In the great tradition of authors reporting on and from global hotspots (think Hemingway or Orwell during the Spanish Civil War), this post is written on day 9 of being locked down in my Shanghai apartment compound.
After the first 7 days dominated by daily compound-wide Covid tests and being locked down inside the compound, I went outside on the compound grounds on days 8 and 9. Admittedly, the area to watch birds is fairly limited – the whole compound measures maybe 200 by 100 meters, and a fair share of it is occupied by apartment blocks and parking spaces. Still, seeing a few birds is better than seeing no birds, even though this Shanghai suburb can hardly make a claim to be a hotspot of biodiversity.
I had already seen a pair of Oriental Magpie Robins wintering in the compound. Of course, now that I wanted to get a photo, I only found the female.
Even Spotted Doves can be a target for a bird photographer, particularly when there are almost no other birds around. (There is a German saying “In der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen”, which the Google translation engine translates as “Beggars cannot be choosers” but which literally – and more interestingly – translates as “In a crisis, the devil will eat flies”)
On the other hand, I would have taken a photo of a male Daurian Redstart anywhere.
If I remember correctly, I once read something by a British birder spotting a rare Olive-backed Pipit somewhere in the UK. He marveled at the exquisite beauty of the bird. Hard for me to understand, to be honest, but then the bird is very common here in winter.
Some sorely needed comic relief came via a Japanese Tit. When I showed my wife the photo below, she asked me for the Chinese name of the bird. So I googled – usually, typing in the bird name plus “Mandarin Chinese” leads to some decent online dictionaries that include bird names.
However, not in this case. The Google search leads straight to something I honestly was not looking for.
It seems Google has a built-in smut preference. Please remind me never to look up Boobies on Google.
Fortunately, not all was lost during the lockdown. There is a saying among birders – not very well known – that if life gives you lemonade, you should take photos of Chinese Blackbird chicks. So that is what I did.
While occasionally singing, most of the time …
… the adult blackbirds are working hard …
… because the chicks are always hungry.
These blackbirds actually share the building with me, though they live outside the main walls while I live inside. Also, they live about 30 meters below me. Finally, I guess they contribute less to the upkeep of the building than me. On the other hand, they do not use the elevator.
My other function at the compound – apart from documenting the blackbird – presumably is to entertain the other residents. The compound has about 1500 residents, and to my knowledge, I am the only Western-looking person. Add to that walking around with a largish camera on a tripod, and you have all the ingredients to attract curiosity.
However, one older lady surprised me. After asking me to show her some of the blackbird photos on the camera screen, it turned out what she really wanted was to pose behind my camera, and for me to document this with her mobile phone.
She also showed me a video that she had taken of me the day before. Not much happening here, I guess.
The lockdown was announced to be for two days. Now that we are on day number 9 of the lockdown, I have sort of stopped believing any announcements about when it will end.
it’s hard time for most people, but I appreciate your humor. birding could bring us some relief, thanks to birds, and to Kai.
Fingers crossed for you that the lockdown ends soon. Thankfully you do have some feathered friends to enjoy! Keep safe…..
Thanks, Clare! Today is day 10, no end in sight yet, just more tests.
Day 12 of the lockdown. Apparently, the first positive Covid case was found within my compound. A truck driver from outside of Shanghai who – not being able to move back to his hometown – sneaked into the compound after sleeping in his truck for a few days. Meanwhile, inside the compound, somebody jumped from the 12th floor. No need for an ambulance anymore.
Day 14 of the lockdown. With a lot of insincerity, the Shanghai government announced an official lockdown for this part of Shanghai from April 1 to 5 – they do not mention that this comes right after a lockdown of (by then) 17 days for people living in compounds like me.
Saw a Black-crowned Night Heron just fly out of the compound yesterday. Wings are a clever invention.
