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I was talking with my sister in Michigan and she said that it seems like she will be working at home for about a year, meanwhile, I work in an international school in Beijing, China and we started back with a week of professional development on Monday.
To enter our campus, we need to scan a QR code that links to our travel history and we take our temperature twice a day. There is some social distancing and maybe 1/4 of the staff wear a mask all day, but since there are no students we are pretty lax now.
Beijing hasn't had any confirmed locally transmitted cases since July and our district only had 10 cases and hasn't has a new case since February.
When students return things will look different. In my classroom we have clear dividers on all of the tables, students will not share materials and there will be no big group activities and field trips are cancelled for the time being. Our classroom already had filters installed because of Beijing's pollution but fortunately in the past few years the skies have improved, so we will have the windows open for fresh air and ventilation.
It really does show that with everyone on the same page (i.e. wearing a mask, social distancing, proper hygiene practices and not going out unless necessary) this virus can be contained.
It is very unfortunate that because of this virus a lot of people have lost their jobs. Some of the international schools here were also unable to pay their staff too. Our school is doing well, but the teachers that went abroad and can't come back in yet can keep their jobs, but while they are outside of China their pay is drastically cut.
For those of us who stayed not much has changed. The past month I have been going to band rehearsals and we even got to perform at 4 shows in August, 3 of them being out doors and the last gig was an invite only at a local bar, we had about 100 friends show up. I feel very confident that these actions are not a risk and a hopeful return to the new normal. Even though I feel confident, I still am keeping the mask on in crowded areas, maintaining distance and washing my hands with sanitizer often. I also keep alcohol prep pads in my pack for when I finish wrapping up guitar and mic cables that have been on the ground.
Anyway, next week students come back to the classroom, we'll see how that goes. All of China has less that 1000 cases at the moment and nearly all of the reported cases in the last month, with the exception of Hong Kong have been imported cases, hopefully things can continue to improve here and be a good model for other parts of the world that haven't been as fortunate.
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