyneel: ‘Economen in Europa hebben de impact van het coronavirus onderschat’
Geert Bruyneel is het wereldwijde hoofd van de Volvo-fabrieken. In januari zat hij twee weken in quarantaine, na een verblijf in China. “Onze Chinese fabrieken krabbelen weer overeind. De economen in Europa hebben de situatie toch wat onderschat. Voor mij was al langer duidelijk dat het coronavirus een aanzienlijke impact op de economie zal hebben.”

Have a nice weekend

Thanks to all for reading. Some people read half or even less then start screaming I am wrong. Attention span today is VERY short. So many superficial and ignorant people.

Oh well. Will try to have a relaxed weekend with my birds coming to look for me every morning, waiting for their food. And I talk to myself a little.
Also, a new Hongkong outfit for the Metro. Chinese paranoia at its best. I prefer also an alternative use for masks.
Enjoy virus weekend. And good luck to our American friends, they are blessed with a great genius leader, a bit like the one in DPRK.

Virus in Belgium – France. Masks anybody?

Not easy to keep up a smile facing COVID-19, as things are not getting better.
Now total cases in Belgium stand at 50, the majority is of people returning from their holidays in Italy. Patients either stay at home or in the hospital. More cases are expected. Still not too bad compared with other countries.

See de interesting overview map from De Standaard.
In France, number of cases going up strongly. Now if you want to buy a mask, you need first to see your doctor, get a prescription and then you can buy a mask in the pharmacy. Very different situation than in China…

Belgium keeps its humor:

https://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/quand-l-humour-belge-sauve-du-coronavirus/article-normal-1259299.html

Another interactive map:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html

Screenshot of affected countries of that website.

Most masks are useless except to protect you from touching face. Only the FFP-2 mask offers protection but is very uncomfortable and difficult to use for a longer time. Mask mostly are used on infected persons to avoid contaminating others.
The paranoia with masks in China is thus meaningless. I mostly use any mask in public just to show I have one. If I feel I need protection I use my N95 masks, the ones I always use against pollution. And I use my motorcycle helmet.

In the meantime a second plane from Moscow to Beijing was hit by quarantine. Happens as I explained the reasons in previous posts. Details remain rather sketchy.

The USA is confusing everybody

Yeah. you know, I have a hunch looking at the news and contacting people. So I conclude as I am more clever than anybody:

– Trump’s hunch is fantasy;
– USA is ill-prepared with not enough test kits, hospitals not equipped, crisis centers unprepared;
– medical system overcharging patients with typical U.S. inflated prices to test and treat people, while voices come up to do it for free;
– pandemic is still in the initial phase and the economy will suffer;
– US bureaucratic blunder in providing test kits saw only some 1500 people tested; South Korea has tested 140,000 people for the coronavirus. That could explain why its death rate is just 0.6% — far lower than in China or the US. As for the death rate, I still believe it stands at less than 2% because many mild cases remain undetected and even if deaths in Wuhan were underreported.

As I mentioned in an earlier post…

Renaat Morel interviewed

Our friend Renaat again in the news!

Read it here: https://www.knack.be/nieuws/wereld/hoe-gaan-belgische-restaurants-in-peking-om-met-de-coronacrisis-het-is-aanpassen-of-verdwijnen/article-longread-1572739.html

China Daily actually admitted on 5 March that the epidemic cost the catering sector US$71.6 billion. Compared with the Spring Festival holiday last year, the revenue of 78% of restaurants in China dropped 100% during this year, a report from the China Cuisine Association said. Revenue of 9% of them dropped more than 9%; revenue of 7% saw between 70 and 90% drops; and revenue of less than 5% declined by 70%, the report said.
Link: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/05/WS5e6069eba31012821727c883.html

Meanwhile restaurants try to stay afloat with online delivery, with heavy discounts. One wonders if they make any money.

