covid english version

一个中国武汉人在2020年8月份去新疆的旅程，中国的防疫政策远超你的想象，政府的蛮横无理，无知，组织的混乱和无效。也许在你们抱怨政府无能的时候，也可以看看这个世界上其他国家在干些什么

The whole story was happened in august 2020, during the pandamic covid 19 in china. this story will tell you how 政府政府的蛮横，无理，和无知。

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Next, I will try to describe in a neutral and unemotional way what I have seen and heard in Xinjiang in the months since April.

On April 8th, the lockdown in Wuhan was lifted, and I ended nearly three months of home quarantine. Since Xinjiang had gradually reopened in March, and due to work requirements there, my leaders asked me to return to Xinjiang as soon as possible.

The direct flight by China Southern Airlines kept getting postponed and rescheduled. Eventually, I had no choice but to transit through Xi'an. Before going, I reported all information to the community in Changji City where I was staying. The community informed me that if all my health codes were green and I had a negative nucleic acid test report from within the last 7 days, I would only need to self-observe at home and not quarantine.

When I transferred in Xi'an, the ground staff informed me that I had to downgrade from the Pearl Economy Class to the last few rows of the plane, as instructed by Urumqi Diwopu Airport in Xinjiang. Moreover, I even had to pay the fare difference for this downgrade.

The first few rows of the plane were occupied by passengers traveling from Xi'an to Urumqi. The last five rows were reserved for passengers traveling from various places in Hubei to Urumqi, including those from Wuhan and other cities.

After the plane arrived at Diwopu Airport, personnel from the observation team boarded to register everyone in the last five rows. They collected our boarding passes and IDs, and informed us that we needed to be quarantined in a centralized location. We then disembarked first and were taken to the edge of the airport by several ambulances. (The first thing that struck me as absurd was that we were not separated from the passengers who had started their journey in Xi'an. They passed by our rows to use the restroom and meals were served as usual. Why were we in the last five rows taken away for quarantine while those in the front were allowed to leave? Was there really no risk?)

We were then left in a corner of the airport to wait. We waited for our luggage, for another team to take over from the observation group, and for a bus to take us away. How long did we wait? About four hours. A group of people from several flights were mixed together, with no explanation given. We just waited.

Finally, at around 4 a.m., we boarded a bus. On the bus, we were asked to fill out three forms and scan two QR codes. We kept repeating the same information. We were told that the people who registered us on the plane were not the same group as those observing us, and they did not share information with each other. Even more absurdly, the bus driver didn't know where to take us until halfway through the journey. We were then informed that we were being quarantined in Changji.

When we arrived at the hotel, each of us had to fill out all the information twice more. This was the seventh time since landing. After all of us completed the check-in process and entered our rooms, it was already daylight.

The 14-day centralized quarantine was uneventful, consisting only of three meals a day and temperature checks. There are four things worth mentioning.

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The quarantine meals were really bad. The meals were uniformly arranged across Xinjiang, but there was no variation based on the different people in the quarantine hotels. Many people, experiencing Xinjiang for the first time, were practically starving for 14 days. Those who understand, understand. But it didn't bother me much, as I've been here for a long time. Whether it was meatball soup, laghman, or anything else, I was okay with it, even though I could hardly eat a full meal a day. But I was still okay.

Initially, the observation team allowed us to order items from designated stores, including food, drinks, and daily necessities. These were then delivered to our doors during meal distribution. Personally, I thought this arrangement was in compliance with the regulations. However, one day, it was suddenly announced that this was no longer permitted, not even fruits sent by relatives. The reason? Inspection by a supervisory team.

Why did it become prohibited when the inspection team arrived? Was it actually against the rules, or were they just trying to avoid trouble? I don't know.

The story of the guy sitting behind me at the airport is truly heartbreaking and made me realize how individuals can be affected by the times. Let's call this guy A, as I don't know his name. His father was stranded in Urumqi before the Spring Festival and suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage due to a tumor in his brain and was being treated there. As soon as Wuhan was unlocked, A came to handle related procedures, payments, and possibly transferring his father to another hospital. He had already informed the hospital and the quarantine hotel about his situation, but his request to quarantine at the hospital was denied. A few days later, his father's condition worsened and he was admitted to ICU, requiring A's signature. A asked the quarantine hotel to let him undergo nucleic acid testing, hoping to quarantine in the hospital and take care of his father if tested negative, but was denied. Two days later, his father passed away, and the hospital needed his signature again, but he was still denied. A few days later, when it was time for cremation, he was denied again. He ended up authorizing his father's friend to sign on his behalf. He came to take care of his father, but ended up spending 14 days in quarantine, and after being released, he went straight back to Wuhan with his father's ashes, without even getting to see his father one last time or attend the farewell ceremony.

