'Living in China's Zhengzhou, Mask Mandatory, Life Gradually Returns to Normal'

We're allowed to go grocery shopping, for a walk, etc. The university keeps track of our health through an app.

As COVID cases spike up in China, here's how I'm living.

(Image courtesy: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)

Producer: Varsha Rani
Video Editor: Prashant Chauhan

China, the country I'm currently studying and living in, is under the spell of a COVID explosion. The surge in the number of COVID cases has become a matter of concern for the people living here.

I'm an Indian medical student from Ranchi, Jharkhand, living in Zhengzhou, China.

Zhengzhou, a city in China.

(Image courtesy: Google maps)

I came back to China after a gap of two years on 28 October 2022. I was quarantined for 21 days after reaching here.

Initially, we thought we'd be staying on campus, but due to the rise in COVID cases, our university made it mandatory for everyone to take an apartment off campus.

A picture of me in China.

(Image courtesy: Angel Yoanna)

As of now, there are no restrictions in my city, but masks have been made mandatory. We're allowed to go out if needed- grocery shopping, for a walk, or to eat.

We no longer have to do any Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAAT).

'University Tracks Our Health Via App'

My university keeps track of our health through an app. We are supposed to answer a couple of questions that it asks, such as, if you have a cold, fever or any other symptoms.

The health app that is being used to track the health of students.

(Image courtesy: Angel Yoanna)

Our classes have moved online, and at the moment, we’ve been having online exams. But we’ve been told we will have offline classes from next semester.

My parents are concerned about me after watching and reading the news of the surge in COVID cases. I talk to them daily for an everyday update.

They tell me that they keep getting calls from extended family members asking if I’m okay. 

As of now, we are doing fine and we’re all able to step out and we follow the COVID protocols. I hope things get better and there is no "new wave" of COVID that we have to experience again.

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