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Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
'How are you - locked inside for so long?
Was that good?"
Daughter Mhairi:
"Good."
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
"Aren't you bored?"
Daughter Mhairi:
"No."
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
»No.
Alright, one less thing to worry about and be thankful for.«
Cameron Wilson is confused.
Lockdown but not bored?
The Scot has lived in Shanghai for 16 years, now has his wife and child here, and lives with them in a small apartment - and this is what China's largest city has looked like for almost eight weeks.
Like most of the 26 million inhabitants, Wilson is locked in his own apartment with his family.
Since how long again?
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai Resident:
It's difficult to remember the exact number of days.
I think it's 53?
54?"
His daughter Mhairi likes to let her energy out on the trampoline - and the two help each other through the time.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
“Being locked up for so long makes you go a little crazy.
You suddenly find it easier to do fun, silly things that kids like.
This is how we support each other right now: I do stupid things and she thinks it's funny.«
That's how the people of Shanghai are somehow maneuvering their way through the rough times - like this man who lives close enough to the water to pass the time fishing.
After all, the supply of food is now better regulated.
Deliveries come straight to the door.
Wilson's family now always has enough supplies, which was different a few weeks ago.
But: A small highlight of the day has also disappeared.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai Resident:
It's nice that they bring this to the door.
But when you're stuck here for so long it was a good chance to stretch your feet to get the food.
Unfortunately, that too has now been taken away from us.«
The long lockdown is also a mental strain - Wilson has now come to terms
with the situation.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
I'm probably in the phase now where I accept all of this.
It's like a survival mechanism.
You realize that there is nothing you can do about it.
If I keep being angry or depressed, it would start a downward spiral and my mental health would go to the dogs.«
It's the price the people of Shanghai are paying for the Chinese government's zero-Covid strategy.
The idea: Fast, short, extreme interventions should nip outbreaks in the bud.
But with the much more contagious omicron variant, that obviously no longer works.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
“They told us the lockdown would last 48 hours.
It's been more than 48 days now."
The number has since fallen to its lowest level since March 23.
There were no transmissions in half of the districts.
Nevertheless, the city wants to continue to adhere to the strict measures, including mass tests like here in front of Wilson's building.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
“When you're called out to take your test, they just call out the apartment number, it's dehumanizing, you feel like you're just a number.
Then they stick something up your nose, wipe your throat, it's really abusive."
Anyone who tests positive has to go to a quarantine camp, the same applies to neighbors of infected people, even if they test negative - and the conditions in the centers are sometimes terrible.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
“People are definitely more afraid of going to a center like this than they are of getting Covid.
«
The lockdown also leaves physical damage: Wilson got severe pain in his shoulder from sitting too much.
His mother-in-law, who lives in the same building, helped him with a Chinese medicinal application.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
To be honest I don't know exactly what it does or how it works.
But if you've been locked up for 50 days, have shoulder pain, can't go to the doctor, can't get painkillers - then why not?
So I tried.
It was quite painful but felt better afterwards.
I actually did it again today.«
China's capital Beijing - there were recently a few dozen new corona cases per day here, significantly fewer than in Shanghai, there are still more than 1000 here. Nevertheless: the authorities are nervous, some shopping centers are closing, including parks and parts of the public Local transport is dense - a lockdown like in Shanghai cannot be ruled out.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
“I have friends in Beijing.
And they have often asked for my advice and my experience.
And I said go to the supermarket and buy as much food as you can, panic buying.
Don't hold back."
Wilson fears that China's corona policy will end up doing more harm than good, partly because it deters people from abroad - even him, after 16 years in China.
Cameron Wilson, Shanghai resident:
“This pandemic, the lockdown, have shown the ugly side of China.
We thought we would never see that here in Shanghai.
We all thought that Shanghai was a bit different than the rest of China, a bit more liberal, a bit more open, we felt there were laws and rules that we could rely on even in times of crisis.
But this lockdown showed that was an illusion.
I think in the next 18 months I will leave China.
So: If you know someone who is looking for a journalist or someone in PR – let me know.«
For the moment, however, it's time to hold out - and jump on the trampoline.