A year of reading with mothers in London during the epidemic

I am a new immigrant. I arrived in London in the second half of 2018 and started a separate study life. 2018 and 2019 are both adaptation periods for my children and I. From the initial time of looking for a school, renting a house and other details of life, to the smooth passage of the 11th grade exam in 2019, it is a normal step by step. Accompany study life. When I got a junior high school offer from my favorite school in early 2020, I felt that there should be nothing to worry about except the need to relocate during the summer vacation. I never expected that 2020 would be so magical.

At the beginning, I heard that there was pneumonia at the end of 2019. During the New Year’s Eve, there was no sign of human-to-human transmission. However, since the closure of Wuhan on January 23, I suddenly felt nervous all of a sudden. , SOS messages are everywhere on the Internet, everyone in the WeChat group donated together, and organized anti-epidemic materials to be delivered to the hospital point-to-point. From the end of January to February, China has always been the epicenter, and the focus is on diagnosis, isolation, and treatment, and many people have gone abroad to avoid the epidemic. On January 31, a British chartered flight evacuated overseas Chinese from Wuhan. After arriving, they were quarantined at Arrow Park Hospital in Wirral District for two weeks. The driver in the news photo did not wear a mask, and the accompanying medical staff were repackaged like aliens. Fully armed to the feet, the impact of the contrast is quite strong.

When the domestic and local epidemic control system was formed and the epidemic was brought under control, I found that London, where I was located, had become a new epicenter. On March 12, the British cabinet held an emergency meeting and decided that the anti-epidemic action will be delayed from the first stage of blocking prevention to the second stage. New measures were announced: those with symptoms of fever and persistent cough will self-isolate at home for a week, all overseas trips organized by schools will be canceled, and seniors with pre-existing conditions are not advised to take cruise ships. Johnson said at the press conference that the new crown epidemic is the most serious public health crisis in a generation, and the epidemic will continue to spread. "Frankly, more families will lose loved ones." This sentence gave me a shock at that time. It is very large, and you can feel the shadow of death. On the same day, the number of confirmed infections in the UK approached 600, 10 people died, and nearly 30,000 people were tested for the virus. Patrick Valens, the government's chief scientific adviser, believes the number of infections should be between 5,000 and 10,000. On March 14, the United States suspended all flights between the United States and the United Kingdom and Ireland. On March 20, schools were closed, bars and restaurants were closed, and home quarantine was required on March 23. On that day, the number of confirmed virus infections in the United Kingdom exceeded 6,650, and the death toll rose to 335 people. It is believed that the actual number of infections will be between 35,000 and 50,000. More and more countries have begun to close down and ban flights. On March 28, the British Prime Minister, Prince Charles, the Minister of Health and the Chief Medical Officer were infected one after another.

The fear of unknown things and worries about life and health caused me to be the most haggard and chaotic. I began to think about whether to return to China. At that time, there were still flights from Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, and the requirement was to isolate at home for 14 days. The children are still in class, and the aggregated information judges that this is likely to be a long-term battle, and there is no escape from going back. After all, I have to go back to school, so I decided to stay put. Throughout March, the news was intensively changed, and the intensity of the information received was extremely high. I felt like I woke up every day and started to use my mobile phone until I went to bed at night. Those who were planning to return to China discussed how to buy tickets, how to charter flights, how to buy aircraft equipment, how to isolation. Staying in place and discussing the symptoms of the new crown, the treatment plan, how to stock up, how to mail masks and medicines from China, etc., the toilet paper and noodles in the supermarket have been sold out, and the shelves are empty. It has become world news.

Just this month, I have added countless friends and local Chinese people in London. I came to London for a year and a half before, and I know no more than 3 Chinese people, including WeChat, and I usually dive in the mother group to see what they have learned about parenting. Category. As a result, this month, each group has been very active. It seems that the barrier between Chinese people who used to eat in different places was suddenly broken because of the epidemic. Everyone discussed and shared together. If there are questions or difficulties in the group, there will be enthusiasm immediately. The feeling of empathy from people who respond to help is beyond words.

The same is true for the contact of local people in the UK. Many regional mutual help groups have been set up on the Neighbors.com. Walk the dog and chat. Even on a small street where I live, about 30 households have set up a group. If there is a shortage of onions, eggs, etc., if you shout in the group, someone will respond, saying that they will put you on the doorstep. Due to the sharp increase in online shopping demand, the delivery time of large supermarkets is very tight, and it is difficult to make an appointment. It happens that there is a restaurant business in the neighbor group, and the list of suppliers is recommended. The neighbors in our small street are basically Order a vegetable box once a week. Thursday was also a happy pizza day, because it happened that a restaurant with a neighbor who knew each other had specials. The neighbor was in charge of ordering takeaways and delivering them to the door. Everyone worked for NHS medical staff, volunteers and the front line at night. After expressing their gratitude and applauding, they said hello from a distance, and went home to eat pizza. During the first blockade period, I basically never went to the supermarket. In addition to online shopping, I bought food from the Indian store in front of my house. At the end of the blockade period, the photo of the family in the Indian store was published in local magazines. There was an article In the interview, everyone thanked them very much for their help to the people in the area by opening the store as usual during the epidemic. Some of our neighbors specially printed the photos and gave them a beautiful frame to express their gratitude.

