Jason Wong wangjiyuan_2013@outlook.com AS we are about to head into the sixth month of 2020, the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic is still looming around the globe. While most parts of China are gradually returning to a new normality, the U.S. and many other countries still have a long way to go despite that the peak of the pandemic may have passed. While many Western viewers credit the containment of the virus in China to the strict lockdown of Wuhan and other cities in Hubei, a measure most other countries cannot impose, or to the extended Spring Festival holiday when people didn’t need to go to work, one aspect deeply rooted in the way that Chinese people live is generally ignored. In fact, at the time Wuhan was placed under a lockdown, the virus had already found its way to other parts of China. It was the stringent measures of community shielding that made up for lost time and quickly curbed the local spread of the virus. From early February to mid-March, most, if not all, communities in China were fully closed to visitors while residents were issued entry permits. There were no “stay-at-home” orders at the national level as different provinces allowed people to resume work starting from the middle of February, and when enclosed communities opened up again in late March, shielding measures continued as all residents and visitors were required to have their temperatures checked before entering gated communities or common areas. Community shielding of various degrees continues to this day, and similar measures are also implemented at work places and public venues. Although a fever is not necessarily an indicator of COVID-19, and there may also be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, the simple measures of shielding communities from those with suspected symptoms have worked well not only in China, but also in some overseas Chinese communities. In parts of Europe and some states of the U.S., authorities are planning to ease the lockdown that has continued since late March. Germany is among the first countries in continental Europe to restart the economy after a relatively successful handling of the virus, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has dropped the “stay at home” order in England but kept most restrictions in place. The prime minister, having returned to his post after recovering from COVID-19, is facing mounting pressure within his own party to return people to work. The British Government is putting on trial a track-and-trace app, but is facing privacy concerns. Community shielding is really the vital step to curb community spread, including sheltering the elderly and vulnerable, when the lockdown is finally over. Although measures like enclosed management and temperature checks are not practical for people living in open neighborhoods and suburban houses, communal apartments and care homes can adopt such methods to keep the virus outside the community. Work places, schools and universities should also follow suit. The number of deaths caused by COVID-19 in the U.K. has exceeded 36,000, the highest in Europe. Scientists at University College London has warned another 70,000 deaths in the coming year if the vulnerable are unprotected. Community deaths caused by COVID-19 in EU countries account for 42 percent to 57 percent of the total figure, according to a report by The Guardian. People around the world have already made tremendous sacrifice to save lives amidst this fierce pandemic. While the lockdown cannot be in place indefinitely and different countries are beginning to kickstart the economy again, governments should act to shelter the elderly and the most vulnerable, as well as prevent the virus from spreading in congregated communities. The Chinese way of community shielding provides a practical answer for the rest of the world to embrace a new normality after the lockdown without risking their privacy. Facing a dilemma of risking more deaths and ruining the economy, we all need to change our way of life dramatically until a vaccine is developed to help us defeat the virus once and for all. (The author is a senior student at Xiamen University.) | 