Day 16 of the lockdown, one day before the official lockdown here in this part of Shanghai begins. The whole compound still has not had a positive test result but has been locked down all the time nevertheless. It is good the Chinese government cares so much about us. Presumably, to prevent additional suicides, the local authorities have distributed some food – vegetables and potatoes – but no much-needed beer. Ironically, the main risk for my wife and me to get infected now comes from having to go downstairs to the compound yard to get tested. Potentially positive side effect for readers of this blog: with a lot of time on my hands, I now have a nice stockpile of future posts.
Lockdown day 16, evening: I just spent some time helping the local Neighborhood Committee unloading a government food truck and distributing vegetables to the households in the compound – I have to admit I am a sucker for feeling useful. Still no beer though.
P.S. Apologies for continuously commenting on my own post, but it is a convenient way of giving an update of the situation here, and most likely nobody ever reads these comments anyway.
Sorry to hear you are still in lockdown and with no beer delivery either. Keep us all updated…..
Thanks, Clare … Here, day 17 of the lockdown, now tighter than before – we are not allowed to leave our apartments anymore, except for covid tests. I have run out of my favorite beer brands and am now reduced to – of all possible brands – drinking Corona. No lemons in the house either. Human suffering.
Germans deprived of access to their favorite beers. Life in China has really become very harsh… 🙂
I, who live in the land that bears the responsibility for Corona beer, apologize to you. And to all.
Paul, if it helps, the year I was studying at Berkeley, I actually drank Corona regularly as it is still far better than the mainstream US beers. I am still waiting for apologies from Mr. Miller and Mr. Budweiser.
Lockdown day 19. Now that the Western part of Shanghai has also been comprehensively tested, case numbers have risen substantially. Also, there are rumors that both the testing itself and the distribution of vegetables has contributed to spreading the virus – of course, I will not mention these rumors here, as this in itself could be illegal in China. While officially the lockdown for this part of the city will end in two days, nobody really believes to be free again then. The solution the authorities used for the Eastern part of Shanghai was the following: They grouped all areas into three risk categories, of which only the lowest allows freedom of movement. And then they simply did not assign this lowest risk category to a single district or area.
Lockdown day 20. Another test announced for today. Last night, a large number of military airplanes flew over our compound and landed at Hongqiao airport. Reportedly, the central government has sent in the army to get the situation in Shanghai under control. I guess that should make me feel safer but it seems more like a siege.
Lockdown day 21. A positive covid test occurred in our compound, though fortunately not in our building. According to the current policy, this means we will be locked into our apartments for another 7 days and then into our compound for another 7 days. But of course, this does not mean at all that we are free afterward. Very worried about my cats, as it is not at all clear what would happen to them should they put my wife and me into quarantine.
Oh Mann, Kai! Schwer, etwas sinnvolles zu sagen. Selbst “halte die Ohren steif” würde fast schon zynisch klingen. Dir, deiner Familie und den Katzen auf jeden Fall alles erdenklich Gute und viel Kraft.
As someone whose birding experience in Asia is essentially restricted to birding Indonesia, mostly Java, at the height of the songbird crisis, I can attest to the Oriental Magpie Robin being an outrageously rare and amazing species! Reading about it visiting your compound to me feels like reading a post from a Louisiana backyard owner nonchalantly showing pictures of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers visiting his peanut feeders.
Hang in there, all the very best and may the birds be with you.
Today no lockdown log? Got used to it or already in delirium tremens due to lack of beer? 🙂
We could prioritize with the consulate and ask for candy, no, BEER bomber support.
Whoever thought that IPA could be improved with a shot of citrus?
Lockdown day 22. Thanks for the comments and personal emails! Here, more cases, more tests … and no progress. The policy here now seems to be to lock up those who have covid (in hospitals), those who are suspected of having covid (in quarantine centers), and those who do not have covid (in their apartments). Still, this is not working as the number of cases keeps increasing. Shanghai apparently now has accommodation for 70,000 patients … At the same time, the official death toll from covid in Shanghai in the last few weeks is still zero. Very hard to make sense of all this.