All of us quarantined together couldn't understand why such rigid rules were enforced, requiring 14 days of quarantine before nucleic acid testing and mandatory hotel quarantine, even in a situation that demanded family bonds as an exception. Especially when A had brought a negative nucleic acid and antibody report from Wuhan within the last 7 days.

Another guy, quarantined on the floor above us, was supposed to be released after 14 days. He was excited about leaving in the morning and peeked out of his door multiple times, looking forward to his release. However, the observation team then informed him that due to violating the rules, his report was cancelled, and his quarantine was extended for another 14 days. Moreover, for two hours, the entire hotel was broadcasted with loudspeakers, forcing all of us to continuously listen to the observation team's instructions to strictly adhere to all regulations, or else face extended quarantine.

Violation of the rules is non-negotiable, but what I want to say is, he was just anxious, repeatedly peeking out in an empty corridor, and his test reports were all negative. How much harm did he really cause? An additional 14-day quarantine imposes what additional national resources? 

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My 14-day quarantine ended, and on the 15th day, I underwent testing. The results came out on the evening of the 15th, and we were only allowed to leave on the morning of the 16th. Before being released, I reported my situation to the community. I also specifically asked the observation team whether I needed to wait for the community to pick me up. They said it was not necessary. Upon receiving notice, I had to immediately leave the hotel and could move freely. This was difficult for A, as getting a ticket from Xinjiang to Wuhan is not easy. However, the observation team didn’t care about these details; if they said you must go, you had to go.

It's worth mentioning that the nucleic acid test report from this time was not given to individuals. What I received was a notice of the end of quarantine.

After returning to my rented apartment, I proactively called the community to report my situation. The community informed me that I needed to undergo an additional 14 days of home quarantine. I was baffled, as I had repeatedly confirmed that after centralized quarantine, there would be no further issues. I had even asked the hotel’s observation team, but to no avail. The community officials, along with two community police officers, knocked on my door and entered my rented apartment, asking me to sign a home quarantine notice. I requested official documents from the community, but they said there were none. It was a verbal notice. They informed me that all related policies during the pandemic could change at any time. Even if they previously told me it wasn’t necessary, if they now say it is, then it is.

I was sharing the apartment with another colleague. If I went into home quarantine, my colleague, who otherwise wouldn’t need to quarantine, would have to do so as well. To avoid affecting his work, I asked the community if I could self-quarantine in a hotel designated by them. They agreed and let me choose from a few hotels to check in on my own.

I chose a hotel closest to my workplace and residence. After some complications, I checked in and strictly followed the quarantine rules. I ordered all my meals for delivery, which were left at the door for me to pick up after the delivery person left. However, five days later, a supervisory team inspected our community and reviewed my quarantine footage. They found that I never left my room, but my trash wasn’t disposed of in a designated manner. Therefore, the hotel didn’t meet requirements. At 11 p.m. on the fifth day, I was forced to check out and was taken by ambulance back to a centralized quarantine observation hotel to continue quarantine for another 9 days.

Without any explanation or consideration of my needs, I was quarantined in Changji City for a total of 16+14=30 days, a full month. From April 21 to May 21, I was finally considered a normal person in the eyes of the Xinjiang government. The community signed a notice to lift my quarantine observation and issued me a health certificate. My travel health code only showed Changji, bright green and healthy. It's worth noting that I still didn't receive a report for my second nucleic acid test.

I thought I was healthy and compliant with the requirements, but I was too naïve. The community, street office, police station, epidemic prevention center, observation team, and airport didn’t share any information. From May 21 to June 1, I received more than 5 calls daily from various departments, each time reporting my personal information, including my arrival date in Xinjiang, flight details, quarantine hotel, duration of stay, current residence, and reason for coming to Xinjiang. In 10 days, I reported the same information to at least 20 different people.

Entering June, I thought there would be no more problems, but I was still too naïve. Why? Because my ID card is from Wuhan. Although it was already June, and all officials told me there was no regional discrimination, the reality was different. In any place where my ID was checked, even though I had a green health code and all the necessary data from the State Council and Xinjiang's Red Mountain registration code, it was useless. Even showing my notice of quarantine release didn’t help. No matter how long I had been in Xinjiang, because my ID was from Wuhan, I had to undergo extra registration procedures at any place that required an ID check. Then I had to call the community and the local police station for verification, which took at least half an hour. Anywhere I went that required an ID check, I had to spend an extra half hour compared to others, filling out the same form countless times, undergoing questioning and verification.

