If things continue to go well, I reckon I can go back to China later this year. My home country seems to have finally given up the COVID zero dream. Citizens are allowed to move about the country freely, travelers from abroad need only a negative test, no more quarantining. All of this just in time for the massive Lunar New Year festivities (it’s this weekend).
Of course, a complete reversal of the previously harsh restrictions means COVID is running rampant in China. So much so the country is not even bothering with releasing numbers. They are essentially going through the waves we already saw here in the States and the rest of the world. The sad part is, the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) that we received are banned in China. They’ve only got the far least effective (effectively ineffective) home-grown Sinovac vaccine. Needless amount of the citizenry will be severely sick (or die) because of this.
This is why I have no short-term plans to visit China (after three long years away) to see family. I think it’s better let COVID run its course and reach a sort of equilibrium. Besides, my mother tells me those of us on the old 10-year tourist visa are still not yet allowed into the country. With the requirement that Chinese tourists coming into the United States must test negative (a logical move, honestly), China will certainly reciprocate in kind, if not even more restrictive, to U.S. travelers.
My father is scheduled to retire in July. The hope is that he will be able to return to China to live for a few months starting in autumn. I will then join him towards the end of December, my usual timeframe to go back home, back before the pandemic started.
Imagine that - I’m now old enough to have both parents retire completely. The seasons of our lives can seemingly change so suddenly.
Studying intensely.