This shows the bill for ordering a pizza at Legend Beer. Extras added free of charge. Discount: pay 98 instead of 135 RMB. As sent by a friend. See the temperature record of the staff involved…

China Daily: some interesting articles

Yes, CD at times does have interesting stuff. See these, worth a read:

Scientists discover two major subtypes of novel coronavirus
Chinese scientists have discovered that the novel coronavirus has evolved into two major subtypes. Experts said they believe investigating the differences and features of these subtypes may help evaluate risks and formulate better treatment and prevention plans.
The two subtypes are named L and S. The L type is more aggressive and was more prevalent in the early stages of the outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province. But instances of the S type, which is older and less aggressive, have increased in frequency recently, thus possibly explaining the disease’s slowing momentum in China.
Link: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/05/WS5e605826a31012821727c76d.html

Govt stresses ethics and efficiency in drug tests
As the nation races to find a vaccine, authorities and experts are working to ensure probity and safety.
At a news briefing on Feb 24, Bruce Aylward, an epidemiologist with the World Health Organization, described a major obstacle to research on the novel coronavirus.
He said too many clinical trials are being conducted simultaneously and there are not enough patients to provide samples, which may lead to unreliable results.
The article explains the hurdles to develop a vaccine. Problematic… Read why.
Link: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/05/WS5e605be1a31012821727c7b3.html

Potential treatments for novel coronavirus
Article gives details on drugs being tested: Remdesivir, Chloroquine phosphate, Plasma transfusion therapy and Favipiravir.
Link: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/05/WS5e605e4fa31012821727c7d5.html

Notice as also posted on WeChat

Do note I won’t reply to individual requests for updates on the virus issues and I won’t post on WeChat. This is why I update daily on my website, as not to repeat always the same. If people are too lazy to follow my posts, their problem. Also because there are no simple answers as everything changes fast. Questions? Ask your embassy or the local government (good luck).

Not getting better

While official Chinese media trumpet how well all is going and will go, COVID-19 reality is starkly different.
Restaurants mostly remain closed in my area, simply because: 1. government does not allow to open 2. government imposes exaggerated restrictions making operation as good as impossible.
Massages, gyms, KTV, SPA, cinemas, bars, all types of events are PROHIBITED. Cool. Can you imagine how many people have zero income and the chain reaction in the economy? My repair man of electronics cannot start working. And so on. The whole economy is paralyzed.

Worse is often the total hysteria and paranoia of ordinary Chinese. Depressing.

Oh yes, have you seen any ongoing construction? Since how long did it stop? What about all the workers? Even subway construction looks DEAD.

Return to normal? Not anytime soon with the paranoia and often meaningless restrictions. Don’t misunderstand me, we must remain cautious.
I am obviously NOT an optimist. If you are, let’s talk again in 3 months.

In the rest of the world, needless to say, the pandemic has only started. It will get much worse before it gets better. The coronavirus that has kept hundreds of millions of students out of classrooms and day cares around the world. And much more going down the drain. As commented in NYT: “It’s just one of a host of life-altering measures taken to preserve public health, and it has ripple effects: rising child care costs for parents, suppliers losing out on cafeteria food orders, babysitters and nannies in flux, and loneliness and tech glitches for kids in online classes, to name a few.”
Olympics this year? Good luck.

And as I already reported much earlier this would happen:
Coronavirus: China’s factory closures could cause global medicine shortages. US and Europe monitoring short-term delay to supplies, with antibiotics, diabetes medications, HIV drugs and ibuprofen among those heavily reliant on China. (SCMP)

China strongly opposed early coronavirus travel restrictions, such as by the U.S. and was supported by the WHO about it. Now it has its own as I reported earlier. Of course they swallow their earlier criticism of the ban…
Many countries now also close their borders to visitors from “infected countries”. Like Israel, no more visitors from Italy, France, Germany and other countries.
Slowly international travel is becoming paralyzed and this will have huge consequences for the economy.

All the stuff with QR color codes, health apps

As I reported earlier, both Alipay and Wechat claim to have applications where you can register so people can check your health situation before allowing you to enter somewhere.
I tested and yes, foreigners cannot use it. Only with Chinese ID.