Just because my ID is from Wuhan! Even though I had been in Xinjiang for nearly two months. It's worth mentioning that if your ID is not from Hubei, even if you come from Wuhan, as long as you have a nucleic acid test report, you wouldn't need to quarantine or undergo scrutiny in Xinjiang in June. However, I, who had already been in Xinjiang for two months, still needed to be constantly checked.

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The turning point occurred in mid-June when I had to travel to Hami for work. I duly reported this to the community and consulted the epidemic prevention center to see if I could go and what procedures were needed. The response was that normal commuting was allowed as long as I had a green code.

Okay, going to Hami was not a problem, though entering and exiting stations involved half an hour of questioning. However, returning from Hami to Urumqi was different. According to the station observation team, entering Urumqi from another part of Xinjiang was treated the same as entering from outside the region.

Consequently, I was detained, affecting other passengers in my train compartment.

I was then taken aside for questioning. I explained that I had a green code and had only traveled from Urumqi to Hami that morning, returning in the afternoon. I questioned why I needed to be interrogated. The answer was because my ID card was from Wuhan, and I had come to Xinjiang from Wuhan.

I explained that I had arrived in Xinjiang on April 21, completed a month of quarantine, and showed them my quarantine release certificate. All my health codes were green, and my travel history only included Changji. I hadn’t even stayed in Urumqi or Hami for more than 4 hours.

Nonetheless, it was futile. They interrogated me about everything since April 21, calling my community in Wuhan and Changji, the street office, and the airport for confirmation. I was detained at the train station for an hour just for these verifications.

Even though I had proof, had been in Xinjiang for two months, and had a quarantine contact report, just because my ID card was from Wuhan!

After this incident, I complained to my leaders. I said I didn’t want to travel for work anymore. I wouldn’t even go to Urumqi; I would just stay in Changji. Despite everyone saying there was no discrimination against people from Wuhan, the fact was, with my Wuhan ID, I was treated with particular sensitivity by all epidemic prevention personnel in Xinjiang. It was a waste of national resources, a waste of grassroots workers’ time, and affected my mood.

So, I stayed in Changji obediently. Then, around July 10, different organizations started calling me again to confirm my information. I sensed something was wrong. On July 11, the police station called me in the middle of the night to inquire in detail about my three months in Xinjiang since April 21. On the morning of July 12, the community informed me that I needed to be quarantined again.

I was baffled. I had already been in Xinjiang for three months and had already been quarantined for a month! Now they were telling me to quarantine again, without any reason or duration specified. They just told me to pack a few clothes quickly as an ambulance was coming to take me to the observation hotel for quarantine.

At the observation hotel, the observation team had a list of 54 people, which they said was pushed by big data. They couldn’t explain what the 54 of us had in common, why we needed to be quarantined, how long the quarantine would last, or where the data came from. All they knew was that I was on the list, so I needed to be quarantined. No matter how much I reasoned with them, it was useless.

A group of us stood at the door, demanding an explanation. The community and street office personnel were helpless and began calling one by one to inquire about this list. They even contacted the regional epidemic prevention center but received no clear response. Finally, it was coordinated that we would be quarantined for one day, then immediately undergo nucleic acid and antibody testing. If there were no problems, we could leave. We eventually compromised and processed the quarantine procedures.

This was the third quarantine procedure I underwent in Xinjiang.

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The people who were quarantined with me and I communicated and realized that we had no intersections or commonalities. I could only assume that maybe it was because I had visited Hami a month earlier.

Then, after staying one day, the observation team came in the middle of the night with nurses to collect samples. The next morning, we were also taken to the hospital for CT scans. After the CT scans, we were released on the spot, without any reports or results from the nucleic acid + antibody tests or the CT scans. We were just quarantined for a day, underwent three tests, and then were released.

This was my third nucleic acid + antibody test in Xinjiang, and still, I received no report.

I was always puzzled about what was happening until I saw the news on July 15 and the announcement of Urumqi's lockdown on July 16. Then it all made sense to me.

After Urumqi went into lockdown on July 16, the roads between Changji and Urumqi were blocked. However, there was no lockdown within Changji itself, and life and work continued normally. We asked the community if we could leave Xinjiang at this time. The community said it was possible as long as we had a nucleic acid test report from within the last 7 days, could get to the airport, and could buy a ticket. We asked how to reach the airport with Changji and Urumqi cut off. The community had no answer.

