Swede in Shanghai - Life after Corona and the scrutiny of foreigners
MyTelescope recently got the opportunity to interview Magnus Dettmar, a Swedish business man and YouTuber living in Shanghai. One of his latest videos ‘Shanghai AFTER corona virus’ caught our attention, and we thought to ask him a few questions to share his insights with our readers. China has been declining in the number of cases reported for several weeks now having been the first country hit. However, their coping strategy and organisation seems to be the defining factor is how they managed to come out the other side so fast despite the large number of infected people. In Magnus’ video it is a daily vlog looking at his life between the gym, office, and re-visiting is favourite eateries around the city. Some things appear very normal and others not so much, it will be interesting to see how long regulations stay in place.
Our following conversation with Magnus covers China’s small and large strategies to combat the virus’ spread, public opinions towards foreigners, Magnus’ view on how Sweden is coping in comparison, and some lighthearted insights on everyday life in Shanghai.
The video that caught our eye:
Q: Could you describe how it is to live in China now after Corona?
A: I live in Shanghai and here life is back to “normal". We can go to parks, gyms, restaurants, and bars freely. We always have to check our temperature when walking into those places, but they do very quickly.
You also have to show your QR code in alipay which shows you are healthy and have been in quarantine. Everybody, I literally mean everybody, wears a mask when they are out on the street. Some bars don’t allow foreigners right now, but its very rare.
How does the colour system work? : https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-china-health-software-color-coded-how-it-works-2020-4?r=US&IR=T
Q: Where are some of the strangest places you’ve had to get your temperature checked?
A: They check all the time when you walk in to the buildings, so restaurants, bars, gym, even my office. No place are stranger than any others. However, when I was walking in to Tiffanys last week they made us use hand sanitiser, but also sprayed our shoes and checked our temperature. That was strange.
Q: What is the device used for taking temperature?
A: They always use a temperature gun, so it takes less than a second.
Q: In the video you mentioned China is using disposable cups to stop the virus’ spread, what other small measures have they taken?
A: In my wework office they use disposable cups to prevent the spread. They also sometimes tape cups filled with tooth picks in the elevators so you should not touch the buttons.
Q: Your job is to source medical equipment for the rest of the world, which countries have had the most demand in the past few weeks?
A: The demand has been in south of Europe, such as Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and France. I am of course talking to the Swedish hospitals, but they taking action very slowly and the price currently fluctuates every day.
Q: What are the most extreme lengths you’ve seen someone go to to protect themselves from the virus?
A: Every now and then you see people with 2-3 masks on the streets. Sometimes you see people with full body suits. When I flew to Shanghai I saw a guy with a long rain coat, three masks, googles, gloves and he washed his hands at least once an hour!
Q: You mentioned that some Chinese people are nervous to go near foreigners on the decline curve of the virus fall out, why have the roles switched?
A: There has been a lot of information in the news that it is foreigners that are bringing in the virus right now. So it’s the same reaction as we had towards the Chinese initially. I have not personally been very effected, but you can feel that they watch you in a different way now than before the corona crisis. I think it will soon go back to normal though.
Q: China is clearly taking it very seriously, meanwhile Sweden is more lax in its regulations. Did you ever find yourself wishing you were back home or did you feel safer staying in Shanghai?
A: I feel much safer in Shanghai than Sweden to be honest. Here we haven’t had a corona case since March 3rd. People really respected the virus and sat in quarantine and EVERYBODY is wearing a mask. The only things I see on social media about Sweden is that it’s normal, which I think is very disrespectful for those who are in the risk group. If all Swedes just stayed in for two months, we would get rid of it. But I guess thats too much for people…
It’s recently been reported that others share a negative view of how Sweden has handled the virus, mostly from foreign residents. Several readers told The Local they felt more likely to move away from Sweden as a result of its handling of the crisis, with a few saying they planned to leave once the virus was over and international travel possible, and others already actively looking to relocate:
Q: When you order food apparently you can see the body temperature of the person delivering your food - have updates like this made you feel safer or also more paranoid?
A: Here we are not worried about the virus anymore. Its gone, at least on the surface. The temperature check is just a small thing thats still hangs in there, but I don’t think it could prevent the spread as much. People are just more respectful of each other, people are wearing masks, there are hand sanitisers everywhere, you are encouraged to clean your hands as much as possible.
Q: What other kinds of new technology have been developed in this time either within or outside of the medical industry?
A: Face recognition can now be done in China WITH a mask, which is a development.
Alipay tracks where you are, so if someone gets corona tested positive it shows who has been in contact with that person and all those peoples QR code turns from green to yellow and you have to get tested.
People are more flexible with work now so you can work from home if needed. In Wuhan during the outbreak, there were drones flying around checking temperature and telling people to put on a mask. More than that I don’t know.
If like Magnus you also have insights into your town / city and the ways it’s changed and adapted to help fight the coronavirus we would love to hear. Any pictures or videos are also encouraged - how has your daily life been altered after quarantine?
Please e-mail us at: hello@mytelescope.io
If you would like to read more MyTelescope blogs please check out our daily Coronavirus blog, which predicts the spread and decline of the virus globally: