Data/Compliance lawyer in Mainland China. CEO of Pathway Compliance, an ALSP based in Shanghai. Views my own and not legal advice.
Shanghai
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Day 22 of my Shanghai Covid lockdown
As we feared yesterday, we have new restrictions
Before we were allowed to leave our building (but not community) to get deliveries - no more; now we are not allowed out of our apartment door
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Day 16 of our Covid lockdown in Shanghai today and food is the key thing on peopleās minds
We arenāt allowed to leave home so delivery is the only way
I was up at 6 am yesterday trying to get any kind of delivery but nothing was available all day
So far, same results today
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Day 47 of our Shanghai Covid lockdown and we woke up, like we often do, to a man in a hazmat suit downstairs yelling through a bull horn for us to come down for our tests
While checking our phones for the new test QR code, we also saw this alarming new official notice sent to us
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For the media: I received dozens of requests for interviews; I wonāt be doing any
If you want a good reflection of the story in our city, please look to someone other than a white American man
My threads here hopefully help show our challenges, but Iām not the face of Shanghai
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We were able to work together with many neighbors to finally have a bulk purchase and delivery this afternoon
We got eggs, fish, and milk, and a generous neighbor also gave us some garlic
Neighbors working together will get us through this
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I have become 大ē½, deliverer of foods
*大ē½ - da bai - means ābig whiteā, an affectionate term for all of the wonderful hardworking healthcare workers and volunteers in these suits
A big thank you to all of the real 大ē½!!!
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Each day 2 volunteers from each building are allowed out to collect deliveries for the whole building (Iām a volunteer)
We have to wear the full white suit during the process - mine was just delivered to me - and we only have a 2 hour window in the afternoon
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Last night they took several of the Covid+ people from our community to a central quarantine site
From what weāve heard, they didnāt arrive until 2 am and the conditions there are awful - no showers, portable toilets only, no hot water, and of course no privacy
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If you have a delivery in the morning, for example of meat (if you are lucky enough to get that), it will sit at the gate until it is our time in the afternoon to get the delivery
The temperature in Shanghai right now, at 5 pm, is 80 F
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Iām fully vaccinated, have been locked down for 16 days now without contact with anyone except immediate family and close neighbors, and have tested negative all nine rounds of tests while being locked down
But Iām not allowed to leave home to go find food
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People outside of Shanghai asked me what it means that nothing is available for food delivery
It means that you cannot get food, at all
No vegetables
No fruit
No rice
No bread
Nothing
I try all of the apps and all of the stores, nothing is available - at least where I live
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The new policies indicate that Shanghai lockdown will be lifted in some areas soon - but only if there are no positive cases close to you recently
Hereās a map (a little outdated, itās worse now) of Covid+ cases in Shanghai
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At the beginning of this month, I donāt think I knew anyone here in Shanghai who had Covid.
Now, itās:
100% of the people in my building
100% of my coworkers
100% of the children in both my kidsā classes
100% of my close friends
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Day 56 of our Shanghai Covid lockdown
When itās nice out at night, I unwind on our balcony in a rocking chair my aunt gave me when our oldest was born
Itās a full moon tonight and so quiet that you can hear the footsteps and swishing of the hazmat suits 10+ stories below
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After the test, I will come back home, put on my white PPE suit, and go back out to pick up deliveries and bring them back to people in our building
Because itās too risky for those people to be out to pick up deliveries - those people who are out for the tests in the long line
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That was a sad development, we were all hoping that the positive people would be able to quarantine at home
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For my family, we had 3 deliveries that were booked to deliver today: 2 group purchases of meat/seafood + 1 individual purchase of soap and shampoo
All three were cancelled
But we did get a delivery sent from a friend in another part of the city with better access to groceries
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It looks like we are being required to do the administered testing downstairs tonight (instead of the home tests we have been doing - including twice yesterday)
Everyone will be outside, lining up for the tests, but then must go back home immediately, and not pick up deliveries
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Some important things to know about the situation in Shanghai:
Itās a huge city, and the circumstances are different everywhere
Our situation is bad, but a lot of people are much worse
Things can be absurd but also true: we can get cake easily, but not meat and fruit
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This seems to be getting a lot of attention - thank you everyone for your concern and kind words
We are worried, but we are safe and healthy and together and in a much better situation than a lot of others so we are considering ourselves lucky
We will make it through this ok
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Itās not the same situation all over Shanghai, and some areas seem to have more access to food, but in our apartment area we havenāt been able to get anything recently and people are getting very frustrated and worried
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Thank you everyone for the kind comments and concerns
Itās been a difficult situation, but our family is together, we are safe, and we have enough food - through constant efforts - for the time being
Today was a big step backwards for us, but hopefully tomorrow will be better
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Thank you to everyone here for the ideas, suggestions, and support!
