In an interview with Sputnik, 32-year-old reporter Zhao Lingfeng speaks about changes the quarantine has brought to his daily life.
Sputnik: Countries are imposing restrictive quarantine measures inside cities and are ordering the closure of malls, cinemas, restaurants, bars and other establishments. How has it changed your daily routine?
Zhao Lingfeng: I have avoided going out as much as possible since the outbreak, which means almost no visit to malls, cinemas, and restaurants. Food delivery services have become the main way to get meals.
Sputnik: Do you go out and if so - how often and for what?
Zhao Lingfeng: I go out only for work and grocery shopping. I shop for life necessities twice or three times per week.
Sputnik: Are there any legal fines for breaking the quarantine rules?
Zhao Lingfeng: A mandatory quarantine is required by the Hong Kong SAR government for anyone who’s travelled overseas in the past two weeks. Breaching the regulation can lead to up to HKD 25,000 fine and 6 months of jail time.
Sputnik: A lot of people have found themselves with a lot of extra free time. What are you doing while social-distancing at home?
Zhao Lingfeng: Watching TV, reading and exercising with some home fitness apps.
Sputnik:Before quarantine, we used to spend a lot of time online and with gadgets. But now we’re stuck with the web at home and people are now realizing that wasting so much time online is devastating and are turning to new things to entertain or educate themselves. What about you? Have you started doing any new or unusual things?
Zhao Lingfeng: Workout following some home fitness apps is a new thing that I do now because all gyms are shut down in Hong Kong for at least two weeks. I’ve developed a home workout routine with the help of a fitness app.
Sputnik: How hard is it to go without real-life communication with your friends, family and colleagues?
Zhao Lingfeng: As a reporter, I still need to go out for work, two or three months without eating out with friends so far has been acceptable. We just chat and share posts a lot online.
Sputnik: Are you living alone or with your family and friends? How are you coping with staying with someone 24/7?
I’m living alone.