Intro

Hi everyone; my name's Jenny and this is my first article on read.cash! Continue reading if you want some tips on how to survive the coronavirus written by someone who's been quarantined in China AND in America and who has thus far successfully avoided the virus without having to hoard toilet paper. Feel free to skip to the tips at the bottom if you're not interested in reading my back story and some general commentary on the pandemic. :)

Backstory on why I was in China

I first heard about the virus on January 17th, the day before my two-week trip to Fuzhou to celebrate Lunar New Year with my grandparents. My friend Kathleen sent me a text from her mom who lives in Hong Kong about the Wuhan pneumonia (no official name yet) and to be honest, I didn't take it seriously because she's a hardcore germaphobe. When I arrived in China two days later, everything still seemed normal. People were outside celebrating and seeing friends and family for the New Year; this was when the news about Wuhan didn't make national headlines yet.

On the third day, I got dinner with a relative and I asked her about Wuhan. She said that she just saw it on the news this morning. I asked her if I should buy face masks. She says if you want we can walk to a pharmacy nearby. When we got to the pharmacy, there was a line of at least 30 people solely buying face masks. The store didn't even bother stacking them on shelves; the masks were still in their shipping box and plopped next to the cash register. I bought a pack of 10 for about $3 USD. I was satisfied. Then the next day, at least 90% of the people I saw outside were wearing one. A couple of days later, EVERYONE was wearing one. The week after, you weren't even able to enter McDonald's without one on and you had to be temperature checked by a guard. I was incredibly relieved to fly back to New York but to tell you the truth, I now feel safer in China. The way the Western media covers the outbreak and how unprepared the United States government is in general is absolutely horrific.

Notes

A note on face masks

Face masks were already a thing in China. Wearing one doesn't protect the wearer as much as it protects the people surrounding the wearer. And if everyone around you wears one, it's very hard to spread the virus. With that in mind plus the fact that wearing a face mask is normal in China, it was easier to slow the spread. It's interesting to note that most households already owned face masks as it's common to wear them because of air pollution, when you're sick as a public courtesy or if you're a celebrity and need to hide your identity (ok not common to be a celebrity but it's common to see on the news, you get what I mean). It was literally overnight of people not wearing them (because they wanted to look cute for Lunar New Year pics) to wearing them (because they didn't want to die and cause people to die) as soon as the news broke out.

Compared to America, it's not common and it's also not effective to hoard face masks and be the only one to wear one if you're in a crowd of people that aren't wearing masks. If you do that, you're literally just protecting other people from yourself.

A note on American media

It sucks. The media and the fear mongering are causing idiots (and cult members like Chad Daybell) to buy toilet paper as if they're going to shit more than ever. People also need to stop hoarding hand sanitizer because wouldn't they want the others around you to be using them too? And of course the numbers are going to go up as more people get tested. In China, the Party controlls the news (a good thing in this instance) and all I've seen on T.V. were nurses teaching you how to properly put on a face mask and reminding you to wash your hands. All other coronavirus related news were showing doctors at work caring for patients, face mask factories showing the production of them and other reassuring and calming stories. I've also been to the grocery store a few times at the height of the outbreak and there were plenty of toilet paper to go around.

A note on racism and xenophobia

(If you're not racist, please skip.) Fuck you if you're going to blame all Chinese people for the virus. I assure you that we don't eat bats and we only ate dogs when we were starving to death. And is it really bad, like the worst thing ever to eat dogs when there were documented cases of cannibalism during times of need in other parts of the world? Also, where do you draw the line between a dog and a pig? How unfair that one is a beloved family member while the other gets slaughtered daily for bacon (AKA PIG) and pork (AKA PIG). Also, most Chinese people don't eat weird shit like pangolins and tigers. Only the ultra-rich can afford that weird meat. So fuck you- this isn't an ethnic disease and if you use it as an excuse to punch a Korean girl in NYC or steal cans and physically abuse an elderly Chinese man in San Francisco or think it's fun to dress up as Chinese people and make "slanty eyes" for your Belgian high school "Corona time" party when people are dying and suffering, FUCK YOU.

Now for the Tips

1. If you usually wear outdoor shoes inside, spray the soles with 91% isopropyl alcohol to kill any bacteria and viruses. It would be best if you you can switch to only wearing socks or switching into house slippers when indoors.

2. Have indoor clothing and outdoor clothing. As soon as you get home, change into pajamas or loungewear and put the clothes you wore outside in a plastic bag.

3. If you usually wear contacts, switch to eyeglasses to protect your eyes in case someone coughs in your direction.

4. If you have long hair, put it in a bun or a ponytail so there's less surface area for the virus to attach to.

5. Spray your phone and your laptop keyboard with with 91% isopropyl alcohol every night. Especially your phone since you put it closer to your face during calls.

6. Make sure to moisturize your lips so they don't crack, making it easier for the virus to enter your bloodstream.

7. You don't need to buy name-brand cleaning products or hand-sanitizers. To make DIY hand sanitizer, mix 1 part aloe vera with 2 parts 91% isopropyl alcohol. For a general disinfectant, I use hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle.

8. If you have a dog, skip the dog park (so the dog(s) can't interact with other dogs) and go to areas with less people so no one's inclined to pet him or her. Clean the dog's feet when you get home.

9. If you have to ride any sort of public transportation, choose the window seat so it's farther away from people walking down the aisles.

10. If you drive, park farther away from the crowd, even if it means walking more.

11. Try not to use physical cash to prevent unnecessary touching.

12. If you usually kiss your cat, dog, or other pet(s) because they're your everything and you love them so so so much, try to refrain from kissing said pet. Just in case you have it and then another person pets and or kisses said pet after you and vice versa.

Ok, I think that's all the tips I have right now; if you have any to share, please leave them down below :)

What's next on read.cash

My next article is going to be more related to crypto and design so please subscribe and be on the look out! I think I'm going to choose different crypto mostly bitcoin cash products and services and perform a heuristic analysis on each one to see where they can approve design-wise. Let me know if you have any requests and or suggestions.

BYE FOR NOW!!!