Tomorrow will be another difficult day, but at least right now we have fresh food and new optimism!
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The tests we did tonight were our 16th during this lockdown, all 15 previous were negative
We recently had been very confident each test would be negative, but today we feel unsure
More and more people in our community are positive, possibly from these testing events
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The results of our Shanghai Covid PCR tests were just published from the test this morning
We are negative
We are negative again
We are negative again for 40+ consecutive negative tests during this lockdown where we are trapped in our homes, not allowed to leaveā¦
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Our family of four is not in any medical danger right now, but we are low on anything resembling nutritious for our two young children after 16 days (we have been in lockdown longer than most parts of the city due to a Covid+ case in our apartment community several weeks ago)
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And weāre not in a remote area of the city - we have three large supermarkets within a 10-15 minute walk and are next to a major highway
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Weāre not starving and we have some food still at home, but our supplies are quickly diminishing, especially for the kids, and the availability of delivery has been getting worse for us - it went from very sporadic last week to non existent during the past few days
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(Not confirmed by me directly but from a neighbor, who also shared a photo that seems legitimate)
It seems that barriers have been set up that are blocking the roads for several streets around us, so the delivery drivers canāt even make it to the gates of our apartment community
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2) All deliveries are prohibited during the weekend (Friday midnight to Sunday midnight); nothing will be allowed in
No food
No water
Nothing
So we are encouraged to cancel all deliveries and ask for refunds because nothing that is delivered to the community gates will come in
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The key points are:
1) We must stay inside our apartment and not leave our front door, except for going downstairs for testing
This was not a change for us, and it was a little strange to see it reiterated again
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The key for deliveries has been getting them early in the morning right when the stores open on the apps
I timed it carefully but the best I could do was an order for bread, potatoes, and a few small things to be delivered ābefore Wednesdayā
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The result of the new announcement and the new street barricades is that we are locked down in Shanghai, not allowed to leave our apartment door (except for going downstairs to do Covid tests), and are also not allowed to get any deliveries of food, or drinking water, or anything
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Itās 10:30 am now so the key window of time has passed to book orders and itās very unlikely Iāll be able to find anything to be delivered today
But Iāll keep trying, all day
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That reasoning seems clear - deliveries are halted because the roads are closed
Of course, Iām not allowed to leave my front door, let alone our apartment community gates, in order to verify that
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They sent the announcement on Friday morning to go into effect at midnight, and from my understanding this applies not just to our apartments but to many in the area
Panic buying and hoarding started immediately, of course, and all same day deliveries were instantly fully booked
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Fortunately for many of us in the area, deliveries had been improving this week and we were able to restock some of our pantries
I was even fortunate enough to get a delivery of some hot sauces and other key condiments today at 10 pm, just before the cutoff!
Thanks @epermarket!
