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2022-09-09
HIST30068 China’s Zero Covid Policy Story 3
Early September this year, my uncle Kun Ye went on a business trip to Xinjiang. Unfortunately, as he arrived, positive cases were starting to pop up in the region. He quarantined in the hotel for 20 days, waiting patiently, hoping the situation to improve so he can get his work done. When it got closer to October, a friend in the local government gave him a call, advising him to return to Hubei asap, otherwise it will only get harder and harder for him to go home. He took that advise and flied back to Jingmen, Hubei, it turned out to be a smart decision. By the start of October, no more flights were either going to or from Xinjiang. The whole region went into quarantine, and people was told by the local government to prepare for up to 7-10 days’ worth of food and other necessities, for the upcoming lockdown. After Uncle Kun’s arrival to Jingmen, he was told that since he just came from Xinjiang, a place with growing covid cases, he must first go to the square cabins and quarantine for a week. “Life was so bad there”, he told me: “the meals hardly had any meat.” Well, he was a meat lover. That was not the worst for him. During his isolation, cases appeared in Jingmen as well, (since they just accepted a flight from Xinjiang). A case was found in “Kailin Park”, the community which he lived, and the whole Kailin Park was locked up by blue iron walls, people can neither get in or out. With no home to return to, Uncle Kun went to our house; and since I was studying overseas in Australia, he slept in my empty room for a week. Frustrated, he told me over the phone, that “so much time was wasted last month, and nothing was done.” -
2022-10-14
HIST30068 China’s Zero Covid Policy Story 1
On Oct. 14th, my dad went to a nearby town called Huji (in Zhongxiang, Hubei province, China) where there is a factory of the company that he works for. He was supposed to stay there for a week. On the 20th, 2 Huji students and an adult tested positive. The whole Huji town quickly went into a lockdown, and all workers, 2 thousand of them, were to be quarantined right there and then. They must stay inside the factory during the restriction, which would last until cases drop to a certain point. (By the 29th of Oct, there are still no signs of any ease on the lockdown). Food wasn’t a problem, because there was a large canteen in the factory. But there was no accommodation for 2000 workers, only dorm rooms for around 400. My dad had to make quick arrangements for this. Eventually, they bought thousands of mattresses and quilts to make beddings on the floor. These were brought from nearby cities, mainly Jingmen, Jingzhou, and Xiangyang. My dad was able to leave with a friend who had permission, so he hurried back to our home in Jingmen, where he was told by his friend that all travellers from Huji must report themselves and quarantine at home. But as he planned to go to Yichang for another business trip soon, he pretended that he never knew this information. On that day when he was having lunch, he received a call from the pandemic prevention people, politely asking him about his recent travels. He told them that he will be leaving for Yichang immediately, to which they agreed. Then he dropped his chopsticks and drove to Yichang. -
2022-03-17
Working Through The Pandemic
Going through the Covid-19 pandemic is truly a test of endurance and adaptability. Wearing masks, sanitizing everything, and social distancing with the hopes these efforts help slow or help communities manage the virus was always talked about and put into action in day to day life as the new normal. I wasn’t concerned at all about the virus as I am pretty germophobic normally, always trying to sanitize my hands and surfaces that I want to involve myself with because of past experiences with being sick. When I got sick, I got sick hard, and I wasn’t about to take a chance with Covid either. However, this became an increasingly daunting task after I started working at a small mom and pop health foods store in my small town of Hilo, Hawai’i. Our clientele consists of people who don’t exactly want to cooperate with government mandates or fully believe in pharmaceutical science. Trying to be understanding of people’s beliefs and wants is one thing, but trying to be professional in spite of the outrage toward the mandates and that outrage being directed toward crew for upholding those policies is another. For the past year and a half, I have been stretched pretty thin on towing the line between being understanding and accommodating for customers and crew while also trying to maintain my own personal responsibilities and upholding local government restrictions. It is not easy to constantly hear complaints, belligerency, or contrasting opinions on the subject constantly with the added caveat of the building being an extremely small space. My solace that kept me going is the hope that this will be over at some point and not a new permanent reality. Until recently, we only had a limit of twelve (excluding crew members) allowed within the store at any given time. I was relieved when Gov. David Ige finally announced lifting restrictions and mandates on March 25th, as with high hopes we can all return to some semblance of normalcy before the new normal hit hard. The thing I look forward to the most? People not being upset at the mandatory mask policy, and crew not constantly voicing their opinions about -
2020-10-27
Finding Ways to Fill your Boredom
As I sit on my bed, debating whether or not to attempt one of the many online math assignments or to find another way to fill the empty time that is left in the day. My mom is downstairs trying to teach a first grade lesson on “Beginning, Middle, and End” of writer’s workshop. I can hear how overwhelmed she is to try and get her students to both pay attention and understand the lesson she is trying so hard to explain. My Dad is in his office slamming his keys on his keyboard as he is very loudly expressing the values of communication to one of his clients. “It is important for you to tell me or Peter when you and your wife decide to…” The many conversations that are happening between so many people in one household checks off the idea of watching TV or reading a magazine article. I can even see the annoyed look in my cat’s eyes as he sits next to me. I can tell that he definitely knows that this is not normal for both Mom and Dad to be on the phone and working at home in the middle of the day. So all I do, is just sit on my bed, finding not the most entertaining but productive ways I can fill this boredom. -
2020-08-29
The Rattler Late Night Pizza Breaks
This image was taken during The Rattler's first press weekend. Due to COVID-19 restrictions there is a no eating in the newsroom policy, and so staff now must eat outside in the hallway and maintain social distancing. This scene is typical of a late Saturday night (closer to midnight) as the staff is working to finish the upcoming paper, although now this gathering must take place in the hallway. The staff stays 6 feet apart to eat and due to only a set number of people being allowed in the newsroom at any given time some have taken camp out in the hallway to work "remotely" but still able to communicate quickly with the rest of the staff. -
2020-07-08
School openings and working parents
This story highlights the struggles of working parents during the Pandemic.Children are suffering and parents have to choose between their jobs and their children's education. Many do not have a choice due to their finances or the measures taken by their state regarding their children.By opening back up the economy the working class and poor are suffering.The federal government is less than useless in regards to helping the majority of the population and passing the buck to the state and local governments who choose the safety measures for their local population.It's a disgrace the way things are being handled. -
2020-04-30
How the pandemic changed my everyday actions.
Every day, I cook (kitchen not pictured but in the same room), work out, study, relax, and work from home all in the same room. This goes to show that even though the world is changing in huge ways during this time, every day actions such as going to the gym have had to transition into the home. Small changes like this show how we have had to adapt routines that we wouldn't normally give a second thought to. #REL101 -
2020-04-27
Michael "Cam" White
A personal account. -
2020-04-07
My office
How my learning and working environment changed due to the pandemic.