Lockdown day 22, evening. They put some local dog owner into quarantine in Shanghai and in the process just killed his dog. This is not a civilized country.
Lockdown day 23. Case number still increasing. Still too numb from what I learned yesterday to write much.
Fingers crossed you, your family and the cats will get through this mess healthy and alive!
Lockdown day 24. One of my cats – the unfortunately named Doggie – does not eat anymore. No way to take him to a vet given the lockdown. To be fair, very likely it is a kidney problem that the doctor would not be able to do anything about anyway. Still, it sucks not to even be able to try and help Doggie apart from giving him daily subcutaneous infusions.
Your photos are stunning, even from lockdown. The Daurian Redstart is my favorite! I’m so sorry to learn of your horrible experience in lockdown. Your cats must bring you and your wife a lot of comfort (I have two sweet indoor cats). It’s good to know that you can look out your window and see beautiful birds to remind you of the beauty in the world. Take care!
Lockdown day 25. Officially, there were 22,609 asymptomatic and 1,015 symptomatic new covid cases yesterday. All the symptomatic cases were classified as mild. It is hard to see this as justification to lock down 26 million people, given that many of them suffer not only from birdwatching withdrawal symptoms but also from economic losses and lack of treatment for other medical issues.
Lockdown day 26. The most optimistic scenario described by the city government now sees an end of the lockdown in early May.
If you have ever considered keeping a bird in a cage, maybe you should go through an extended lockdown first, see whether you like it.
I am no more superstitious than the next person, but somehow I feel it may be a bad sign that they now put up a tent at the exit of our compound, right where the cars used to drive out …
Lockdown day 27. With case numbers still increasing, it is hard to see when and how this will ever end. On the plus side: Saw two Eurasian Tree Sparrows feeding on some seeds I had put on our open balcony.
Lockdown day 28. Mixed news. The number of reported new cases is slightly down from yesterday – though nobody knows whether these figures are true. The government announced that they will allow more food deliveries – while at the same time my orders get canceled, even those already accepted earlier – maybe I live in a slightly different reality. The severity of the situation is best illustrated by the fact that I have only 11 beers left, plus about 30 of the alcohol-free variety that I should have never bought in the first place. Starting to wonder whether they can be turned into something similar to real beer by adding the right amount of vodka. Then, my chemical background will not have been in vain.
Lockdown day 29. Number of beers left: 9. Number of covid cases in Shanghai is increasing again. My wife is happy as the neighbors apparently bought too much yogurt and are offering to sell us some.
Gosh, it reminds me of the harshest of lockdowns here, at the times when I still called them police curfew… But the birds are getting more active? Perhaps you could improvise your own brewery? Or a distillery?
Lockdown day 30. Beers left: 7, dangerously close to the point where the red warning lights of the fridge start flashing. Case numbers in Shanghai still increasing. Heavy rain here yesterday – some of the quarantine centers were found to have leaking roofs, with water pouring in. Of course, the same people who complained about this complained about the lack of water in these centers earlier. Some people are never happy.
Thanks for the update on the continued lockdown. Let’s see how long it will take until wild life will reclaim the streets of Shanghai again. Currently imagining tumbleweed in the streets of Shanghai… 🙂
Lockdown day 31. Case numbers are developing in a weird way – many more symptomatic cases, fewer asymptomatic ones. Of course, it is impossible for me to say whether this is a real phenomenon or something related to changed definitions. The hardest thing for me at the moment is to live with a dying cat – he is clearly suffering and there is nothing I can do except give him some infusions.
Apparently, the frozen chicken that every household in our compound received yesterday was donated by Anhui province. Given that Shanghai’s GDP per person is more than double that of Anhui, that is quite telling.
Lockdown day 32. Case numbers are rising again, particularly symptomatic ones – no end in sight. Apparently, the American Chamber of Commerce assumes that Shanghai will be more or less under lockdown until mid-May … Of course, this clashes with other, more positive information from elsewhere – but it is hard to trust any government statements any longer, as they have been proven wrong so often now.