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There was a lot of pushback about this from everyone around and eventually some of the government people and property management people said that they āmightā arrange for some group purchases but it would be difficult, and thatās when we found out why
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All four of us are sick - a terrible way to spend thanksgiving
Daughterās classmate (all of whom seem to also be sick) had trouble breathing, went to the hospital, and was told all the childrenās hospitals in Shanghai are overwhelmed with very long wait times - at least 4 hours
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Itās the suddenly interrupted silence that startles me
This part of Shanghai was never quiet and at all hours there were bikes, cars, planes, people, life
All happening, all the time, never silence
But now, everything is quiet
Except the terror of the starving cats and dogs
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Thereās different info online about the food in Shanghai during Covid lockdown
Most people that are on the ground here have shared stories about struggles to find food
Others, often citing āfriends in Shanghaiā claim everything is ok
Hereās a story about our absurd situation
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The only hope for us here is that this is one last hard lockdown as a final measure to test and cut off the spread of the virus
We have some hope that this new hard lockdown is only for 2 days, but then again, thatās exactly what they told us for the general lockdown 47 days ago
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Day 24 of my Shanghai Covid lockdown
Today, the new policy went into effect that classifies each house/apartment community into three categories according to the risk level
We were classified as the highest risk level
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This was a shock for us because cases had been improving steadily recently
Yesterday, there were only 23 new cases identified outside of the quarantine zones
#Shanghai reported 245 locally transmitted #COVID19 cases, 4,024 local asymptomatic infections, two imported asymptomatic infections and 12 deaths on Thursday, said the Shanghai Health Commission on Friday morning. shine.cn/news/metro/22050652ā¦
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Day 51 of our Shanghai Covid lockdown; no significant new updates today, which is significant - weāre locked down 51 consecutive days already
We had hoped to be out of lockdown alreadyā¦
Back to school and work alreadyā¦
Back to life alreadyā¦
Normal alreadyā¦
Enough already!
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Talking with another parent picking up his kid at our school here in Shanghai today
Heās a Chinese Trump supporter who knows Iām an American so he wanted to talk about the election
He says heās hopeful about Trump because his kid is a US citizen (born in California)
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Day 17 of my Shanghai Covid lockdown and food remains the priority
As usual, I woke up at 6am to try ordering deliveries
I have 10 apps that I cycle through repeatedly from various stores/platforms for several hours trying to find anything
No success by this method again today
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Day 61 of our Shanghai Covid lockdown
For the first time in two months I stepped foot outside of our apartment gates today
It was great to get out, and I took advantage of the opportunity and great weather to take a long walk
It was mostly what I expected, with a few surprises
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The result is horrific
Each night, we hear hungry cats crying and fighting
Worse, we hear the hungry dogs - which is what I heard just now - catching a cat
The guttural animal sounds break the eerie silence as I sit in my rocking chair trying to forget about the day
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Back to this morning, we went down for the testing because it seemed like another mandatory day where they really push you to do the testing (some days it feels more like a suggestion)
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I had my 100th Covid test of 2022 today in Shanghai
100 tests done
100 negative results
Coincidentally, itās also 100Ā° F here!
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Their new method is to first do a home antigen test (four for us) and then, if negative, bring the plastic test pieces down with you to do the PCR test
They check the antigen test downstairs and take it from you, which seems like a better system to avoid fraud or tampering
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The other big topic of conversation for the apartment community today was mosquitoes
All of our normal maintenance has been suspended for a long time, including pest control for natureās most obnoxious creation, which has resulted in a big increase in mosquitoes
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Iāve heard from friends in other parts of the city that their areas are actually opening up, although most businesses and stores are still closed there
Itās always important to note that Shanghai is a big city and the circumstances vary significantly from one place to another
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What I didnāt anticipate, when I put all 4 in my pocket, was that our fresh antigen tests still had some of the liquid left in the little dropper area
Which of course leaked through my pocket to the front of my shorts by the time we were downstairs, not a particularly good look
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As we left, we saw him driving away in a luxury car that he had left parked in the crosswalk
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In the past few weeks, regulations in China have tanked several industries by:
-improving labor rights of delivery drivers
-decreasing education pressure/inequality
-increasing privacy protections
-prohibiting kids from being live-streaming stars
A clear sign; society > markets
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I know one guy who is a delivery worker and heās been sleeping in a tent in a park because he canāt go home or heāll be in lock down. One of the hardest working and nicest people Iāve ever met.