In our compound, see the announcement with QR code (and WeChat translation). My wife registered, that at least worked, they called her to check her travel history and the only thing she needs to do is to daily report her temperature. That is OK.

Panic buying in Hongkong and Western countries: I haven’t seen this in Beijing…

As a James Bond fan…

Well this is BAD news: “Release date for new 007 film postponed amid coronavirus concerns.
The global release of No Time to Die has been pushed from April 3 to November 2020 after fans wrote an open letter urging the James Bond studios to delay the film’s release date due to public health concerns.

I am currently watching my big collection of 007 movies, all on VCD…
(FYI: VCD is a home video format and the first format for distributing films. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, superseding the VHS and Betamax systems in the regions until DVD-Video finally became affordable in the late 2000s.)

David Mahon writes in his China Watch (Mid Spring 2020):

Some good points! See extract:

Over-reacting and masking the truth
…. Propaganda is not the sole domain of former communist countries. ….  Trump blithely announced that the virus was under control in the US, and his media supporters like Rush Limbaugh suggested that statements to the contrary by scientists were attempts to undermine his presidency.
Capital markets have been reacting to the dishonesty coming out of the White House regarding their preparedness to handle the virus. One of the first acts of Vice President Pence, the czar appointed to lead management of responses to the virus, was to issue a dictate that his team would control the messages of government officials. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was told not to say anything without White House clearance. In 2016, Trump dismantled agencies established to deal with epidemics and pandemics after SARS and H1N1. The United States is likely not ready for the social and economic impact of COVID-19.
…
A challenge to China is to avoid overzealousness in the enforcement of quarantine regulations and temperature checks. Social media has reported some abuses of citizens in Hubei, still the virus’s epicentre.
His website: www.mahonchina.com

China’s economy

See what China Economic Review reports
(edited)

China’s services sector contracted at the steepest pace in more than 14 years in February, as the gauges for total new businesses and employment plummeted to record lows amid the coronavirus outbreak, reported Caixin.
The Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index, which gives an independent snapshot of operating conditions in the services sector, fell to 26.5 in February from 51.8 in the previous month. The February reading was the lowest since the survey began in November 2005. A number above 50 indicates an expansion in activity, while a figure below that points to a contraction.
The reading follows a sharp decline in the Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which fell to a record low of 40.3 in February. The Caixin China Composite Output Index, which covers both manufacturing and service companies, tumbled to an all-time low of 27.5 in February from 51.9 the previous month.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed its 2020 growth outlook for China to below 5.6% because of the “sheer geographic spread” of the coronavirus epidemic globally, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said.

Passenger car retail sales in China, the world’s biggest auto market, fell 80% in February because of the coronavirus epidemic, one of the country’s industry associations said on Wednesday, reported Reuters.
(my take: with people losing so much income, do not expect sales to climb back in great numbers…)

And this:
China has less than a month to prevent businesses leaving the country in their droves because of the coronavirus epidemic, according to the latest estimate by government scientists.
Labour-intensive textile production, hi-tech electronics and pollution-heavy industries like metal smelting could be the first to leave if the government failed to contain the spread of the deadly virus by the end of the month, the experts said in a report published on Monday in the Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3065039/coronavirus-clock-ticking-china-stop-foreign-firms-fleeing

Beware of Wechat

Wechat might be a great app but it is 100% controlled by the security people, often leading to annoying problems (without reason), as I experienced myself (I was kicked out of my account for no valid reason!). If you use Wechat you must accept Chinese security knows everything about you. You become an open book. The CIA must be jealous.

See this comment:
“China’s most popular messaging app censored a range of neutral chat group references to the coronavirus epidemic, potentially threatening public access to essential health and safety information, according to a digital media research group.
As well as politically sensitive terms, the researchers found that WeChat censored keyword combinations ranging from discussions of Chinese leaders’ responses to the outbreak, neutral references to government policies on handling the epidemic, responses to the outbreak in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, and references to Li Wenliang, a doctor who died after raising concerns about the outbreak.
The analysis was conducted by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and based on tests of keywords extracted from reports on major news websites in mainland China and Hong Kong.”
Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3064832/how-wechat-censored-even-neutral-messages-about-coronavirus

Is Belgium prepared?