I guess you are all getting to spend quality time together. What is going on with your cat?
Living with a sick and obviously suffering cat without being able to help him in any way is very disheartening. Not recommended.
Desperate times call for desperate measures…
Lockdown day 33. Beers left: 2. Some of my wife’s friends congratulate her for successfully ordering some snack food online – not what we really need but nothing else seems to be available … Case numbers are more or less unchanged … my cat Doggie is still suffering, I hope he will die soon.
Lockdown day 34. Beers left: zero. Spotted a Spotted Dove on my balcony – birdwatching light. There are rumors that the situation will improve from Wednesday but then again, the lockdown originally was announced to take 2 days, so my trust in any information is limited.
Lockdown day 35. Asymptomatic case numbers are a bit down, symptomatic ones a bit up. More rumors about an opening, not because Covid is defeated but because the economy is suffering too much. Of course, this will probably require some redefinition of what Covid is.
Citizen science update: Preparing proper beer from non-alcoholic beer and vodka is possible, but the result is not very satisfying. I think there still is a market niche for a better non-alcoholic beer.
Stopped giving Doggie his infusions – I hope it will be over for him soon.
Doggie died in the afternoon. We finally found a vet who is still open, and a delivery guy willing to take Doggie there (as we are not allowed to leave our compound). Sadly, the vet said that Doggie had only a few painful days to live, so I asked him to kill Doggie. A sad day.
Sorry for your loss – but it was the right decision. Just a pity that you could not accompany Doggie to ease his last journey…
Lockdown day 36. As always, the government claims that the turnaround is just a few days away – a statement that sounds strangely hollow when you hear it for weeks and weeks. For today, Shanghai had a target of zero covid, though it will be very hard to align this objective with the 18901 cases observed yesterday.
Lockdown day 37. While parts of the Western media report (from far away, I guess) that the lockdown is being partially lifted, there is no sign of that here at my compound. The number of daily new cases dropped by 2% from Tuesday to Wednesday – hardly an indication that much progress is being made as the daily case number is still more than 18,000.
On the positive side, my wife managed to order some beer for me. With only 2.9% alcohol, it is useless as a disinfectant, so I guess I will just drink it.
The number of Covid cases outside of quarantined areas has risen from 390 on Tuesday to 441 on Wednesday. Given that the government target for Wednesday was to have zero such cases, it seems fair to say that the target has not been met.
Lockdown day 38. On the first day of this lockdown (Mar 16 in this compound), they said it would last two days. This lockdown then lasted until on April 1, they announced the next lockdown – this time for 4 days. Then on April 7 (again without the previous lockdown having been lifted), they promised an opening for April 21. Of course, nothing has been lifted as of this morning, April 22. As the American Chamber of Commerce apparently put it in a phone call with members, “Trust in Government is the real social topic, and it is what could really change in future”. Not very surprising.
It reminds me of the old joke about fusion power: It is 30 years away and always will be.
Lockdown day 39. Small victories – my wife got hold of a lot of yoghurt. We will need it – with 218 covid cases outside of quarantined areas, the government goal of zero dynamic covid (which was to be achieved last Wednesday) is still quite a way off.
On the positive side, the local government sends encouraging messages such as
“Li Qiang, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, pointed out today (April 22) when inspecting the supply of living materials and the epidemic prevention and control work in colleges and universities that it is necessary to resolutely implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions, adhere to the general policy of “dynamic clearing”, and keep an eye on the society. The goal of clearing the target is not slack, and the belief in victory will be firm. Resolutely win the tough battle of epidemic prevention and control.”
(machine translation of original government announcement).
There is one joke here among the locals:
During the current war between Russia and Ukraine, which city has the biggest problems with food shortages?
The answer of course being “Shanghai”.