If your travel code didn't show Urumqi, you were considered normal in Changji. If your code showed Urumqi, you had to home quarantine and wait for door-to-door nucleic acid testing. Days passed, and after 10 days, the number of cases in Urumqi was slowly increasing, but there was no clear information about the situation in Changji. Suddenly, on July 26, it was announced that Changji would go into lockdown. Everyone rushed to stock up on supplies, and by the evening, our neighborhood was sealed.

Our team of five colleagues rented three apartments in the complex, one of which was a kitchen where our chef and driver lived. At the beginning of the quarantine, we were allowed to eat in the kitchen, as the other two apartments had no cooking facilities. Around July 29, the community conducted mass nucleic acid testing in groups of five. But on July 30, they informed us that, unsurprisingly, there would be no report for this test either.

On July 30, after consulting with the community, we learned that Changji People's Hospital, Changji Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and Changji City Hospital could perform nucleic acid tests and provide reports. With a nucleic acid test report, you could apply to leave Xinjiang, and transportation to the airport would be arranged.

So, I contacted a taxi service and visited these three locations. The answer everywhere was that there were too many people, so they were not conducting tests. That afternoon, I called different institutions, including the epidemic prevention center and treatment center, to find out where else I could get tested. The answers were uncertain and not their responsibility. I was advised to keep inquiring at hospitals.

On the evening of July 30, we were suddenly notified that our unit doors would be sealed and residents were not allowed to go out. To get a nucleic acid test, we had to report to the community, fill out a form, and then wait in line for a notice of when the test would be arranged. After asking if we could go to the kitchen to eat, the answer was no. We requested volunteer-delivered meals in exchange for payment, but this was also denied. After several rude phone hang-ups by a building management official, he offered two "reasonable" solutions:

Buy new pots, pans, and ingredients, and if we didn't know how to cook, we should learn from Baidu.

All five of us, men in our 30s, could move into the kitchen and sleep on two beds.

He believed these two solutions were more reasonable than having meals prepared in our kitchen and delivered by volunteers to our building for a fee.

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Finally, on the afternoon of July 31st, I received both good and bad news:

We were allowed to have meals delivered. No more hunger.

All those applying to leave Xinjiang had to complete a 14-day home quarantine before they could apply for nucleic acid and antibody testing. Only after passing these tests would they be arranged to leave the region.

So, first complete the quarantine, then get tested. And then, upon returning to Wuhan, undergo another 14-day quarantine. NICE. Another month gone.

Now, I’ll share my personal views and speculations on the epidemic prevention work in Xinjiang. These are just my personal opinions and may not reflect the actual situation.

Grassroots workers are incredibly overworked, facing a huge amount of work and responsibility daily without unified standards or clear instructions.

Xinjiang's epidemic prevention efforts are quite poor. Even without considering underreporting, the claimed sustained zero growth in cases is not due to effective control but rather due to a one-size-fits-all policy that disregards GDP and economic development, and because very few people travel there.

Xinjiang's epidemic prevention is chaotic, with no information platform or data sharing between departments. Each location, station, community, police station, and organization has to independently gather and report data, leading to unnecessary duplication of work.

Officially, green health codes or other digital information are not given enough respect or attention. Grassroots workers, overwhelmed by repetitive tasks, resort to the simplest one-size-fits-all policies to reduce their own risk and responsibility.

I believe most of the testing is not up to standard, especially the throat swab collection. Moreover, I never received a report or results for any of the five tests I underwent. We could only assume a negative result if the community didn't contact us.

Was contact tracing not conducted or impossible to carry out? Xinjiang’s epidemic measures are strictly enforced for people coming from outside but lax for local residents or those with Xinjiang IDs. There's almost no scrutiny, and health codes are barely checked. Locals, including elders and children, don’t wear masks and gather together freely. Essentially, the epidemic prevention work is just a superficial effort to complete tasks assigned by higher authorities, often changing within hours.

It's been 16 days since Urumqi went into lockdown and 6 days for Changji. The number of infected individuals is increasing against the trend. After 16 days of complete lockdown in Urumqi, the number of infections is increasing daily, with severe cases already over 50. So, how many people are really infected in Urumqi? Are they adding over 100 cases a day, or are they releasing 100 cases a day?

Changji didn't go into lockdown with Urumqi initially, and in these 16 days, Changji has reported less than 5 cases? And today, another case, again imported from Urumqi? I want to know, how is it possible to have imported cases after Urumqi has been locked down for 16 days? If there are only one or two cases after 16 days, all imported, why suddenly lock down Changji?

The entire epidemic prevention effort in Xinjiang lacks transparency. Residents, including community workers, are not informed. The logic behind various prevention measures and reported numbers doesn’t add up. No contact tracing has been disclosed. I want to ask, how long will this epidemic last? When will they publish the data and information that should have been made public long ago?