From Bangkok. Nothing special just giving a first hand account.

My experience returning to China 16 days ago may be useful in understanding the situation here.

My real life experience is boring. Many will not finish reading it, and instead binge-watch sensationaized news and baseless social mediaĺ posts. Governments lie, the new is biased. Everyone knows this, but research is not convenient nor entertaining, so people tell themselves their news is the only legit source- nothing changes.

2020-3-20 afternoon:
Temp check to enter BKK airport

China Southern does its own check pre-boarding - several don't pass (about 15 by the time I boarded). Those that passed a re-test got on, then rechecked mid-flight.

Questioned onboard and sent off the plane by groups depending on: where we had traveled, where we were going in China, and nationality -international students also had a category.

Seat no. flight no. (boarding pass), passport copied and collected, temp check (total of 5 at Guangzhou airport), took 3 hours to clear customs and the airport was at about 5% of its normal traffic

Covid test for Chinese travellers only at GZ airport (that part didn't make sense to me)

Transit flight to Chongqing separated travelers by a few rows in groups depending on which places we'd been recently. One domestic traveller didn't wanted to move seats and was threatened with 2 weeks quarantine if she insisted on sitting with us "high risk" passengers from Thailand- reported cases in Thailand when we left were about 400.

Travel history also determined how we got off that domestic flight - This now the morning of 3-21

Divided on arrival and put on buses depending on the district of the city we lived in, directly to quarantine hotels for our districts.

Cops called that day, knew I had just landed and everything about my travel history

Covid test next morning at quarantine hotel room (3-22)

A cop car with lights flashing stayed parked in front of the quarantine hotel front door, the key card was taken by medical staff, only 1 elevator was left running.

Coivd results back (3-23) As I, nor anyone else on my flight or bus had failed the test, I could leave the quarantine hotel The food was 100 rmb per day the room 300rmb/ night. Covid test-no charge. I couldn't finish the amount of food brought to me. It was also pretty good.

Shortly after arriving home, a Dr and cop show up at the door to take temp and remind us of the rules- We didn't tell anyone we were going home- the message was relayed through their system. Cop knows everyone who is living at the house, asked for us by name without looking at a list.

Temp result is sent to the Dr twice a day, every day

Surprise visit from Dr 3 days in, temp checked.

Friends can drop off food, water guy can deliver

Been home 14 days (today)

Retested for covid today at hospital

Results tomorrow will be passed to community office - that will then allow me to leave my house with a mask on, like everyone else has to (most, but not all people outside wear masks).

The guard at the gate of our community needs to see proof from the community office allowing us to leave the complex. So he controls now both who enters and who leaves.

The 2nd test today cost 1 Jiao (1-10th of 1 RMB- that's the smallest unit of money in China).

In Wuhan, where relatives live, they had to do something similar for 2 months. People can now enter Hubei, but those there still can't leave the province without the quarantine I just described- likely meaning they can't drive across provincial lines. They may have to arrive by train or plane and do the quarantine thing. Other domestic travel is also monitored, not to Hubei's extreme though.

In Chongqing, anyone with a fever must report to hospital. Anyone trying to buy fever meds at a pharmacy will be reported. Anyone reporting a fever must provide movement history- say they had been to our gym, the gym must close and all from the gym quarantined 'til the fever patient's covid test comes back clean..or not, in that case then 2 weeks quarantine for everyone from the gym, as described above.

VS my dad returning to Canada 3-21 from the US (current epicenter of the virus)

No tests at all. Told to self-isolate for 2 weeks. No repercussions if he were to break the rule. No one checks on him. Masks are not mandatory.

Digest my first-hand experience and this comparison to my dad's returning to Canada.

A popular agreement with people on FB is that the virus isn't under control here, it's a big lie. I can only guess like everyone else, but I don't understand what the logic would be of fighting this so hard, then letting people move around and spread it again before it's contained.

The comparison to how much stricter China's approach to handling this is ridiculous.