Lockdown day 40. The number of covid cases outside of quarantine – the main parameter of the government-propagated “dynamic zero covid policy” – has increased again from yesterday. As usual, the government reaction will probably be to tighten the policy further.
Lockdown day 41. No substantial changes in case numbers. The number of deaths has increased substantially, though – 39 yesterday from a previous high of 12. Nobody really knows whether these figures are correct anyway. In any case, given that statistically speaking, about 900 people die in Shanghai every day, they are still low.
Running out of more things: Cheese, wet cat food, cereal. But got more beer. First things first.
Lockdown day 42. The number of covid cases is roughly constant while the number of daily deaths has increased to about 50.
I had a dream last night that somehow I ended up outside of my compound and was wondering how to get in again without being seen (which would have meant some form of forced quarantine or other). I guess some sort of Stockholm syndrome is next.
My wife just told me that some delivery arrived. Excitedly, I asked what it was. Facial cream was the disappointing answer …
Lockdown day 43. Though covid cases outside of quarantined areas are slightly down in Shanghai, there are more cases in Beijing now – I am not quite sure what this shift in government attention will mean for Shanghai residents.
On the news, you may have seen individual houses or compounds being fenced in here. A Chinese friend of mine joked that the mayor of Shanghai must have been a zoo director before …
Lockdown day 44. Case numbers, numbers of deaths, etc. The Economist reports how much more relaxed the people in Beijing are about the imposed lockdowns there, compared to the people in Shanghai. Not that I feel they are that rebellious here …
I have been able to get outside (though still inside my compound) for the last few days and have even taken a few photos. So, I might even be able to provide a birding blog post for Shanghai for April that does not only consist of KFC contributions …
Lockdown day 45. Lots of new symptomatic cases among quarantined people, fewer cases outside of quarantined areas. If I trusted the figures, I would think the covid policy might be working.
I like the term “Cognitive Dissonance” with its highbrow hint at the difficulties of reconciling basic emotions and thoughts with a rational worldview (usually at the expense of the latter). Here in Shanghai, the media is telling me that the situation is improving – there are more deliveries, more restaurants open, more non-quarantined areas … In reality, I have not seen any change for my compound at all despite there not being any covid cases. This is a real dissonance, not a cognitive one.
According to a channelnewsasia web entry today, Shanghai “has cautiously lifted some restrictions on residential areas that have gone two weeks without a positive case”.
“The city classifies each housing unit according to three levels of risk, designating those that have not seen a COVID-19 positive case for 14 days as ‘prevention zones’, allowing residents to go out for ‘appropriate’ activities.”
Strange that I live in a compound where there has not been any case for three weeks, and still we are not allowed to go out, neither for appropriate nor for inappropriate activities.
It seems it is easier for news agencies such as channelnewsasia to just believe and copy government statements instead of doing their own research on the actual situation.
(Quotations from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/more-12-million-shanghai-can-leave-home-covid-19-risk-ebbs-2655086)
Lockdown day 46. According to my calculation based on the official figures, there were no new covid cases outside of quarantined areas yesterday – a rather suspicious change after the more than 100 such cases every day in the past two weeks. What adds to the suspicion is that the government does not seem to officially mention achieving zero covid – probably because this would only focus further attention on these doubtful figures.
On the positive side, once the government can claim that covid has been conquered (whether true or not), they have to gradually lift restrictions, don’t they?
Just 4 days to reach 50 – half way to three digit… 🙂
When lockdown is over in some years, then you will be like an absolute yogi master having practiced asceticism for many years.
Lockdown day 47. Second day of zero covid outside quarantined areas, at least according to the official figures. And those are the more important ones, as they give an indication of government action, rather than the (unknown) real figures …
The first of my online orders (of about 70 that have remained unfilled for the past 3 or 4 weeks) got through yesterday. It seems I went a bit overboard there but sooner or later, even 48 liters of milk will be used up.
Lockdown day 48. Covid cases outside of quarantined areas have shot up again, so still no end in sight. Got more beer though.