Somber article in LaLibre.be:
“Coronavirus in Belgium, the worst scenario: up to 850,000 people infected and 50,000 deaths. Really?”
Published 2 March in French
https://www.lalibre.be/debats/opinions/coronavirus-sans-mesures-de-precaution-drastiques-on-risque-d-avoir-850-000-personnes-infectees-et-50-000-morts-en-belgique-5e5cf60f9978e23106a0bfd9

Interesting, if not a bit too pessimistic view.
It also gives – a question I had earlier – data on Belgian hospitals: Over 30,000 adult beds of which 1,400 beds for intensive care (with the necessary equipment). That would be grossly insufficient according to the article.

No need to give details

Today I take a rest from COVID-19 craziness. Anyway the virus is all over the news and more and more countries are facing the pandemic and trying to cope with it. What I can see, countries like Belgium, Netherlands, France and other are acting pretty OK. Less can be said of USA, I just read about a lady that had serious lung problems and was unable to get any help from the “help line” and other. Looks like a big mess with insufficient preparations, especially to do the tests.
Good luck to them. And if they try a test, might cost them thousands of dollars. WTF.

Other reason to take a break, my wife made it safely back from Brussels on a nearly empty Hainan Airlines plane. Luckily Brussels is still considered a “not-seriously-affected area”. See yesterday’s post. The airline as well as Beijing Airport are taking stringent protective measures and passengers are seriously screened and tested.

Renaat Morel talking to CGTN

Our friend Renaat gave an interview from his Beijing apartment.

See him (after some 12 minutes); it did play in my mobile.
https://s-url.cgtn.com/p/BBeJDIA

Was in Le Journal yesterday.
Morel’s Restaurant remains closed but Legend Beer reopens, doing mainly take-outs.
Whatever authorities claim, back to normal is faaaaar away and many businesses won’t survive till then.

All meetings cancelled

Well, our Sanlitun Rotaractors opted for another ZOOM meeting on Monday, happy to join as always.

Looks like ZOOM is very popular now…

How to face the virus

The COVID-19 misery to stay around, not just in China but around the world.
So, once again I repeat some guidelines how to deal with it. The hysteria in China with masks and other continues but actually Western countries start to be more reasonable and with a scientific approach.

Symptoms:
As I mentioned earlier you can even do an online test. Basically watch out for:
Sudden respiratory infection accompanied by fever of at least 38.5C, dry cough, throat ache, difficulty breathing. And just returned from a high-risk zone or in contact with a suspected patient, within the previous 14 days.
Recommendation in Europe when having those symptoms: if the patient is in reasonable condition, stay home and get better and avoid any contact with others. If getting worse, go to hospital after alerting the GP. Go in isolation.

Also this article:
“Surfaces? Sneezes? Sex? How the Coronavirus Can and Cannot Spread, What you need to know about how the virus is transmitted.”
Pretty clear guidelines, too many people are paranoid without reason, Chinese being experts in total hysteria.
So, stay away from sick people and don’t touch your face.
Did I mention “masks”? Nope.

In the meantime, in Beijing and in Belgium

New masks in Beijing. And do enjoy your stay in Sanya!

Some new cases in Belgium, looks like all after trip to Italy.

Yes we have too many ministers of health in Belgium as I reported yesterday.
There would be 8:
– Maggie De Block – federal government
– Wouter Beke – Flanders
– Christie Morreale – Wallonia
– Valérie Glatigny – French community
– Bénédicte Linard – French community
– Alain Marron – whatever position, French side
– Elke Van den Brandt – whatever position, Flemish side
– Antonios Antoniadis – German community

Color-coded QR system for coronavirus tracking

As I announced earlier, it is coming to Beijing and with the usual confusion.

