Don’t Travel to Asia
The new virus pandemic is leaving bodies in its wake
I’ve been an expat in many countries for the last 10 years. During this time, I’ve seen a lot of events and disasters that have shaped how I travel.
Whether it be natural disasters or shifts in politics, it feels like travelers are always having to react to the latest “situation”.
Because there are always so many “situations” across the world, it can often feel like the newest one is being overblown.
I remember when the Ebola crisis wound down, there was a lot of criticism at the media and government for overblowing the situation for ratings and political points.
We’ve become cynical, and because of this, many people aren’t taking the flu pandemic in Asia as seriously as they should be.
So from a fellow expat living in China I’d like to say to my fellow travelers —
Stay away guys. This one is for real.
How I’m affected
I wrote a story yesterday about how I was expecting a call from my boss who would confirm to me that everything is terrible.
I’m a teacher, so my job relies on kids feeling safe enough to leave their house and sit in a room with a group of other kids and learn.
The call came, and it was confirmed that things are indeed terrible. She informed me of the 2003 government enforced company shutdowns because of SARS. Back then, companies such as ours buckled after months of being forced into inaction.
Our company is an education company that supplies schools and learning centers with teachers, and we actually own a learning center ourselves.
The Chinese government has banned any center from opening until the end of February, with a warning that this date could be pushed back further.
Already in Wuhan the school semester (which was due to begin in mid-February) has been pushed back at least a month. The government has warned other cities (including Shanghai) that we also may be asked to do the same.
Once this happens, education companies (the biggest employers of expats in the country) will start laying people off to stay afloat.
Reports
This virus is being compared to the SARS virus, because the symptoms are similar, and because it also posed a significant threat to China at the time.
However the SARS virus was relatively contained within China, and didn’t spread far from its borders.
According to virologist Guan Yi who was interviewed by The Washington Post, this virus could conservatively be 10x worse than the SARS virus outbreak.
This is because we have passed the “golden period” for prevention and control. This virus has already been spread across the world, and has infected more people. It’s also a lot less likely to be stopped in a timely fashion.
Local officials here in Shanghai are warning businesses that the virus could worsen a lot by March and not be eradicated until June or beyond.
Travel bans were initiated days ago, and crowd bans are going into effect now. Schools, restaurants, bars and theaters have all been affected. Many businesses are likely to go under before this situation is resolved.
What about the expats?
To the expats who have been cut off from their revenue source and don’t want to leave, I say we must adapt.
It’s now time to write and sell online courses to replace the ones you were previously giving in classrooms. Have a look into Zoom, it’s an app that teachers are already using to host classes from across the world.
Parents in China that were previously adverse to online classes will now be a lot more open to it. We’ve got to eat right?
Stay safe out there everyone
This story is published in Writers on the Run. If you’re interested in submitting your travel stories please visit our submission guidelines.
