Coronavirus lockdown: how to cope – lessons from China on using the time positively, for self-discovery, learning to cook, working out
- People in lockdown in the West can learn from China about taking a positive approach to being at home and using the time for self-reflection
- Working on your fitness and finding new hobbies like cooking are others ways of staying motivated and healthy
When outbreaks of the novel coronavirus were first reported in Europe and the United States, the idea of government-mandated self-quarantine was widely dismissed as a draconian measure only enforceable in authoritarian states such as China.
There were reports of young people packing concert halls, and getting together for spring break activities, demonstrations and other large gatherings with no concern about the dangers of community transmission. This shocked Chinese citizens who had thought nothing of following the government’s order to stay confined at home.
Some 760 million people – more than half of China’s population – were ordered to stay at home in cities across the country to contain the outbreak.
For many people in China, the six weeks of home confinement since the Lunar New Year at the end of January offered valuable time for self-reflection, career planning, getting creative, and spending moments with family members they would otherwise rarely see.
Shanghai-based fitness coach Zoey Zhou, whose workout videos have several million online fans, had spent two months in Bali, Indonesia before returning home in mid-March. Her fan base on the Chinese video platform Bilibili shot up by more than half a million in the past two months as many people went online for tips on how to keep fit during the lockdown.