This post has nothing to do with basketball and I’m sorry for the misleading title. It does, however, have to do with what the world is now facing: a pandemic of the Coronavirus.
I recently posted an update about how things are shaping up here in Beijing. I can add to that post by now stating that there appears to be more traffic on the roads than before. This is because many companies set March 1st as a “return to work” date, though not all have started again.
A lot of stores still remain closed but a few that are able to open are now offering delivery. You’ll recall that delivery folks aren’t allowed onto compounds any more (no none residents are allowed through the gates) and so there is always a pile of packages outside the main gates of the compounds.
One notable closure that I was surprised to see was the closure of a convenience store in my neighbourhood called “Our Hours”. They stock the normal convenience store commodities but also also several food options (by no means healthy). They shut down for a few weeks and have only now reopened.
As usual, the major threat of the Coronavirus remains in WuHan city and HuBei province, along with ZheZhang, about a three hour flight away from Beijing. That is to say, the threat, although seemingly near, is rather distant. That’s not to say the threat isn’t eliminated, but it’s minimal in Beijing.
As you can see in the above image, the number of confirmed cases has increased substantially and, since my last writing about the subject, Iran and Italy have been hit hard by the virus. Further, as of last Friday, March 13, the Western world basically entered into quarantine. Now kids across the world will have an extended Spring Break while here in China there’s still no movement on when schools will reopen. Instead, classes have moved online to keep the semesters progressing.
Further, from pictures I’ve seen posted online, it really looks like the Western countries aren’t handling this very well, or at least a little bit overwhelmed with the idea of a quarantine. I don’t think we’ve ever faced anything like this before. Even the cold snaps in Winnipeg are often limited to a week or two of the year and usually fall in January or February. Other than that, there’s never really been a time that we literally were told not to go out.
Further, the pictures of supermarkets being stripped clean is kind of worrisome, though I am told there is still a flow of food and that the pictures really only give half the story. That being considered, I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise because North America does have its fair share of doomsday predictors and “the world is going to end!” (Again?)
The biggest and most obvious concern and scare is the massive drop in the stock market, which just keeps on falling. And every now and then there is someone who says “We were saying there was going to be a correction for years!” Yes, but that’s like someone bragging about how much someone could make in the markets, yet they never put a penny into the game. So I roll my eyes at those comments. Here is the TSX chart as of its close on Friday, March 20, 2020:
And the New York Stock Exchange:
Pretty bleak.
One question that has stuck in my mind as of late is what will happen when this whole thing is considered over. I wonder, will all the public advisories of washing hands and not crowding around other people remain in the public conscious or will people go right back to what they were doing before this outbreak occurred?
So what am I doing to keep busy?
I am pulling back on my Japanese studies since there is no plan to Japan any time soon. As a result, if I don’t need to focus on it right away, then I’ll push it back onto the back burner. You can read my latest progress report (and final one for a while) over here.
Next, I am continuing with my Chinese studies and have averaged 2-3 hours a day. I recently finished the HSK 4 textbooks and have now started the practice tests. Since there is no testing scheduled for the HSK exams, I still have time to prepare.
The newest addition to my schedule is Python programming. If you’ve read my About page you’ll note that I did in fact try to study computer science in university, but failed miserably and ended up studying Classics instead. Things have changed dramatically over the last, ermmm, since I was in university, and I think it might be a useful skill to look into once again. Not only that, but, given my attack on human, spoken languages, I was wondering if I would be able to apply the same principles of study to learning a programming language. What language am I picking up? Python. You can read about my attempt at programming here.
Next, I’ve decided to revisit some music ideas, but I’m paring down my own requirements for these ideas substantially. Instead of trying to make full tracks, I was thinking of releasing some drum tracks out into the open. I have at my disposal an iPad and I thought it would be a fun experiment to see if I could actually make something from it. So far it’s been alright, but there are some frustrations in using a digital drum kit despite the relative ease of using a touch interface.
Hope you are well! Stay warm and wash your hands!