On 17 March, a Penangite known as Genevieve Yeap shared her experience about being in quarantine for 2 months in Chengdu, China in a Facebook post. Genevieve is currently studying Television Directing at Chengdu University.
She hopes that with this post, and by sharing her experience, she can help ease the concerned people of Malaysia. Besides experience, she also shared some advice on how to cope with the situation as well.
1. Sharing Her Fears
Genevieve shared about her fears when the COVID-19 pandemic first started.
"In the beginning, it was very frightening. China has a large population. Every day, the numbers of positive cases are rising not only in hundreds but in thousands. At that time, professionals were unsure of what kind of virus this is. They don't even know what is the difference between this and common flu."
To make matters more concerning for her, she also shared that at the same time, she had also caught a cold.
"Oh yeah, at that time, I also coincidentally caught a cold. I measured my body temperature every day, fear of being infected," she continued.
2. Stay Where You Are
Genevieve urges all Malaysians to cooperate with the government to stay at home.
"Please cooperate for these 14 days. Please stay where you are. Do not go out, do not gather, do not visit one another, and do not travel back to your hometown."
"No place is safer than where you are now," she wrote.
3. Set A Schedule For Grocery Shopping
"The words 'Lockdown' and 'Quarantine' are really frightening words that cause unnecessary panic among the people. By instinct, everyone would think that now is the time to hoard goods to survive," Genevieve continued.
"When I was informed that the university is shutting down, there was only 2 hours left for me to stock up. I also hurriedly went to stock up on groceries enough for 1 week. But in the end, the groceries went bad before I could even finish them."
"The university also opened for us to go to the supermarket every 3 days, so we do not have to store our groceries in the upcoming days."
She advises people to stop panic buying to save food resources.
"You think that you bought enough food to last 1 or 2 weeks. But the truth is, they'll go bad in about 4 to 5 days."
4. Stay Calm
"Malaysia is only in lockdown for 2 weeks. Trust me, you think 14 days is a long time? In reality, it is quite short," she said.
In her post, Genevieve urges all Malaysians to remain calm and stay positive throughout this 14-day lockdown.
"Do not let fear take control of your life. Stay calm."
She also mentioned some beneficial activities to do at home during this time.
"14 days, finally having time to spend with family, to read more books, to watch dramas, to play games. You'll realize that after 14 days, you'll gain something new in life."
Finally, Genevieve concluded her post by urging everyone to take proper precautionary measures.
"Wash your hands frequently, wear surgical face masks, do not eat raw and cold food, take necessary precautions."
