Jerry Grey, an Australian who lives in Zhongshan, Guangdong shared his story of re-entering China from Bangkok via Hong Kong International Airport.

March 17th , Bangkok -Hong Kong -Zhuhai

What a day! I started pleasantly with a great breakfast in Bangkok and then took an Uber to the airport. Getting through Bangkok airport was no problem, I did have my temperature taken, twice, but not delayed at all. Surprisingly, few people in Bangkok airport were wearing masks. At least, that was true until I got to the gate for the HK flight and now everyone was wearing a mask.

Once in HK and through immigration, I knew the ferries were closed so I planned to go to the departure hall for the taxis and limos across the bridge. Sadly not, they were all closed too. I caught the B4 bus, to the Port passenger handling terminal about 15 minutes away where I went through yet another screening process and health check before leaving HK – I had actually only been in HK about 90 minutes. I arrived in the immigration arrivals hall at Gong Bei in Zhuhai at 5:00pm.

Notice: starting on March 19th, travelers arriving in Hong Kong from any foreign country will have to undergo a mandatory two-week home quarantine or medical surveillance.

Coincidentally meeting in the line up at Zhuhai border crossing [Photo provided by

Jerry Grey]

The Gongbei Port was a difficult part of the process with more forms to fill in and a two-hour queue. But the local governments are doing a great job processing all the returning Chinese and most of the visitors coming to, or coming back into China. And everyone stayed calm.

There was one point I felt the administration was a little short of expectations - one lady there spoke no English and no Chinese, she was from Italy. The staff members were processing her for a VERY long time. They must hate seeing foreigners in the line, it makes their job much harder.

I think the staff can have some phone translators as Guangdong has translation hotlines for expats. The questions I was asked were quite simple - where have you been, where did you go during the time you were there, do you have any symptoms etc. It would make life much easier for the staff with a call to a translator.

After a few rounds of queuing, we finally crossed the border and entered Guangdong properly!

March 18th, Zhuhai-Zhongshan

At 1:05am, we were called and followed a man outside, waiting to go somewhere to take the test for COVID-19. We got on a 40-seater bus to a hotel just a few kilometres away, filled in more forms and waited. At 2:10am, we were shown to anther bus, this one for Zhongshan city, home!!!

An hour later, we arrived in Zhongshan at a hotel near the port. The car park has been turned into a clinic and we were checked – this time, no more forms, they had the details. Within 5 minutes, we were tested for Covid-19. Five minutes later, we were checked into a hotel and ready for sleep – it was after 4am.

Completing the paperwork before the test for the COVID-19 in a hotel in Zhongshan [Photo provided by Jerry Grey]

I spent 8 hours in this hotel and then 5 hours in another, waiting for the result of my test. They didn’t charge anything, including the test, the hotel, the bus or the taxi to home in Zhongshan. To be honest, I was amazed that I didn’t need to pay. But I heard that Guangdong would soon change for board and lodging in quarantine.

At 4:00pm, I confirmed, not only myself, but everyone in the hotel had been cleared today. This was a great weight off my mind. The people I had been in fairly close proximity to were all ok.

The doctor asked me how was lunch. I explained I missed my dinner, breakfast and lunch because of wrong timing. But none of that matters now, I’m going home in a few minutes – but for Zhongshan it does matter – she wandered off and came back with a pot of instant noodles which I rarely eat but was obliged to do so in the street whilst waiting to be picked up.

Finally, we got home. The staff from the community followed us and came up to check my apartment. Because there’s only one bedroom and only one bathroom, I need to stay alone. Ann, my wife has her own apartment and has gone back there. She is allowed to visit me every day if she wants to and can bring food, shopping so I won’t starve. And, I’m going to be tested again in two days. After that test, if it’s still negative, they might relax the conditions a little.

In summary to this day-long epic, my purpose is to tell others what to expect if they are planning a enter or re-enter China. In general, the staff members are fantastic. So, despite my frustration and my occasional lack of patience, I 100% support the efforts China is making in slowing down, containing and hopefully soon eradicating this particular coronavirus. I knew the process would be tiring, but I am very pleased to be home, it was worth it.

 

Author| Jerry Grey

Edited by Newsgd.com