Locked down – 86 days and counting

On Friday, April 24 they have been in lockdown for 86 days, first in Wuhan, then in lockdown and quarantine at The Ranch Resort in Polokwane, and now at home.
Crystal Reynolds (25) and her fiance Tyron Steyn (26) were teaching in China when the country went into lockdown.
They were there for just over two years and shared their experience of being in lockdown in Wuhan and the relief to be back in South Africa safely with our readers.
The couple said they were told some virus had broken out in Wuhan but that at that stage nothing major was said or done.
“We had a trip planned and asked around if we should still go on our trip, everyone said go for it as the virus isn’t that bad. We went on holiday and when we got back we went out to go buy groceries and were told that we couldn’t leave for two weeks as we were in lockdown.
“Our whole neighbourhood was locked up and police patrolled to ensure every single individual stayed indoors.
“We still didn’t think much of it as two weeks wasn’t that long to wait.”
Then things took a turn for the worst.
“When the two week mark came we were excited because we could finally go out, yet to our surprise we got told we were being locked down until further notice. This is when we realized it was getting bad.”

First measures taken
They told the RECORD that at first there were no measures taken and that they simply got locked up in their apartment.
“One day we could go out and buy our own food and the next day we were locked up in our apartment and weren’t allowed to leave.
“We were locked up in an apartment on the 15th floor. We were on lockdown for 54 days in China before being evacuated.
“It was as if we were in a movie and it wasn’t possible to be living in such a reality.
“Streets were empty, no cars, busses, trains or people were to be seen. Cars were parked and seemed abandoned, it was as if it was just my fiancé and I that were left in the world,” said Crystal.

Empty shelves
“I can’t talk on behalf of everyone with what we went through as everyone goes through different experiences, but I can tell you what my fiance and I went through,” she said.
“When we got back from our trip in January, we went the next morning to purchase groceries for the house.
“When we arrived at the supermarket shelves were completely empty, no fresh meals or food was being cooked or sold. We purchased whatever we could get our hands on.
“People were wearing gloves, masks and even goggles. I remember we ended up buying eight pineapples among other food sources.
“The next morning we thought we would go to the supermarket a little earlier as we didn’t get much at all. We thought maybe we had just gone a bit late the day before and due to the virus outbreak people were panic shopping.
“We were in for a big surprise,” they said.

Neighbourhood blocked off
“We were overwhelmed with community workers, security guards and police blocking off our neighbourhood entrances and exits, where they told us no one could leave.
“We politely told them that we needed to get food to survive and they said no, no one can leave for the next 14 days.
“We were threatened by the police that if we left we would be arrested.
“No one could speak English so we ended up adding one of the community workers on WeChat so we could communicate and explain to her we needed to get food.
“She then informed us that we could purchase a single bag of vegetables for 60 yuan, which was $8.43 or R146.26.
“They would pack the bag and everybody got the same food. This vegetable pack we were only allowed to purchase once a week.
“So you would go down to the neighbourhood entrance and exit to collect your food where it was placed on a crate lined up with everybody else’s food.
“Everyone kept there distance and would walk or stand as far away as possible from one another, it was as if everyone around you had the virus.
“They would spray disinfectant all over your food before they handed it to you over a gate. You would need to wash your food thoroughly the minute you got home. “We only learnt this as we put our vegetables straight into the fridge and the chemicals actually started eating through the food.”

Mixed emotions
“We lost one of our animals due to the disinfectant on our food. We had to boil water to drink as tap water is not safe to drink in China.
“So during our 14 days we ended up having eating disorders, insomnia, we would get irritated and frustrated easily. Mixed emotions became a daily thing and depression was building up.
“We would wake up and not want to do anything. We had felt like our energy was being drained. We lost touch with ourselves as brushing of our teeth and having a shower weren’t daily habits anymore.
“We had felt as though we had committed a crime and were locked up in a prison. Days went by where we lost track of time and date.
“We would look out our window everyday to see a truck drive through our neighbourhood, spraying disinfectant everywhere, thousands of animal’s lost there lives due to it.
“Days went by slower and slower, well so it felt. We knew every mark in our house, every crack in our walls, well let’s just say we new our house back to front.”
They were fortunate enough to also be able to keep on teaching remotely while in lockdown.