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That of course led to a big discussion about whether Covid can be spread through mosquitoes and then, just moments ago (around midnight), we got this delivery from the building management group - they are occasionally efficient after allā¦
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Key things to know about the Shanghai Covid situation:
-Itās a huge city, the situation is different in each area
-Trust voices on the ground, especially over people whose āfriend in Shanghai toldā them
-Things can be absurd, but also true: ~instant cake deliveries, but no meat
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Day 70 of our Shanghai Covid lockdown
It is supposed to be the last day of lockdown today, with most homes and businesses allowed to open tomorrow
We are hopeful, we are happy, we are anxious, and we are exhausted
The recovery beginsā¦
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Day 35 of our Shanghai Covid lockdown
Unbelievably, the newly identified Covid cases in Shanghai increased yesterday
Adding to that trend, friends in several areas reported new cases in apartment buildings and communities that have been under strict lockdown for weeks
#Shanghai reported 2,736 locally transmitted #COVID19 cases, 20,634 local asymptomatic infections and 12 deaths on Friday. shine.cn/news/metro/22042347ā¦
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Day 29 of our Shanghai Lockdown
Food and water continue to be the hot topic for everyone in the city
Where we are, deliveries continue to improve, but at a frustratingly slow rate
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When I was in the US over the summer, the most common question I was asked about living in China was about the "social credit score"
I've researched it extensively, advised clients about it, and occasionally written about it
Here's how it has affected me during my daily life:
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After a tough week with Covid, weāre all back to testing negative and feeling much better
This negative test is my 186th Covid test in China during 2022, a year filled with Covid-related misery that I will never forget
Good riddance to 2022!
Happy New Year 2023!
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Other than the worries over testing, today did not have any significant updates to share
We still are in lockdown - none of the four of us left the apartment door all day
We still struggle to find food and drinking water
We still have no idea when this will end
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Day 57 of our Shanghai Covid lockdown
Things seem to be gradually improving and our apartment community has opened to the point where we can go downstairs without any restrictions
We still canāt leave our apartment community gate yet
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Unthinkably cruel
We have two little kids and were heartbroken by the videos and pictures about these babies and toddlers today, crying in crowded beds with no family and no one to help
We were hungry and angry; now we are hungry, angry, and afraid
nytimes.com/2022/04/02/businā¦
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I canāt put my finger on why, but today feels like a big turning point in Shanghai
People are out shopping, eating, working - lots of energy everywhere I went today
A great feeling
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Day 23 of my Shanghai Covid lockdown
Someone in our building had an āabnormalā test recently, which most likely means they are positive
For us, it was a very anxious day waiting for our results
We usually get the PCR results quickly - the last test had a result in ļ½6 hours
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Just like that, we had a birthday cake delivered in no time, at a moment when we really just wanted meat and fresh fruit
Let them eat cake? What we really need is consistent, reliable food deliveries for basic necessities as the city struggles with significant and serious issues
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Weāre close to a month out of Covid lockdown now in Shanghai
Some things are back to normal
But as some things get back to normal, it becomes clear what things cannot get back to normal
And it becomes clear what has been lost, or is being lost in the aftermath
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Then the time came to line up and get the kids from the class
He cut the line and pushed his way to almost in front and his kid came yelling and screaming, they went out of the āin doorā above the teacherās calls to line up and go through the right door
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We donāt have an officially confirmed number, but we estimate that 70-80 people in our apartment community have tested positive and been taken to central quarantine over the past several weeks
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We are required to do Covid testing again today - itās my 99th Covid test during 2022!
