Centrum. Feed your cells. Fuel your life.
>>> WE’RE ALL LIVING THROUGH
THIS ERA OF PHYSICAL DISTANCING,
IT’S MORE APPROPRIATE THAN
SOCIAL DISTANCEING WONDERING HOW
LONG IS THIS GOING TO GO ON?
ARE THE COMING DAYS GOING TO BE
LIKE?
LIKE? IT’S FRUSTRATING TO SAY THAT WE
DON’T KNOW FOR SURE REALLY THE
CLOSEST WE CAN COME TO KNOWING
IS JUST LISTENING TO FOLKS IN
CHINA WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN
THROUGH TWO PLUS MONTHS OF
LOCKDOWN.
LOCKDOWN. YOU THINK OF IT AS A DISPATCH
FROM THE FUTURE.
I CAME ACROSS THIS GREAT
FACEBOOK POST.
FACEBOOK POST. HE TALKED ABOUT HIS EMOTIONAL
TRAJECTORY, WEEKS ONE AND TWO
ARE FILLED WITH ABSOLUTE
CONFUSION, ANGER, FINGER
POINTING
POINTING POINTING, CONSPIRACY THEORY,
HELPLESSNESS AND WEEK FOUR REAL
LAIZATION
LAIZATION IZATION KICKS IN THIS IS FOR
REAL.
REAL. DEPRESSION KICKS IN.
WEEK FIVE AND SIX IS HITTING
STRIDE, FEELING LIKE YOU GOT
THIS AND BY WEEK SWITCH AND
EIGHT AS THE INFECTION NUMBERS
DROPPED TO ALMOST ZERO YOU BEGIN
TO VENTURE OUT SLOWLY LIKE A
P.O.W. AND REALIZE THE FRONT
GATE IS LEFT OPEN.
I FOUND THIS HUMAN AND GAVE ME
HOPE AND COMFORT.
SO TONIGHT, I THOUGHT WE SHOULD
TALK TO SOMEONE WHO HAS GONE
THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE.
PETER LIVES AND WORKS IN CHINA
SPENT TWO MONTHS IN AN APARTMENT
WITH HIS WIFE AND KIDS
QUARANTINED AND WROTE ABOUT HIS
EXPERIENCE AND EXPLAINS THE SLOW
EXIT.
EXIT. ON THE 45th DAY OF THE LOCKDOWN
OUR FAMILY WENT OUT TO DINNER
FOR THE FIRST TIME.
MY DAUGHTER STILL HADN’T
INTERACTED WITH ANOTHER CHILD
HER AGE AND THERE HAD BEEN NO
ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT SCHOOL.
PETER MESS
PETER MESS PETER HESSLER JOINS ME NOW.
TAKE ME THROUGH THE TRAJECTORY
OF YOUR EXPERIENCE OF THE SAME
FEELING HOW LONG IS THIS GOING
TO GO ON?
TO GO ON? HOW LONG CAN WE KEEP THIS GOING
AS THE QUARANTINE EXTENDED?
>> YEAH, THAT’S REALLY ONE OF
THE ISSUES IS THE LACK OF
CERTAINTY.
CERTAINTY. YOU WERE NEVER TOLD THIS WAS
GOING TO BE A MONTH OR TWO
MONTHS AND, YOU KNOW, SO THAT’S
PART OF WHAT YOU’RE DEALING WITH
AND OF COURSE, THE OTHER THING
IS HAVING CHILDREN IN THE
SITUATION IS REALLY DIFFICULT.
ESPECIALLY THE ISOLATION FROM
OTHER KIDS.
OTHER KIDS. I MEAN, OUR KIDS JUST THIS LAST
WEEK FINALLY WERE ABLE TO SEE
OTHER CHILDREN THEIR AGE.
YOU KNOW, SO THAT’S A LONG TIME,
ALMOST TWO MONTHS, VERY HARD ON
THEM.
THEM. >> YOU DID SOME REPORTING ABOUT
THE LOCKDOWN MEASURES THERE AND
ALSO, THE HOSPITALS.
TELL US, I MEAN, THE LOCKDOWN IN
CHINA STRIKES ME AS CONSIDERABLY
MORE SEVERE THAN WHAT WE HAVE
HERE AND EVEN THE PLACES THAT
ARE UNDER SHELTER IN PLACE
ORDERS.
ORDERS. >> YEAH, I MEAN, IN MANY PLACES,
YOU COULDN’T EVEN LEAVE YOUR
BUILDING BASICALLY OR THEY WOULD
LET ONE PERSON GO OUT EVERY TWO
OR THREE DAYS.
THAT WAS VERY COMMON.
I THINK THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IN
CHINA WAS THEY WERE ALSO
GATHERING A LOT OF INFORMATION.
THERE WAS A LOT OF CONTACT
TRACING, THEY’RE FIGURING OUT
WHERE THE CASES ARE, WHAT THE
SPREAD PATTERN.
