Australian in China shows how life works after restrictions are lifted amid coronavirus pandemic

An Australian living in China has exposed how the government is tracking residents by their mobile phones and forcing them to submit to constant temperature checks as the birth place of the deadly coronavirus slowly comes out of lockdown.

Matthew Nagy, from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, has been living in China with his wife Serina Yang since before the deadly outbreak began in Wuhan in December.

The couple recorded their first outing in months as they visited a shopping centre, restaurant and hotel in Guangzhou – 1,028 kilometres south of the former epicentre of Wuhan, in the Hubei Province. 

‘We were locked down for quite a long time, now a lot of the restaurants are open, the schools are going back, all the manufacturing [is starting again]… it’s all going well,’ Mr Nagy told his YouTube channel. 

The expat said the public were required to wear masks, undergo temperature checks, and provide their passport record and details of where they’ve visited in the last 14 days before they’re allowed to enter buildings.

Restaurant staff in gloves and face masks used thermometre guns to check the couple’s temperatures before they could enter

Mr Nagy was required to show his passport at the entrance of the Four Seasons Hotel to prove he hadn’t recently flown into China from overseas

‘You have to wear masks at all times when you’re out and about of course,’ Mr Nagy, who works in Guangzhou as a furniture company director, told viewers.

‘Except when you’re eating and drinking – it’s accepted that you can take them off then.’

As the couple pulled up to a high-end shopping centre, they were stopped by a worker who checked their temperature using an infrared thermometer gun.

Dozens of face mask-clad shoppers were seen making their way around the mall while observing strict social distancing protocol.

‘Everyone has to wear masks here. It sucks, it gets a bit annoying, but you get used to it I suppose. It is what it is,’ Mr Nagy said.

Mr Nagy and Mrs Yang then drove to a nearby restaurant, where they documented the stringent health checks required before entering.

Two workers in gloves and face masks used thermometer guns to check the couple’s temperature.

Mrs Yang told viewers that diners are required to write down their phone numbers and the places they have visited in the past 14 days.

Mr Nagy and his wife had to write down their phone numbers and where they have visited in the last 14 days on a clipboard

Every second table at the outdoor cafe had signs prohibiting people from sitting there, in a bid to space out diners to stop the spread of COVID-19

Matt Nagy, from Queensland, and his Chinese wife Serina Yang took viewers on a tour of Guangzhou – 1,028 kilometres south of the former epicentre of Wuhan, in the Hubei Province

Staff scan their mobile phone and an app shows if they have been in a COVID-19 hotspot and if so are rejected entry. 

Every second table at the outdoor cafe had signs prohibiting people from sitting there, in a bid to space out diners to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Mr Nagy and Mrs Yang then travelled to the Four Seasons Hotel for afternoon tea, where a worker passed a clipboard into their car to sign.

‘Matt has to fill in this health report before we can go into the building,’ Mrs Yang told the camera.

At the entrance to the hotel lobby, Mr Nagy was required to show his passport to a different employee to prove he hadn’t recently flown into China from overseas.

Mr Nagy and Mrs Yang then took the elevator up to the hotel’s skyrise restaurant, where minimal health checks were undertaken but diners were scarce. 

The video comes as authorities in Guangzhou started investigating a possible series of community transmission of coronavirus with the city reporting 466 cases. 

The coronavirus epidemic originated from China after dozens of people suffering ‘mysterious viral pneumonia’ were linked to the same seafood market in Wuhan. 

The country is slowly beginning to return to normal with Wuhan’s 11 million people allowed back on trains and on highways after the lockdown was lifted on April 8.

China claims only 3,336 people have been killed by COVID-19 in the country – one 30th of the global toll – although it has been accused of covering up the real toll.

Australia has flattened the curve after 6,440 cases and 63 deaths but with the rate of infections slowing debate has now turned to when restrictions should be lifted.

What measures and technology are introduced to help the country transition back to normal will be central to the discussion. 

Singapore is using the TraceTogether application to help track the spread of the disease.

The video was filmed in Guangzhou – situated 1,028 kilometres south of the former epicentre of Wuhan, in the Hubei Province 

Matthew Nagy, from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, has been living in China with his wife Serina Yang since before the deadly outbreak began in Wuhan in December

Australia has been given the code to develop the surveillance software to monitor residents.

‘We’re very keen to use it and use it perhaps even more extensively than Singapore,’ Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy told a New Zealand parliamentary hearing.

But Professor Murphy acknowledged there were privacy concerns.

‘Obviously there’s a conversation to have with the community about the acceptability of it but we think that idea, the TraceTogether app, is a really excellent one,’ he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong via video on Monday March 23 to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak.

Mr Morrison confirmed the government was looking at digital options for contact tracing.

‘But to fight this fight, there are so many tools that we have to use,’ Mr Morrison told reporters.

‘But the people we need most are Australians listening, being patient, carefully understanding the things we are asking of them.

TraceTogether uses Bluetooth to detect other users in close proximity, with encounters stored on a person’s phone.

They then have to share the records with authorities when asked to be part of a tracing investigation.  

Mr Nagy and his Chinese wife Serina Yang took YouTube viewers on a tour of Guangzhou

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk