Are you lying flat abroad? My Epidemic Experience in Latin America
Since I went to Peru, people have often asked me, "Is it lying flat abroad?"
And my reply was also straightforward: "No, not lying flat."
Regarding the topic of the epidemic, I don’t really want to write about it, because I know very well that once I write it, I will probably be scolded for things like “Did you accept Western money?” Some friends around me talked about their situation and experiences abroad. Comments and private messages are always mixed with such abusive words. I admire their courage and are willing to come forward and share the situation in other parts of the world, and here I am. In fact, it's just a tortoise.
I think of the articles I wrote about the epidemic that year, and I have witnessed hundreds of remarks mixed with support and abuse in the background, but no matter how strong my heart is, I still can’t bear to face a storm and think about it. It’s better to write about travel these days. Traveling, thinking about making money, and sharing the quiet life of the years are more like a wise way to protect oneself.
The above are my previous thoughts.
Now, seeing that my friends in Shanghai are getting worse and worse, and there is no sign of the epidemic getting better, and when many friends around me have come forward to share their thoughts and experiences, I feel that if I don’t share my experiences abroad for a while now , and continue to be a shrunken turtle, then I will indeed despise myself from the bottom of my heart.
Therefore, when reading this article, you can hold different opinions, but I don’t want you to speculate or even slander others with your original assumptions based on your own imagination. Like you, I hope that people who have suffered under the epidemic can get rid of their suffering as soon as possible.
In this article, I will simultaneously share the experiences of bloggers from other countries, and at the same time, I will describe my four-month experience in Peru. I hope that after reading it, you will be able to view many things more rationally and dialectically, and look at many words, such as "foreign" "Lie down" and so on, the thinking is left to you, and what I will do next is just to state the facts, to state my experiences and encounters.
(1)
On December 22, 2021, I arrived in Lima, the capital of Peru.
Before going to Lima, I did a lot of psychological preparation, because people around me advised me that the epidemic situation abroad is very serious, so it is best for me not to go abroad, including my mother who called me a few times, made me think twice, there is no need Going out at this juncture, while I was in Shanghai at the time, went through all the formalities.
At that time, my mind was actually full of fear, because I saw through media reports that countless developed countries were "lying flat", so Latin America, a small place, in my impression, was full of chaos, guns, and drug lords. Needless to say.
But I did have a reason why I had to go. I didn't listen to the persuasion and chose to embark on the plane to South America.
In the days after I landed in Lima, I was full of strangeness and curiosity about this place. In my mind, there were countless horrific incidents that I would encounter gunfire, hijacking, etc., but none of them happened. Of course, on the one hand, I was lucky and had never set foot in the dangerous poor neighborhood, on the other hand, the place was not as exaggerated as I thought.
Aside from the above, let's go straight to the topic. What is the epidemic situation here, people's attitudes to it, and epidemic prevention measures?
This trip I went to two populous cities in Peru, one is the capital Lima, the other is the ancient wonder of the world Machu Picchu, the birthplace of the Inca civilization - Cusco.
Lima and Cusco are strictly tourist cities, and are home to more than half of Peru's residents.
There is no 14+7-day landing quarantine policy, which sounds unsafe, but there are very strict rules for entering and leaving public places.
In the capital Lima, a full vaccine certificate is required in any public place, such as supermarkets, cinemas, restaurants, bookstores, etc. The bottom line is the two-shot vaccination certificate.
At present, the three-shot vaccine certificate has been required in public places. If you do not have the vaccine certificate and cannot provide it, then sorry, the security guard will not let you in.
Secondly, their mask requirement is double layer, you read that right, double layer mask. Because I don't wear a mask, I have suffered several losses.
Once I was in line to buy ice cream. When it was my turn, the waiter glanced at me and said to me in Spanish, "I'm sorry, you only wear one layer of mask. I refuse to sell you ice cream."
I thought it was incredible at the time, and I was even displeased with her attitude and behavior. It's not like I don't wear a mask, why can't I close one eye if I don't wear a layer? No one is watching you, why is it so strict? I solved the problem later by asking someone else to buy ice cream for me.
Another time, I went to the supermarket at about 9 pm. After getting off the car, I grabbed a mask from the car and wore it. I took the elevator to enter the supermarket from the garage. As a result, at the intersection of the supermarket, after reading my vaccine card, the security guard followed me. Said, "You can't go in because you're only wearing a mask all the time."
At that time, I was completely speechless. At that time, the supermarket was almost closed and there were not many people. I told him to buy something, but the other party was very firm. If you don’t let me in, I won’t let you in. Finally, I hurried back to the ground. The garage, fortunately found another mask in the car, before it counted.
In addition to masks, alcohol disinfectant will be installed at the door of any occasion, whether it is in restaurants, supermarkets, large or small stores, and sometimes waiters will stand at the door to squeeze your palms.