SPREAD PATTERN. IN LOCKDOWN PEOPLE HAD COME
THREE TIMES TO ASK WHERE WE
TRAVELED AND HOW MANY PEOPLE WE
HAD AND HAD THAT INFORMATION TO
PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.
EVEN A TWO-MONTH LOCKDOWN WON’T
SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
THIS IS A YEAR OR TWO YEARS
UNTIL YOU GET A VACCINE AND SO
YOU NEED TO DEVELOP SYSTEMS IN
PLACE WHERE YOU CAN TRACK
OUTBREAKS, YOU CAN HAVE MORE
FLEXIBLE, YOU KNOW, MORE
INDIVIDUALIZED RESPONSES TO
OUTBREAKS.
OUTBREAKS. >> WHAT -- I IMAGINE YOU HAVE
AMERICAN FRIENDS EMAILING YOU OR
WHAT’S APPING YOU OR CONTACTING
YOU IN SOMEWAY OR THE OTHER AND
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN TELLING THEM?
WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE FOR THOSE OF
US WHO ARE ON THIS SIDE OF THE
TIME MACHINE AND YOU SIT THERE
AND LOOK BACK AT US FROM THE
FUTURE?
FUTURE? >> I MEAN, MY ADVICE IS JUST,
YOU KNOW, IT CAN’T JUST BE THE
SOCIAL DISTANCING.
SOCIAL DISTANCING. IT CAN’T JUST BE A LOCKDOWN.
THEY HAVE TO -- YOU HAVE TO HAVE
TESTS AND SOME KIND OF STRUCTURE
TO GET THIS OTHER INFORMATION
AND TRACE INFECTION PATTERNS.
IT ALL POSSIBLE.
THE UNITED STATES SPENT A LOT OF
TIME ON ANTI TERRORISM AND
FOREIGN WARS.
FOREIGN WARS. WE HAVE TO APPROACH THIS IN
SOMEWHAT THE SAME WAY.
THERE IS A LACK OF REALIZATION
THAT IT TAKES THIS SORT OF
EFFORT AND MAYBE PEOPLE THINK
YOU HAVE TO STAY HOME FOR A
COUPLE MONTHS AND THEN IT’S
OVER.
OVER. BUT THAT’S NOT GOING TO BE IT.
I THINK IT’S NOT DONE HERE.
I THINK IT WILL BOUNCE BACK IN
CHINA AT VARIOUS POINTS.
THE SOCIETIES WE’VE SEEN THAT
HAVE DONE WELL WITH THIS SOUTH
KOREA HAS DONE WELL.
TAIWAN, SINGAPORE, I THINK CHINA
HAS DONE FAIRLY WELL, THEY ALL
HAVE HAD THIS ELEMENT OF TRACING
WHERE THE INFECTION MOVES, AND I
DON’T SEE THAT HAPPENING IN THE
U.S.
U.S. IT CONCERNS ME AND I HEAR A LOT
FROM MEDICAL PERSONNEL, DOCTORS
AND OTHER PEOPLE IN THE MEDICAL
INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES
AND THEY ARE REALLY UNDER
PREPARED AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE
DISTURBED BY WHAT THEY’RE
EXPERIENCING ALREADY.
EXPERIENCING ALREADY. >> WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE AS
THINGS HAVE SLOWLY OPENED UP?
I THINK ALL OF US ARE HOLDING ON
IN OUR MINDS THAT WE’RE GOING TO
GET THROUGH THIS.
THIS IS NOT THE NEW PERMANENT
NORMAL.
NORMAL. SOME DAY WE’LL GO TO A
RESTAURANT AGAIN.
RESTAURANT AGAIN. HOW HAS CHINA MANAGED THAT AND
WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE JUST YOUR
EXPERIENCE OF IT?
>> EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT.
I GOT MY HAIRCUT YESTERDAY AND I
HAD TO GET MY TEMPERATURE TAKEN.
AS YOU GO TO A RESTAURANT, THEY
TAKE YOUR TEMPERATURE AND RECORD
ALL OF THAT.
PEOPLE ARE STILL WEARING MASKS
OUT ON THE STREET BUT IT’S
SLOWLY RETURNING AND AN
EPIDEMIOLOGIST AT HARVARD
DESCRIBED THIS AS LETTING THE
AIR OUT OF A BALLOON SLOWLY.
THAT THE REALLY WHAT THEY’VE
BEEN TRYING TO DO HERE AND SO
NOW WE’RE STARTING TO HEAR
SCHOOLS MAY REOPEN.
I THINK APRIL 7th, THE FIRST
WAVE OF STUDENTS WILL GO BACK
AND I THINK MY KIDS IN PUBLIC
SCHOOL WILL PROBABLY BE BACK IN
MID APRIL.
MID APRIL. I THINK THERE IS A SENSE YOU CAN
RETURN TO NORMAL OR SOME DEGREE
OF NORMALCY BUT THINGS ARE
ADJUSTED AND IT HAPPENS SLOWLY.