Beijing Amid The Coronavirus Epidemic

• Gyms and all fitness centers / sports-related venues are all closed until further notice

• Movie theaters, KTVs, and tourism-related areas within the city are all closed until further notice

• Some bars and restaurants are open, and some do get busy since everyone is itching to get out of their house, but many restaurants are only providing take-out

• Temperature checks are everywhere. Every park you go to, restaurant, residential community -- they all take your temperature with a little temp-gun

• Residents have all been issued a flimsy paper "entry-exit" card with your address written on it. To enter the hutongs, you must present this card, verify that you live at the address, get your temp taken, and then you are allowed in. Tables are set up at these street "checkpoints," and two workers stop you before entering

• Packages are still shipping from online sales, but it's taking much longer than usual

• Everyone seems to be in limbo concerning when things will open back up and when people will go back to the office (most people are working from home). We are all waiting for the official "government notice," which will come based on criteria that no one is sure of. Many are guessing that it will require at least two weeks of no new infections before things start opening back up.

• The virus is the main focus of conversation

• EVERYONE is wearing a mask, and many places require them. If I want to go into a 7-11, I need a mask. Taking a taxi, mandatory mask. Picking up my take-out, mask. Oddly enough, despite the ubiquitous necessity, most places seem to be out of masks.

• Couriers and food deliverymen are no longer allowed to go inside buildings and knock on your door. You must go down to the street to pick stuff up

• Restaurants and residential areas have pesticide-like tanks filled with Dettol or other bacteria-killing sprays, and they regularly spray all the tables, stairs, handrails, doors, and floors

• Working from home seems like the ideal time to travel and work abroad, but many countries have a "if you have been in China within the past two weeks, you are not permitted entry" -- so traveling is out of the question

• Pharmacies now require an ID and other information if you buy cold or fever medicine. They also put a table in the entrance, and you cannot go inside; instead, you tell the lady what you want, and she'll get it for you.

Overall, I think the general feeling after three weeks of quarantine is that people are bored, frustrated that there is no definitive "time" to when things will go back to normal, and still a bit anxious about getting infected. Many people wear surgical gloves out in public along with a mask. When will it end? Who knows... Am I, along with most people in the city, ready to return to normal life in the capital? Absolutely