Of course, I had a more exaggerated experience when I was playing in Cusco and went to an ice cream shop, the entrance of the shop was blocked by the railing of the garage entry and exit, and there was a sink and hand sanitizer in front of it, only after you washed your hands, Security will open the railings and let you in. During this process, the big Latin American man with the pestle at the door, dressed in a security uniform, stared at you "washing your hands" so directly.
In addition, we need to go to the train station to take the train when we go to Machu Picchu, and we must wear a transparent isolation mask when entering the station, otherwise we will not be allowed to get on the train.
Not to mention the local awareness.
Every time my boyfriend and I go out, even if we take a walk on a deserted street, he stares at me and makes me have to wear a mask.
A few times we took the bus to other cities. The bus had more than 30 seats and there were only six or seven people. I wanted to take a breather without wearing a mask on the bus. He forced me to put the mask on, and he had to let me wore.
As for his parents, they did even more exaggerated things to us. After we came back from our trip in Cusco, I was exhausted from the trip through the mountains and wanted to go home to take a hot bath. As a result, his mother asked us to do nucleic acid tests on the way back. Before the nucleic acid report came out , refused to see us both. I was very uncomfortable at the time, but I could understand his parents' request.
In the end, we went to a hospital, spent 420 yuan, filled out a lot of complicated forms, and prepared to do nucleic acid. I myself have done nucleic acid several times in China, whether it is inserting the nostrils or poking the throat, it is basically done in two or three seconds. And I have done nucleic acid three times here, almost every time I have to stab me for about 10 seconds, making me burst into tears every time.
I think if I hadn't experienced it myself, I would have been naturally afraid, and even thought that "abroad" was "flat".
I don't know about other countries, but this small country that didn't attract any interest or attention in my mind will do this level of epidemic prevention, which is completely different from what I heard in my country before" Lie flat" is completely different. If I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't even believe it.
Replenish:
The Peruvian Ministry of Health announced on January 5, 2022 local time—
According to the epidemic prevention policy for high-risk areas, the curfew time will be changed from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. the next day ; inter-provincial traffic will not be restricted, but adults over the age of 18 must present a certificate of vaccination against the new crown or a negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours ; The passenger capacity of indoor public places will be adjusted accordingly, and the passenger capacity of outdoor public places will be determined by local governments; large-scale gatherings, carnivals, and traditional festival celebrations are temporarily banned .
Recent news from Peru: From April 1, people over 18 must present a third-dose vaccination card to enter malls, general stores, restaurants and closed places.
(2)
After talking about my personal experience, let's take a look at the policies implemented by the Peruvian authorities on the new crown and the vaccination situation in Latin America.
- Vaccines and booster shots in China:
http://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2022-04-01/2200897.html (2022.4.1)
The total population of China in 2022 is 1.402 billion, 69,493.6 booster shots have been completed, and the vaccination rate of booster vaccines is about 49%.
- Booster vaccination in Peru:
The total population of Peru in 2022 is 33.589 million, and the number of people receiving booster shots is about 14.199 million. The vaccination rate of booster vaccines is about 42%. At present, Peru has prioritized the launch of the fourth vaccine service for the elderly.
- Data for other Latin American countries:
Which countries have the highest vaccination coverage? (As of 2022.2.6)
There are two indicators of the progress of vaccination in the country: the percentage of the population that has received the two-dose, or fully vaccinated, population, and the percentage of the population that has received a booster dose .
According to Dr. Huerta, as of February 7, the percentages of the population in Latin America who have received two doses of the vaccine are as follows:
- Chile accounts for 87.3% of the total population
- Argentina accounts for 77.3% of the total population
- Uruguay accounts for 76.3% of the total population
- Ecuador accounts for 76.1% of the total population
- Brazil accounts for 71.2% of the total population
- Peru accounts for 68.5% of the total population
- Colombia has 63.7% of the population
- Venezuela accounts for 48.9% of the total population
- Bolivia accounts for 45.9% of the total population
- Paraguay has 43% of the population
It can be seen that the country that vaccinated its population the most with two doses was Chile, with 87.3%. By comparison, the United States was 63.5 percent, surpassed by Peru.
On the other hand, as of February 7, the percentage of the population in Latin American countries receiving booster doses is shown below:
- Chile accounts for 65.9% of the total population
- Uruguay accounts for 52.8% of the total population
- Argentina accounts for 30.5% of the total population
- Peru accounts for 24.5% of the total population
- Brazil accounts for 24.2% of the total population
- Ecuador has 15.5% of the population
- Paraguay accounts for 12.6% of the total population
- Bolivia accounts for 7.8% of the total population
- Venezuela accounts for 0.7% of the total population
Chile and Uruguay are the only countries in Latin America where more than 50% of the population received booster doses. Likewise, Peru came in fourth, a big difference from what the two-dose group achieved.
