I landed in Melbourne this morning after catching the last direct flight from Kuala Lumpur. The original plan of heading back to Beijing was canned after the Chinese government closed off borders to all foreigners.
A small anecdote: since I had no intention to come back for the Melbourne winter, other than a coat, the only warm clothing I carried was the Melbourne Uni hoodie. I wore it the entire way back and no less than 8 people assumed I’m a current student (ha! I wish) and proceeded to take pity on ‘the ordeal international students have had to go through’ before I sheepishly corrected that I’m just an alumni with no winter clothing. In the past, no one would even notice this hoodie. I think this speaks a lot on the public’s awareness of the plight of customers for one of Australia’s key exports, an industry in which Australia needs to maintain a competitive edge.
Back to the trip. There was a mechanical issue on the plane and a new part was needed as we readied for take off. I started getting flash backs of episodes from Air Crash Investigation. Not good, particularly given the history of Malaysian Airlines. But, some heavy turbulence aside, the rest of the flight was fine. There were less than 100 passengers so enough room for everyone to practice social distancing. Upon landing, quarantine officials boarded to tell us we will be quarantined at the Novotel and to hand out some initial information — by the time I got to the hotel, I had collected a stack of papers with all sorts of detailed information about the quarantine and virus.
From the minute we stepped off the plane til when we checked into the hotel, we were surrounded by health care and airport staff with the Australian Federal Police dotted along the way. There were various forms to complete on personal medical history and to acknowledge that we’ll be going into 14 days ‘detention’ at the hotel. Everything worked like clockwork — the usual temperature checks, questions on symptoms, immigration clearance, baggage pickup. Everyone kept their 1m distance. There was no chance to be in contact with anyone else other than fellow passengers and staff. The airport was empty. From the arrivals screen, the only other flight landing today was from Guangzhou on China Southern.
After immigration, we were shepherded via a back way onto the buses waiting where the planes were parked. Only 15–20 people per bus. We were given a bunch of chocolates to keep our sugar levels high. Few cars and people could be seen on the road — although Australia’s lock down doesn’t appear to be as tight as what China went through and what Malaysia is going through, I’m glad to see empty streets after seeing a photo of a horrifically crowded Bondi Beach only a few weeks ago.
Upon arrival at Novotel, we were greeted by many more airport, healthcare and hotel staff and a few police officers. Before proceeding to check in, we were given hand sanitisers, gloves and masks (so everyone wore two masks). Hotel staff took our luggage to free our hands for all the papers and snacks that we were about collect. All counters were roped off so no one can stand close the counters. After check in, we proceeded to the final table to go through our medical history once more as well as answering questions about our general situation — other family members who need to be looked after, any pets that need to be fed, whether we have electronic means to communicate etc. Kudos to the government for thinking beyond just the quarantine. After collecting the final stack of papers and more snacks, it was time to head to my room.
There are security personnel dotted throughout the hallway on my level. I assume that’s the case for each level. A few minutes after I got into my room, I received a call from the hotel staff to verbally go through key information in the stack of papers I had yet to look through:
- 3 meals per day at set times and will be dropped off at the door. Everything is in disposables.
- Rubbish will be collected once a day at the door.
- Clean linen and any cleaning materials will dropped off at the door. We’ll be doing our own cleaning.
- Any additional snacks from hotel can be purchased on credit card but no outside food delivery.
- Laundry service will be charged extra. (I have seen photos of people hanging out their laundry in the bathrooms — I assume the cost of laundry might be rather exorbitant. We’ll see.)
These arrangements are such that I do not come in contact with anyone for 14 days.
Room and amenities are all good (even with a gap between the couch and couch for me to do squats and plank!). The only slight downside is I can’t open the windows and I hear a baby next door with Bananas & Pyjamas playing on loop. Welcome snacks included an Easter bunny, chips, fruit and a breakfast box of cereal, juice box and surprisingly Chinese Wang Wang 旺旺 rice crackers. First lunch was beef curry with rice, salad and a cake, all left in a brown paper bag outside my door. First dinner was chicken with mashed potatoes and fruit salad. No, we do not get a choice, unless one has special dietary requirements. I guess this is not meant to be a full on two week holiday at the expense of tax payers.
The only fresh air I’ll be getting is when I open the door to pick up food or leave out my rubbish. When I tried to stick out my head for a few seconds longer, the security personnel all stared at me. As Malaysia has been in lock down since mid March, I was already getting use to being stuck inside the condo but I could still leave to buy essentials and had a balcony to do exercises. Nevertheless, as someone who has travelled a lot in the last 6 years since moving to Asia, being stuck inside a room for 14 days and then in the same city for potentially a lot longer will be an interesting experience. On the bright side, I have only spent limited time in Melbourne since moving abroad so may as well enjoy the opportunity now.
All in all, it has been a smooth process getting settled in. Both the federal and state governments appear well prepared to combat the virus. No confusion, staff answered all questions succinctly and with clarity. Initially, I wasn’t sure about coming back to Melbourne for this — China appeared to be a better choice given they are months ahead of other countries in combating Covid19. Many of my Chinese friends who were outside of China in Jan/Feb, particularly those in the US, were all scrambling to return to China by late March. However, my folks and friends made a good point that if I ever needed to visit the doctor’s during this pandemic (even if not for Covid19), Australia is better given the world class healthcare system and support we have here.
So as I chew on the Easter bunny, I’ll sign off for now and look forward to see how the next 14 days could unfold.
