Travelling During Covid19 Is More Chaotic Than You Think

Most people like traveling to new places because it allows them to be exposed to new places, cultures, and lets you have a more diverse perspective on the world. However, in the era of quarantine and hand sanitizers, instead of being exposed to new cultures, you’ll be exposed to the coronavirus, especially if you don’t take proper precautions.

Some families in China left the country when the news of the coronavirus was spreading to the major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc.

 

My family was one of the families that bought a flight to depart China during the surge of coronavirus cases in China. I’ve stayed in the Philippines since February. It took us eight months to get a flight back to China.

Every country has different requirements to travel back to China. In the Philippines, the Chinese officials require passengers to have all their vaccinations up to date, such as the seasonal flu vaccine, pneumonia shots, etc. A passenger in the Philippines is only allowed to take their swab test in government-approved testing centers. In the testing center, a passenger will receive a PPE package, including protective clothing, helmets, goggles, and hand sanitizers, they are required to wear and bring this until they get their luggage in China. A passenger must have a negative swab test result three days before their flight.

In the airport, if officials see small children or elderly within the family, they are automatically a priority. I thought airport security in the Philippines was already strict with officials to supervise and regulate the rules.

All passengers had to take another swab test after the flight. Most passengers had to wait for four hours waiting for a bus to take them to the hotels they were going to spend quarantine at. I’m not exactly sure what the problem was but there were a lot of passengers claiming people were cutting the line and the officers were moving the lines around, making it unclear for whose turn it was to get on the bus.

Lucy J., a junior, had a similar airport experience, “The airport experience in China was not fun, there was a lot of people in the line trying to get onto the bus and it was hard to get my luggage on the bus because there wasn’t that much space.”

On November 5, 2020, China has temporarily suspended the entry of nationals from the UK, Belgium, France, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, including visa or residence permit holders. I was fortunate enough to be back in China before the borders closed once again.