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I thought someone would swab me and wasn’t expecting a self-test but it was simple enough. When it came time to hock up deep throat spit, I was grateful for the thoughtful courtesy of the private booths.
Finally, we were taken to a big hall w/ numbered & distanced individual tables with chairs. Different flights are assigned different rows. Each table comes with a trash bag and a couple information sheets.
There seems to be a conscious effort to avoid telling us how long it will take, but I heard staff tell a father 8 hrs after he gently pressed. Now his three kids are quietly studying, with the mom helping the youngest with his multiplication.
One well-prepared mom traveling alone with a toddler brought a small beach tent and set it up next to her table, so that her child could be more comfortable. She’s gone, so I’m hoping the staff prioritized her or gave her a better setup.
We were handed sandwiches (with a vegetarian option) and bottled water. I saw one hygienic slip-up: a passenger asked to switch her sandwich choice and the staff took her box back from her and put it back on the cart.
It’s only been about an hour and a half but a woman is already pacing around her table. I’m saving my sandwich for later as it’ll likely be the highlight of my time here.
There is a atmosphere of patient cooperation. We are all HK residents returning home, who got on our planes knowing (vaguely) what was ahead of us upon arrival, including the mandatory 2-week quarantine. After 2.5 months in Europe (mostly in France), it’s a relief to be back.
At home, my mom awaits my arrival. A few days ago, she informed our building management that I’d be coming. They are on standby and will spray me and my luggage with disinfectant in the lobby. Then they will disinfect the elevator and the lobby behind me.
It’s nice to be home where I am not seen an over-the-top germaphobe. Here ppl work collectively to get local transmission to ZERO. In France I felt like ppl saw the virus as an abstract lottery, believing they just need to follow govt guidelines best they can & hope for the best.
Um, so some nice Twitter stranger informed me that I accidentally tweeted personal info, so here’s my saliva sample sealed into a specimen bag again. I blame jet lag, but it also hadn’t occurred to me there could be personal info on a document with no handwriting on it. But...
I guess sometime in the hour or so between getting my tracking bracelet and receiving my test kit, someone had typed in my personal information, printed it out, and inserted it into my personalized kit bag. Wow.
And for the record! I am using the official government spelling for the “kruuaar” sound you have to make when hocking up spit! That is how they spelled it out in the instructional video! (Or something like that, I could be a few letters off.)
https://twitter.com/heldavidson/status/1260798110755811328?s=21 https://twitter.com/heldavidson/status/1260798110755811328
Cleaning staff in full PPE took my used trash bag away. Another staff member came and gave me a new one. Toilets seem to be cleaned quite frequently too. There are 16 columns of 12 chairs each (192 total). People have been trickling in and the room is about 70% full.
I ate my sandwich. It was fresh & made with care, though lacking in flavor. A napkin would have been nice. People are starting to get a bit restless. There’s ~20 kids of all ages. I’m guessing they flew back in time to be out of quarantine for the (planned) re-opening of schools.
Woohoo! Snacks! Turns out I needn’t have rationed my sandwich. I was given a new bottle of water, cream crackers, and chocolate digestives. I asked for an extra packet of digestives and the staff member — wearing a gown, cap, mask and face shield — happily obliged.
Here are the welcome note and “house rules” that were waiting for me on the table when I got here. I wonder if people being visited by friends and family while waiting here was an actual issue at some point.
So, an interesting detail to illustrate the fastidiousness of the whole process: I was given a “compulsory quarantine order” form on the plane. It was hastily photocopied and had the same thing on the front and back.
Upon landing, workers insisted that we had to fill it in again since only the “original” form would do, rather than photocopies. We filled in the fresh, original forms twice, including our quarantine address.
When the health official signed & stamped the forms (keeping one copy & giving me the other), he crossed out my address + stamped it with the address of the testing center (where I am now), since that is where I am actually quarantined “with immediate effect” as per the order. – at AsiaWorld-Expo 亞洲國際博覽館
Upon arriving at my designated waiting table, I had to fill yet another form that officially changed my quarantine location from the testing center to my quarantine address (i.e. my flat). Instructions were on the table. Someone eventually came and collected the form. – at AsiaWorld-Expo 亞洲國際博覽館
– at 
6 hours in. Three rows of passengers, who were already here when I got here, have cleared. These rows shown here haven’t been used yet — the cleared ones are on the other side. – at AsiaWorld-Expo 亞洲國際博覽館
They have announced they are releasing my flight and will be calling out tag numbers and seat numbers! It’s been almost 7 hours since I arrived here. They are on tag #349. I’m #423. This is like the best game of bingo ever
I am negative for #covid19!!! I am free to go! I have to collect a sample again on May 25 and they’ve given me a folder with a test pack + other info. I’ll unbox all these goodies for y’all later but first I’m outta here!! – at AsiaWorld-Expo 亞洲國際博覽館