Until further notice
They continued and said: “As the days passed I could easily say we lost a lot of ourselves, but that 14 day mark was the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Day 14 came and our time in prison had ended, so we though, however, everything was still blocked off. We were told the lockdown would continue until further notice.
“We return to our apartment, and it felt like our souls had left our bodies and it was just muscles moving. Our heads dropped and we felt as if we had no life left inside of us. As the days progressed our mixed emotions worsened.
“We had bought a treadmill and a spinning bike a few months before the lockdown occurred.
“All we can say is thank goodness as we tried to exercise daily to pass sometime and keep sane, but as said before we didn’t feel like doing anything, so it was extremely difficult to get ourselves to exercise.”
They spend most of their time watching movies and series.
“Trust us, you can only watch so much TV in a day. You can only sit on a couch, on a dining room chair or lay on a bed so much. Waking up irritable became a daily routine, you would be so irritable that you would just burst into tears,” Crystal added

A stranger in a foreign country
“During this time many companies and businesses forgot about their foreign employees and didn’t pay them or support them through this tough time. Yet foreigners had to pay the rent for homes, lights, water, food and other expenses.
“So those of you that do decide to work in China, just be careful who your boss is.
“I know pandemics like this are once in a lifetime but it could be anything and you will be left in the dark, in a foreign country, with no family to fend for yourself,” she said.
“All I can say is if I didn’t have my partner I doubt I would have made it to the end. Nevertheless, this continued for 54 days before we were evacuated.”

Coming home
“The flight was amazing and the crew had taken all measures necessary. Our temperatures were checked prior to the flight, all the time during the flight as well as after the flight upon landing.
“Once we were in South Africa all measures were taken. Around the quarantine centre we had to wear masks and gloves and sanitize on a regular basis.
“We were tested for the Covid-19 twice during our quarantine and we had temperature checks daily. We were put into groups. Luckily no one had contracted Covid-19.
“The staff at the ranch welcomed us with open arms as did the SANDF and the teams involved. We were honestly amazed because we thought people would think we were infected and treat us differently.
“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for bringing us back safely!” they said.

Locked down again
They said it was was a horrible feeling to go into lockdown again.
“Fortunately this time we had our families and we aren’t in a foreign country. But we also knew that it was the best decision that could have been made for the sake of our country.
“The lockdown we are experiencing in South Africa is completely different to the lockdown in China.
“In South Africa we can still go to the shops and buy our own food, in China we got that bag of vegetables a week and it was delivered to you, whether you liked it or not. Everybody got the same bag of vegetables.”
When asked how they cope with another round of lockdown now that they are finally home, they said: “Luckily we have a gym at home so we can spend some time doing exercise and we are still teaching online so we are being kept busy.
“We also have our family with us so we play games and have someone to talk to throughout the day.”

Financial implications and time lost
They are still able to teach online and said they are very grateful as their school were able to organise online classes.
“Many of our friends have been left in the dark when it came to getting paid. A lot of schools said they couldn’t pay them at all, and some got just enough money to buy the food.”
Being in lockdown for so long also means that they have lost more days than anyone back home.
“We love travelling. We love being outdoors. We, like many others, will never get this time lost back.”

First things after lockdown
“We definitely miss going for morning jogs, evening walks and socialising with friends and family. So once this is all over we will be taking precautions, and go for a jog. And we will be eating all the junk food we can get,” they said.

A last question – are we prepared?
“We don’t think we are prepared for a huge spike, but we are prepared to help those who do contract the virus.”