For the staff administering the test, they have several large blocks of ice at their feet to help with the heat - itās 100F right now in Shanghai
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Itās autumn here in Shanghai, which means the street vendors are out with their baked sweet potatoes, - you can always smell when they are around with the wonderful sweet/smoky aroma
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And that it was a little unfair that Chinese citizens could have a child in the US who would then automatically become a US citizen
But that it helped his family already so he had no problem with a change now as long as it didnāt have an impact on his sonās status
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Covid lockdown for Shanghai Pudong was announced and implemented last Sunday night with an ending time of Friday morning, which has now passed
Are we released from lockdown? No
But are there stores open and more deliveries of food and water now available? Also no
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A lot of my China/Shanghai friends on Twitter are hesitant to keep telling their Covid/Lockdown stories because itās an āold storyā
But itās a story that needs to be told, again and again
Please keep telling these stories, they are important
Give us updates
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Itās a relatively well-off area and, like many relatively well-off areas, a lot of people have a key status symbol in Shanghai - a pet dog, or even several pet dogs
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I looked back at our testing history to confirm, this was the 12th negative test in a row.
12 negative tests in a row, Iām fully vaccinated, been under strict lockdown for the last 19 days, but still - Iām not allowed to leave and if I try they will arrest and detain me.
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Day 36 of our Shanghai Covid lockdown
Following a moment of inspiration, we started a broth/stock group in our apartment community
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Mass Covid testing again in Shanghai these days after a small outbreak
In our area, we need two negative tests within three days or else our movement will be restricted
I finally went back and counted how many tests Iāve done this year, and itās an astonishing 97!
So farā¦
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Some of the people sent to central quarantine entrusted pet dogs to neighbors but there is also a fear that pets can spread Covid so many werenāt able to, and released the dogs into the community - possibly fearing for the safety of the dogs
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Police just knocked on my door, interviewed me about recent travel, and checked all stamps in my passport.
They said #coronavirus is under control here in Shanghai and now the biggest concern is having people from high-risk countries traveling here. Amazing how fast that flipped
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18 days out of Covid lockdown in Shanghai
Things continue to move towards normal, at least for us
I took the kids to the zoo today, which was a lot of fun
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But the cat food has been harder to buy recently as the city prioritized food for people and other basic survival necessities for delivery during lockdown
At the same time, weāve been restricted from going our of our front doors into the common areas below, where the cats are
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Day 27 of our Shanghai Lockdown
From the official notice we received:
2 people in our apartment community tested positive
1 has recovered during their time in central quarantine, and has come back home for a monitoring period
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Day 42 of our Shanghai Covid Lockdown
Like most days, it was a mixture of good and bad news
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Weāve always had a lot of āownerlessā cats in our community, which are usually fed by families with small children who like to take care of them or older families
Normally, they buy a lot of dry cat food and feed groups of cats late afternoon or at night
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I asked him about Trumpās proposal to end the process of ābirth tourismā that allowed his son to become a US citizen because he was born there even though both parents are Chinese citizens
His response was essentially that he agreed with Trumpās change
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The good news for today is that deliveries of food seem to continue to improve
We got another delivery of vegetables (thanks for the good luck wishes @ktse852!)
We made oven roasted sweet potatoes (a favorite of someone watching these tweets!) with a honey and olive oil glaze
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With deliveries of food mostly back to normal in our area of Shanghai, our first big post-lockdown dinner was American Midwestern style beef enchiladas
And I came to realize that about a third of the top 10 most memorable meals of my life have happened during the past few months
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His family benefited significantly from the price increases, and if now the prices are too high, then young people missed a good moment - they would have to eat the bitterness and work hard
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For me, and my family of four, it has been a struggle
Iām on day 20 of lockdown, and have not been able to leave home during that time
We rely on deliveries exclusively for our food, and around 10 days ago started to notice that deliveries were increasingly difficult
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It was great to be outside and see some signs of things slowly getting back to how they were before
But it was also a reminder of how far we really are from normal
Weāre not allowed out tomorrow
Maybe Monday Iāll get another chance - hopefully with my kids this time
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Not at all, not even a little bit, not even once
Iāve been living in China almost two decades, and not once have I been aware of what my score is, and not once have I experienced any negative - or positive - effects about my score
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He then switched to talking about housing prices in China - apparently he owns four apartments and was frustrated about the prices tanking
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