According to official Minsa data, from February 9, 2021 to February 6, 2022 at 6 pm:
- 23 million Peruvians and foreigners living in Peru have completed two doses of protection.
- 8 million people have received a third dose (booster)
Finally, Dr. Huerta emphasized that studies have shown that people who receive a third dose of the vaccine are 97 times less likely to die than those who are not vaccinated.
Note: The data statistics for this section will end on February 6
Therefore, from the overall point of view of the above data, the vaccine penetration rate and degree of penetration in Latin America are not low. Taking Peru as an example, the penetration rate of the third booster injection is at least half of the population, not to mention the economies of these small countries. The level of development and level of development and governance are actually far inferior to China.
(3)
On the Peruvian national data platform , I also found more knowledge and measures about epidemic prevention, all of which were switched to Chinese literal translation, and attached the link of the data platform. I want to share with you and increase relevant knowledge. Reduce panic about the virus.
Some of the information I only intercepted the key points, you can use Google Chrome to translate the page by yourself, hoping to reduce your panic about the new crown.
- How to care for a suspected coronavirus patient?
- Coronavirus: How can I care for my pet during a state of emergency?
- How to take care of children against the new crown?
- How to take care of the elderly to fight the new crown?
- If you have coronavirus, you must leave your home for activities during a state of emergency
- How to deal with death caused by new crown?
To sum up, if you have a new crown here and are mildly ill, you need to isolate at home. At the same time, the relevant staff of the health center will track your symptoms by phone every day, and give you relevant diet and corresponding suggestions, and follow up to ensure that you are turned negative. More knowledge about the epidemic can be found on the Peruvian National Data Platform.
(4)
In the end, there are only two purposes for writing this article:
1. When you hear or see the words "foreign lying flat" , please try to avoid using these big words to make generalizations. Except for China, any place is abroad, but foreign countries are also divided into different countries. different cities.
If you can't confirm it, try to ask friends abroad to verify the information, or find a reliable source of information to check whether "abroad" is really "doing nothing"? What country, what city? Why not act?
Otherwise, killing a country other than China with a stick does not seem to be the rational behavior of an adult. Coincidentally, a friend wrote a story about the epidemic she experienced in Africa . If you are interested, you can see if Africa, which is more backward than Latin America, is also "lying flat".
If you think this paragraph is handing knives to foreign forces, then I really have nothing to say, just think about it.
2. No matter whether you are infected with the new crown or not, whether you want to clear it or coexist, I only know that the new crown is not the only disease in this world, nor is there any disease or even the basic livelihood security. open circuit.
I wrote a paragraph on social platforms today:
I think the word "empathy" makes it difficult to truly empathize unless it is your turn.
For example, 1. Got Omicron 2. Rely on home isolation 3. Recovered quickly 4. And vaccinated 5. Abroad 6. Young people can't understand why 1. Got Omicron 2. Have been vaccinated 3. In China 4. Young people 5. Have to go to the hospital for isolation.
As for 1. Haven't won Omikron 2. In China 3. Have been vaccinated 4. Young people 5. The neighbors around are positive, and they are panicking to the extreme.
Of course, in this case, I just used 12345 as a general condition. These words can also be replaced with various words, and more conditions can be added, such as no vaccination, elderly or children at home, relatives and friends abroad, friends and colleagues with foreigners , There are friends around who have been able to heal themselves, people who are abroad, and elderly people around them who died of infection after they were not vaccinated... and so on.
Therefore, it is a fantasy for people in different situations to understand each other. Everyone has what they have seen, stories they have experienced, and their reasons. Once the conditions change, the position on some things will be different. .
Therefore, we are all but unique individuals in a grand narrative, and each of us is important to us, but can empathy really happen when disaster strikes us?
I also don't think it's meaningful to argue for "clearing or not" at this moment, even if clearing the row wins, then what? Who is hungry?
When bad luck doesn't come on us, we can all keep our heads down. But no amount of tearing apart is more important than trying to understand and help the living people in Shanghai, Jilin, and some small counties who are running out of ammunition and food, as well as truck drivers who are blocked on the road.
In this epidemic, our official data is 0 deaths. The data is very beautiful. It may prove the effectiveness of the epidemic prevention policy, but what about the mortality rate caused by a series of secondary disasters behind it? Has anyone counted?
In the end, what popped into my head was Dostoevsky's words: "Love concrete people, not abstract people."
From loving abstract people to loving concrete people, the biggest gap is nothing but the word "understanding".
Understanding does not mean agreeing, and understanding is not judging, but constantly asking "why?"
I hope there will be less disputes and more warmth, and I also pray that the epidemic will end soon.
Like my work? Don't forget to support and clap, let me know that you are with me on the road of creation. Keep this enthusiasm together!
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