When the Dragon Air flight touched down, we were instructed to stay in our seats because a surgical team would be onboard to check everyone’s temperature onboard before we could depart.
Some didn’t care and stood up as if they were going to make a hasty getaway. But after ten minutes of standing, people began giving up. Then the pilot came back on the overhead to tell us the surgical team was delayed and it would be a couple of minutes.
So we sat there idling. I think sometime I dozed off. Suddenly I felt motion and woke up just in time to see a person in a hazmat uniform and surgical mask come racing by. Everyone in the aisles turned quickly to watch. Then again, there were two more on the other aisle racing to the back of the plane.
Then there was a slow mover who had a gray plastic device that looked like a toy gun. The lady wearing the white hazmat uniform would point the gray plastic device and a laser sight would appear on someone’s forehead and apparently a read out showed up on the back display. Then they would move to the next person.
Suddenly, I felt a tickle in my throat and wanted to cough but was afraid to bring attention to myself. And I saw as people all followed the hazmat teams as they pointed, lit the laser point, read the reading, and moved on. The people watching were witnessing in a accusing way – as if to be revealed the person who had snuck onboard to endanger everyone’s life.
I swallowed hard and tried to use my mind over matter to ignore the tickle in my throat. Then I felt my forehead getting hot and sweaty and the hazmat lady was nearing me. What if the readout was faulty, or if my forehead sweat showed up as a bad sign.
I could hear my heart race and I couldn’t catch my breath. But then I started thinking about how relaxing a seven day quarantine might be. Just when I secretly longed for a false positive, the lady in the white hazmat uniform had me in her sights.
I saw the red being projected. She barely looked down on the display and went to the guy sitting beside me. And just like that she was gone.
Finally when we deplaned, we went through two more screenings. One was a thermal temperature check and the last one was a forty five minute wait in a long, snaking line through another temperature reading device that looked like a metal detector.
Almost entering the device, I thought again – how rewarding a seven day holiday would be. But then just like that, the security guard wearing a surgical mask motioned for me to come through.
And just like that, I was normal.
Some didn’t care and stood up as if they were going to make a hasty getaway. But after ten minutes of standing, people began giving up. Then the pilot came back on the overhead to tell us the surgical team was delayed and it would be a couple of minutes.
So we sat there idling. I think sometime I dozed off. Suddenly I felt motion and woke up just in time to see a person in a hazmat uniform and surgical mask come racing by. Everyone in the aisles turned quickly to watch. Then again, there were two more on the other aisle racing to the back of the plane.
Then there was a slow mover who had a gray plastic device that looked like a toy gun. The lady wearing the white hazmat uniform would point the gray plastic device and a laser sight would appear on someone’s forehead and apparently a read out showed up on the back display. Then they would move to the next person.
Suddenly, I felt a tickle in my throat and wanted to cough but was afraid to bring attention to myself. And I saw as people all followed the hazmat teams as they pointed, lit the laser point, read the reading, and moved on. The people watching were witnessing in a accusing way – as if to be revealed the person who had snuck onboard to endanger everyone’s life.
I swallowed hard and tried to use my mind over matter to ignore the tickle in my throat. Then I felt my forehead getting hot and sweaty and the hazmat lady was nearing me. What if the readout was faulty, or if my forehead sweat showed up as a bad sign.
I could hear my heart race and I couldn’t catch my breath. But then I started thinking about how relaxing a seven day quarantine might be. Just when I secretly longed for a false positive, the lady in the white hazmat uniform had me in her sights.
I saw the red being projected. She barely looked down on the display and went to the guy sitting beside me. And just like that she was gone.
Finally when we deplaned, we went through two more screenings. One was a thermal temperature check and the last one was a forty five minute wait in a long, snaking line through another temperature reading device that looked like a metal detector.
Almost entering the device, I thought again – how rewarding a seven day holiday would be. But then just like that, the security guard wearing a surgical mask motioned for me to come through.
And just like that, I was normal.
Continue reading "Quarantined (Shanghai)"
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