Still strange how the foreign media buys the story of the lockdown being loosened. One of my German friends working in Shanghai was asked by his German HQ why he is still working from home. The reason is simple – he is not allowed to leave his compound. But that is not the impression people in Germany get from the media.
On the funny side, apparently in some neighborhoods, the Shanghai government is using drones to tell people to refrain from singing on their balconies as a form of protest. These drones have loudspeakers delivering the message “Please comply with COVID restrictions. Control your soul’s desire for freedom. Do not open the window or sing.”
Lockdown day 49. Covid cases outside quarantined areas are still on the increase. Posted a pathetic entry on birding Shanghai in April today – of course, not much to write about. But we finally got bread again yesterday – not real bread (which would not have sugar as a main ingredient) but better than nothing. Also, more vegetables than we can eat.
Lockdown day 50 – does that mean I get a little pin from the government, to celebrate, like at AA meetings? The figures are basically unchanged.
Ironically, people in my compound are now complaining about too many vegetables – it seems that the government is supplying so much now that everybody has stockpiles. I do not particularly like vegetables in the first place, so I do not really care either way.
50 days lockdown – think that is slowly world record – enough time to raise chicken to have more meat. Would that be an option? Then you can have roasted chicken to celebrate the 100 later on… 🙂
Lockdown day 51. Case numbers still have not changed much. Most likely I will miss the entire spring migration.
Lockdown day 52. No covid cases outside of quarantined areas yesterday – a brief flicker of hope that I am sure will be squashed again soon. Meanwhile – sitting at home and looking at older bird photos – more and more future targets get added to my wish list.
China will surely win the war against COVID-19 with its scientific and effective epidemic control policy that will stand the test of time, according to a meeting of the top leadership on Thursday.
The meeting stressed the importance of unswervingly adhering to the dynamic zero-COVID policy and resolutely fighting any attempts to distort, question or dismiss China’s anti-COVID policy.
COVID-19 control is at a crucial stage, the meeting said, calling on Party committees and governments at all levels to remain confident and promote the spirit of struggle to build a strong defense against the pandemic.
(source: https://english.news.cn/20220505/2f465bfc1a5a425bbb4a1d2ec7c63fde/c.html)
Lockdown day 53. After a brief moment of hope for freedom (no deaths outside of quarantined areas yesterday), we are back to normal again – more new cases. And given the government’s attitude towards covid, this means the lockdown continues. To quote the government again: “China will surely win the war against COVID-19 with its scientific and effective epidemic control policy that will stand the test of time”.
Lockdown day 54. As you can imagine, it is getting harder and harder to write anything interesting. Kind of being stuck in a low-budget business lounge forever. While media reports still state that the situation is improving, some of my friends report a tightening in their districts. And some of the videos posted online are scary. On the plus side, once this is over, I will probably have written enough blog posts to last until the end of the year. Might make for slightly gloomy reading though.
While the lockdown here is tightening again, the Global Times – a propaganda paper – reports the following:
“Shanghai residents are seeing the tunnel light after being locked down for more than a month, while the city’s strict pandemic control measures buy time for more vaccinations and bringing down elderly fatalities, local medical experts including Zhang Wenhong, head of the infectious disease department at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, said in a latest co-authored thesis published in The Lancet.”
Makes you wonder about the standards of The Lancet.
Sounds like politicians are stuck in a dead end. Even if they manage to win, what will that mean? The country will stay isolated until the end of times?
That policy is as realistic as eradicating flu or mosquitoes…
Lockdown day 55. Currently, some rumors state that the lockdown will continue at least until the end of May. That would make it 77 days in total for me – quite a bit longer than the Wuhan lockdown, which was 67 days. I will be so proud to be one of the record holders.
Lockdown day 56. Sorry, no bird news whatsoever.
Last Thursday, Xi Jinping said the following regarding the government’s Covid policy: “We will resolutely struggle against all words and deeds that distort, doubt and deny our epidemic prevention policies.”
It makes me feel good that Xi knows the truth and is willing to defend it from its distractors.
Lockdown day 57. Some people living in Shanghai’s coastal suburbs report some nice migrants – nothing like that here, unfortunately.
The Western media has caught up a bit with the exaggerated local news about a less restrictive lockdown. The Economist writes “Shanghai’s covid-19 lockdown is not even close to over –
Don’t believe what you read in the papers”.
In fact, getting deliveries is getting worse again. I always have a short list in my mind of things we will run out next.
Lockdown day 58. The local media seems to try to prepare people that the lockdown will last until June 08, another 27 days … Found some breeding tree sparrows in the compound. Small pleasures.
Lockdown day 59. A slight increase in the number of positive cases again in Shanghai in combination with the absolute conviction of the central government of doing things right mean the lockdown will continue for a while. I guess the spring migration is almost over anyway.
Lockdown day 60. Yesterday, according to official figures, one person died of covid in Shanghai while one person got infected outside of quarantine areas. At the same time, taking a statistical average, about 900 people died in Shanghai on non-covid reasons. I tried to work on another blog post yesterday but maybe I have run out of ideas or motivation.
Lockdown day 61. Case numbers are relatively low, but not low enough to give us freedom. The fact that China handed back the rights to the 2023 Asia cup due to Covid concerns is not exactly an indication of confidence in handling the virus better in the longer term. On the plus side, I got hold of a delivery of Bulgarian beer. On the negative side, it does not taste that great. The classic “the glass is half full with beer, but it is Bulgarian beer” kind of situation. As for bird related activities, did not really see any yesterday but started working on another blog post. Something like a self-help book for European Bee-eaters. Not exactly bestseller material, but it keeps me going to the fridge (with the Bulgarian beer) too frequently.
Lockdown day 62. Cases are still low, press announcements still state that the lockdown is becoming less restrictive, there are still no changes with regard to my compound. No surprises. A hoopoe briefly joined be in my compound flying in from the free world, then left again – I can see its point.
Lockdown day 63. The city government releases some plans to gradually loosen the lockdown – as usual, it is relatively detailed and strict for the next few days and then gets fuzzier and more and more relaxed as the timeline reaches eternity. No change, in a word – except the knowledge that at least for the next few days, nothing will change.
Somehow the Chinese press and government seems to think that if people like me read that they are free to leave their compounds, they will feel freer even if – as in my and most other cases – they are not actually free to leave. Maybe if I had a stronger belief in the government, I could convince myself that my own experience is wrong.
The way the Shanghainese joke about this is “You can leave the compound through the news, you cannot leave the compound through the gate”.
At least some wet cat food finally arrived yesterday – ordered March 18, delivered May 16. Now I can look my cats in the eyes again when seeing them in the morning.
Lockdown day 64. A neighbor claimed last night that we will be let out today but so far the gate is still closed. Maybe my eyes are failing me.
Lockdown day 65. Another test – probably approximately the 30th since the beginning of the lockdown, not counting the daily self-tests. Not that never having a positive test ever had any benefits though.
Watching the nest of white-rumped munia every day but am not sure they are still using it. Maybe they lost interest in procreation at some point.
Lockdown day 66 – or the first day of “freedom”? You decide: From today on, every household can have one person go out for 4 hours (either in the morning or in the afternoon, you have to decide this in advance) every two days. So, if like me, you live with one other person, you can leave the compound for 4 hours every 4 days. Sort of reminiscent to the one hour of exercise per day you probably get in most jails.
I used up my 4-day-quota this morning. However, the parks are all still closed, and movement is in my case resticted to around 1-2 km from my compound. So, for birding, it is pretty useless. But of course I am very grateful for the government giving me at least one hour of freedom every day.
Lockdown day 67. Equalized the record set in Wuhan. Congratulations, flowers, etc. are pouring in.
