As I mentioned last week, Shanghai is currently a couple of months ahead of what is unfolding outside China. While the rest of the world is attempting to isolate themselves down as the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hits, the wave has ebbed in China. Here in Shanghai, the lockdown is easing in and spring has arrived.
A couple of Fridays ago I had arranged to meet some friends for drinks in bar, but ended up hitting two nightclubs. This is surely a sign as any that life in Shanghai is returning to normal or at least that there is an effort to return it to normal. At the first club the door policy as follows: anyone who had recently been to Iran Italy, South Korea or Japan (from memory) were told they could not enter, although this seemed to be a policy based on honesty. Anyone entering had to enter their details (name, telephone number, ID number) in a log book. The club also allowed entry by reservation only and a maximum of 50 patrons could be inside at a time. I didn’t do a head count, but by midnight, there seemed to be more people that that in the club, although I wouldn’t have described the place as packed. Later, we went to an after hours club. All the door staff were wearing plastic visors as well as the usual surgical/N95 masks at the door at this one, but inside this small underground club (very much ‘underground’ - it’s in a basement) there were a lot more people than the first one. All the staff were again wearing masks, but again, few patrons were.
According to official figures, new coronavirus infections in Shanghai have plateaued after more than a month of lockdown. The few new recorded infections have been brought in from outside China, which has incredibly stringent protocols for airport arrivals. On the subject of clubbing in Shanghai, of course I asked myself, “Is it really a good idea to be in here?” Maybe I’ll know that answer to that later this week.
It has been reported that a woman in Berlin infected around 60 other people in a club in Berlin a couple of weeks ago. That night, almost two weeks ago, I did bump into a Taiwanese who I’m sure had returned from Berlin just days prior (according to her Instagram). She should have been under home quarantine for 14 days and as a Taiwanese one would think that she should be aware of the importance of this. They aren’t messing around over in Taiwan. Over the weekend, a 35 year old man from New Taipei City, who should have been under home quarantine, was tracked by police to a nightclub dancefloor. He was arrested, moved to a government quarantine facility and fined NTD$1,000,000 (around US$33.000 - or almost AUD$55,000).
I actually received from criticism from a reader of my last post, which pointed out the ineptitude of the Australian Government in their response to the coronavirus outbreak. Well okay… Last week New South Wales Health allowed 2,700 passengers to disembark from the Ruby Princess, a cruise liner, at Circular Quay, smack bang in the middle of Sydney without screening any of the 2,700 people for Covid-19. So far 133 of them have been diagnosed with it. Words fail me, but I digress.
Back at those clubs, I was kicking myself that I didn’t bring a DSLR with me. I was expecting a low key night. Lesson learnt. After the weekend, I pitched a story to the Guardian on Shanghai post coronavirus lockdown with a focus on nightlife. The editor liked the idea and commissioned a piece, which was much appreciated during this unprecedented dry spell. Last Thursday night, I visited a club, chatted to some people and did a little photography. All the staff wore protective masks and gloves, but the majority of patrons didn’t
The most interesting person I met was a blogger who live-streams (and often sings) to her fans. She was alone at the bar, chatting to one hundred or so fans via Momo, a Chinese social media app. They were concerned when she told them that she was speaking to foreign media because now foreigners are widely considered a health risk in China. Sounds familiar, right?
Anyway, here are some photos from the story, which you can read at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/20/chinese-life-slowly-gets-back-to-normal-as-the-epidemic-subsides-coronavirus
Also, more work at www.davetacon.com
