It’s easy to think sometimes that all the bad things always happen to you. Especially when you’re locked up in a hotel room, for example. However, if you take another look, you’ll usually find some other people who are worse off. On the other hand, there are also people who complain about nothing. That’s especially annoying.
This is what I was thinking when I was quarantining in China a few weeks ago after spending some wonderful time with my family in Thailand. I ended up in a quarantine hotel in Guangzhou because there weren’t any direct flights to Kunming. And all passengers must quarantine in the city where they enter China.
So, I sat in this room, which was getting dirtier and dirtier because it wasn’t cleaned for the entire two weeks. After a quick (highly chlorinated) shower, with a sore nose after the latest Covid test (six times in each nostril twice a day for two days in a row). I was sitting on the edge of one of my two single beds (giving me the luxury to swap beds for some fresh bed linen after a week).
And while I was sitting there, I thought back to some of the Olympic athletes who said they were having such a hard time when they had to quarantine in Japan. They were allowed to leave their rooms for breakfast and lunch. And if I’m not mistaken, their rooms were cleaned as well.
Or the Israeli who had to stay at home for two weeks upon his return to Israel and called this a (minor) nightmare. And I thought, what are they complaining about? I’ve got to be honest of course and admit that there are still people who are worse off than I was. People having to quarantine for three weeks instead of two. And in some cases, plus a week of self-quarantining at home. Or people who happen to live in the neighbourhood that was completely fenced off as soon as a few Covid-19 cases were detected.
So, all in all, I can’t complain. I could leave my hotel room after two weeks and flew to Kunming ‘Covid Class’.
It will probably be a while before ‘Living with Covid’ becomes a reality here…
Cok Harteveld,
General manager Van den Berg Roses, China