Lockdown day 68. Restrictions have already been tighened a bit again – nobody can leave the compound today, instead, another round of tests. Not very logical given the improving case figures, but who knows whether the authorities themselves trust these figures … Found two Oriental Magpie-robin chicks yesterday, quietly sitting on a well-hidden tree branch and waiting patiently for the parents to feed them.
Lockdown day 69. The delivery situation is still confusing – I have about 50 open orders, and every other day or so one of them arrives. In combination with my increasing paranoia about running out of things, this means that I did not get any beer for the last two weeks but 18 bars of soap arrived yesterday. No new birds …
Lockdown day 70. A brief respite – I was let out for a few hours in the morning. Not possible to go far, but I sneaked into a park and saw a few birds including Red-billed Starling, Eurasian Hoopoe and some juvenile Long-tailed Shrikes.
Lockdown over or just ran out of patience?
This lockdown will never end, it seems … just not that much to report.
Lockdown day 71. One new case detected yesterday outside of the quarantined areas – unfortunately, quite close to my apartment. That could be really bad news for me.
A bit after I posted the above, a neighbor sent me a message: “the hospital posted a statement on line late last night there us no positive case in the hospital and it was merely a mistake. I don’t know what happened and where the case was noticed”
I guess it is best to conclude that nobody knows anything ever.
Sounds bad. I recommend virtual reality (although that could be also affected by viruses)…. 🙂
Came back from traveling Scandinavia; just counted two face masks in total and the rest was pretty much business as usual. No restrictions, no limitations but people still a bit cautious. In general it looks like Europe has overcome COVID-19, just stubborn Germans will need some time to let go their German Angst and also drop the masks – we’re ready for summer time.
Lockdown day 72. Just came back from another test downstairs. The next thing I will run out of very soon is the sticky paper one uses to remove cat hair from clothes. With 12 cats currently shedding their winter fur in my apartment, my clothes will probably be completely covered in cat hair only a few hours after this paper is gone.
Lockdown day 73. Case numbers improving slightly. A few more courier deliveries of random non-essential items get through the blockade. Some talks of schools starting to open again on June 06, but I will only believe it once that day arrives and I see kids actually going to school (rather than just me reading about it in the media).
A little jubilee – this is comment number 100. This could easily be mistaken as a sign of this post being popular – in reality, about 95% of all comments were made by myself. This sounds a bit like a made-up Oscar Wilde quotation: “Oneself is always one’s best audience”.
Lockdown day 74. It seems I will be allowed out of the compound for a few hours today – the third time during the lockdown so far. But I can only be sure of this once I have actually passed the gates and the tests … there might always be a new rule preventing me from actually getting out.
Actually, I was allowed to go out and saw not only a Black-naped Oriole but also a Fairy Pitta, though I did not get any photos of either.
Lockdown day 75. Case numbers in Shanghai are still declining – about 122 new cases yesterday, only one of which was outside of quarantined areas. A remarkable victory for Xi Jinping thought. Ideological purity can defeat any virus.
There is another test announced for tomorrow (May 30th), and several of my contacts have been told to go back to work on June 1st. That is if there are no new cases.
Lockdown day 77 (!). I realized that the lockdown is already one day longer than I thought – it seems I did not try to leave the compound on Mar 15, when the lockdown was already in place, so I noticed only on Mar 16, when I was prevented from going out for birding very early in the morning.
Supposedly, today will be the last test and tomorrow the last day of the lockdown. I will believe this the moment I am actually being let out of the compound.
Lockdown day 78. This is supposedly the last day of the lockdown – just when supplies of beer and cat food start arriving. Hopefully, this was also the last of my comments on this post.
Ok, I promised not to add any more comments, but just a quick notice that today is the second day of freedom (within Shanghai), and of course the second day I went out birding.
Congrats – time to start a Lessons Learned project to be better prepared for the next lockdown.
More canned food, especially more beer, setting up Fifo to better control stocks etc. 🙂
Enjoy freedom as long as it lasts…