I’ve landed in Hong Kong after flying from Paris CDG, via London Heathrow. I now have to wait ~8 hours before I get my #COVID19 test results and thus have ample time to tweet about my experience. pic.twitter.com/jCDPuwrTzL
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
The captain on my LHR > HKG flight said there were about 100 of us on the plane. That means the Boeing 777 was at 1/3 of its capacity. Every single passenger (except someone who apparently had special permission to connect to Brunei) will enter some sort of quarantine.
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
A health dept official officially signed & stamped my quarantine declaration in duplicate. He was nice & friendly, explaining that I could go yumcha on the morning of the 28th. He asked if I had someone to take care of me & if I had a thermometer. When I hesitated, he gave me one pic.twitter.com/A2zGHZUdNz
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
After receiving my bracelet and my thermometer, I went on through immigration and got my bags as normal. On the other side we were directed onto buses and young men in full protection gear helped load our bags onto the bus. pic.twitter.com/ldU2nDQNYF
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
After dropping off our bags in one place and getting luggage tags; we got back on the bus as were dropped off at another facility. There we stood in line to get our testing packs. A health worker gave us our tag number, our packs, and explained how to conduct the self-test. pic.twitter.com/LFg3EVHjj7
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
Here’s a time lapse of me awkwardly doing my self-test in my booth: I made a “kruuuar” sound as instructed to hock up my deep-throat saliva & spit it into a tube (w/ the help of a paper funnel) and double-bagged it. Several ppl made sure the tube was upright when I handed it in. pic.twitter.com/XzPNlTkQdN
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
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. pic.twitter.com/bOPqjI82vm
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
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. pic.twitter.com/hoQ64kRc4M
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
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.
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
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. pic.twitter.com/etPAYBnAn9
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
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. pic.twitter.com/qiR1KEtIT3
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
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 pic.twitter.com/XB8HOV59xG
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020
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!! pic.twitter.com/ecjXB8nQSS
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) May 14, 2020