Explains the NYT:
The Alipay Health Code, as China’s official news media has called the system, was first introduced in the eastern city of Hangzhou — a project by the local government with the help of Ant Financial, a sister company of the e-commerce giant Alibaba.
People in China sign up through Ant’s popular wallet app, Alipay, and are assigned a color code — green, yellow or red — that indicates their health status. The system is already in use in 200 cities and is being rolled out nationwide, Ant says.
Neither the company nor Chinese officials have explained in detail how the system classifies people. That has caused fear and bewilderment among those who are ordered to isolate themselves and have no idea why.

And more from SCMP:
“Beijing rolls out colour-coded QR system for coronavirus tracking despite concerns over privacy, inaccurate ratings. Beijing residents will be assigned coloured QR codes, with only those with green codes being able to move around the city freely.”
2 March 2020
https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/3064574/beijing-rolls-out-colour-coded-qr-system-coronavirus-tracking

Edited extract:

China’s capital city has joined a national initiative to assign residents coloured QR codes that determine whether they have to be quarantined, despite concerns of mislabeling and privacy leaks.
The QR code system assigns users one of three coloured QR codes – green, yellow and red.
In Beijing, the mini-program can be accessed both through Alipay and Tencent’s ubiquitous app WeChat. Users can obtain their codes by entering their name, national identity number and registering with facial recognition.

A green code shows the user is not under quarantine and can move around the city freely, but those with yellow and red codes need to quarantine themselves at home or undergo supervised quarantine respectively. The status of users’ colour codes is refreshed at midnight daily.
The programme would allow foreigners to check on their colour status using documentation aside from Chinese identification numbers “as soon as possible”.

As central and provincial governments push to gather and analyse a large amount of data to help contain the spread of the disease, privacy and data security concerns have been mounting.
The colour-based system, which determines the user’s quarantine status based on factors like travel history, duration of time spent in an outbreak-stricken area and relationships to potential carriers of the virus, has also been criticised for lacking transparency, with reports of people being marked incorrectly in Hangzhou, and authorities admitting that “some” ratings are not accurate.

China’s national government service platform also separately launched a QR code system via WeChat last week that allows users to register their information and generate a code to show their health condition.

China targets travellers at its borders in strategy change to stop coronavirus spread

New confusion in Beijing. Who is exempted from the 14 days quarantine?
Again, see here the official rules in Chinese and in English:
200221 BJquarantine
200223 BJquarantine

But then things are not clear at all. See the “new” update from Beijing:
200303 enteringChina

And also the SCMP article:
“People leaving or entering China will be checked for symptoms, contact with infected persons or travel from areas with a high number of infections.”
1 March 2020
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3053091/china-targets-travellers-its-borders-strategy-change-stop

It says:
China will step up monitoring of the health of travellers entering and leaving the country in a change of strategy to stop the international spread of the coronavirus as the number of cases in other countries surges, the central government said on Sunday.
With the number of new domestic cases falling, the announcement indicates a widening in Beijing’s anti-virus strategy to include a focus on preventing contagion between countries.
In response to the rising threat from the spread of the virus overseas, all travellers who enter or leave China will now have to fill out a detailed health declaration.

Officers would scrutinise health declarations and whether visitors showed any symptoms or had been to an outbreak area in the previous 14 days.
It said all visitors who passed through customs would have their health form checked, their temperatures taken twice and their travel history examined.
Those who show symptoms, come from countries or areas with serious outbreaks or have been in close contact with confirmed or suspected virus cases will be subject to strict medical examinations and possibly laboratory tests.

Any person confirmed with or suspected of having the disease, anybody who had close contact with confirmed cases and any passenger with symptoms would be isolated for medical observation.
The National Immigration Administration’s (NIA) top priority was to stop contagion from overseas epidemic sources and it had stepped up efforts to prevent “imported infections”.
The NIA will report passengers coming from countries and areas with serious coronavirus outbreaks to customs officials. They will also notify relevant authorities at their port of arrival to undertake specific epidemic prevention measures for these passengers.

Conclusion:
As always not clear. The keys are:
– which countries or areas with serious outbreaks? Is Germany one? Belgium safe?
– if any “sick person” in your plane, you are doomed.