During this period of time, the children are taking online classes at home. I think he is the most unaffected and the one who has not felt the changes. The age at which he seems to understand and does not understand, the greatest joy is to connect with friends to play games every day, and chat on the phone has become a Routine, and I'm going crazy with three meals a day and playing football with me. Finally, on June 1st, as the graduating class of primary school, the children became the first batch of students who could return to school, but the school cafeteria was closed, so they needed to eat breakfast and bring their own lunch at home. When I asked him what had changed in the school after returning to school, he said that the school was divided into two halves, half of which were their sixth-grade children, and the other half were their first-grade children. Everyone belonged to different bubbles, and they could not visit and eat at noon. At times, they will be taken to the grass next to the school. Basically, the lunches brought by the children are cold sandwiches, and they don’t change much.

On June 15th, the first round of the 84-day blockade ended. I took my children to get a haircut. I also started a new task of moving house and house inspection. On this day, the United Kingdom stipulated that all passengers taking public transport must wear masks, yes, It was from this day that masks became standard. I didn't know if it was because I was afraid of running on medical resources, and I never advocated wearing masks. In the first half of the year, there was always a popular science video on the BBC epidemic page, saying that it could not prove that masks can effectively stop the epidemic. The virus, the British people's previous concept is that the only reason to wear a mask is to get sick, not to prevent getting sick.

In June, the focus was on property inspections. I looked at 3 suites before and after, and signed a lease agreement with one that was closer to the new school. I also decided that I would not return to China during the summer vacation. The cost was too high. Renminbi, I have to go through two isolations, plus the UK has to move, so I just have to toss my husband alone. The air ticket is still a good buy. My husband flew to London and stayed at home for 14 days. After the quarantine period ended, I started to move.

July is a month of physical labor. Because there is no furniture in the new home, I need to re-buy all the furniture, not to mention buying the furniture. I have been busy for a week just to install the furniture. I slept on the bed, and my hands were broken several times because of screwing. I fully experienced the joy and pain of IKEA furniture.

August is still a leisure month. The main thing is to get familiar with the surrounding environment, see what parks and shopping places can be reached on foot, and bring the children to familiarize themselves with the route of cycling. There is no single lane in London. Bicycles and cars are in one lane. The road is still very narrow, and it is generally a two-way one-lane. Buying school uniforms has also become a headache. Because the epidemic only provides online shopping services, it is difficult to grasp the size of children. The suit jacket purchased online for the first time is too large, and the rainproof storm jacket is too small. This is the first time I have experienced online shopping for all school uniforms. The school is also under-prepared, and it is always out of stock. I bought it three times a month before and after, and it is barely enough. Finally, I don't have to go to school naked. When my husband returned to China at the end of August, the flight requirements were not too cumbersome. He only needed to provide the nucleic acid test results within 5 days. He made an appointment for a free NHS test and went back to China smoothly. Isolation is very sour, because there is a wall outside the window, and the sun cannot be seen.

The school starts as scheduled in September, the new school is much bigger, and many policies have been changed under the new epidemic. For example, due to the closure of locker rooms, children can wear sports uniforms to and from school, breakfast cannot be eaten at school, and lunches are divided into classes at different times. Wear a mask when queuing at the grade meeting and the cafeteria, and form social bubbles by grades and classes. At this time, the epidemic has slowed down, and people wearing masks are rarely seen on the street. They are only required to wear masks when they go to the supermarket.

From November 5th to December 2nd, the United Kingdom implemented the second comprehensive blockade in one month. Non-essential shops must be closed, gyms, entertainment and other facilities must be closed, and no special needs must stay at home, but schools remain open. , This blockade does not affect the children's normal school attendance. For me, who is accompanying my mother, the biggest feeling of the blockade measures is the difference between children taking online classes at home or going to school normally, so the second blockade does not feel profound.

Once again, I feel the seriousness of the situation is from the school's email notification. Previously, the whole school had 2 or 3 positive reports per week, but it suddenly increased to about 10 cases within a week. The school staff and some lower grade elementary school students also began to have positive reports. The confirmed case, on December 14, two days before the Christmas holiday, received a notice from the school to go home and take online classes. That is, on this day, London entered the Tier 3 epidemic level, the third blockade began, and all non-essential restaurants and bars were closed. Due to the discovery of a mutated new coronavirus, dozens of countries around the world have begun to announce a temporary ban on British passenger planes.

After the Christmas holiday, January 11, 2021 ushered in the new semester of online classes. On February 15, the United Kingdom added more than 30 countries to the red list, and started the centralized hotel isolation policy. I went to Chile to play during the Christmas holiday, but the flight back was repeatedly cancelled. Just one day before the quarantine policy was implemented, I finally went through hardships and flew to Spain and returned to London. Instead of centralized hotel isolation, I was quarantined at home with two tests for 8 days.

The unblocking plan was announced in February in four stages, and the progress of the plan will depend on four tests: the success of the vaccine rollout, evidence of the vaccine's effectiveness, the evaluation of new variants, and maintaining infection rates at a level that does not make it difficult for the NHS. Below the stress level of the load, the dawn finally appears ahead.

During the whole year of the epidemic, the individual feeling under the giant ship is that many of the so-called modern life that was accustomed to before are not taken for granted. When medical treatment faces a run on the situation, there may be an ethical choice of which to save first. After the pause button is pressed, the large army will stay still, and then may crawl forward a small step, repair it in place, and then move forward with a small step, and returning to the previous way of life has become the goal today.