At just 15, Zander Reagin has experienced something only a few international students have. From his time in Korea and China during the spread of COVID, Zander has lived through quarantine in both countries, and his rare experience shows us how each country handled the crisis.
Zander’s first experience with quarantine began in Seoul, Korea, where he lived as a fifth grader. His entire family tested positive for COVID, except him. A physical screen was installed in his home to keep him separated from the rest of his family.
He attended school alone, transported by a private bus arranged only for him. “I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone else for two weeks, not even my parents.”
Although isolated, people in white hazmat suits would deliver essentials once or twice a week, such as fresh meat, vegetables, and toilet paper. “They’d even pick up and throw your garbage for you, that’s how helpful they were.”
Zander and his family were eventually moving to Beijing, but due to China’s strict COVID protocols at the time, they were required to quarantine at Shenzhen before continuing.
Upon landing at the airport in China, Zander’s family and other passengers were held on the bus for six hours before being transported to a quarantine site through a bus ride that lasted three hours.
When they arrived at the quarantine site, they were instructed to stand in line, and were sprayed by disinfectant head to toe before checking into a hotel. “The whole place was falling apart,” he recalls. Keeping the windows open was a necessity because it was the middle of summer and the A/Cs were moldy.
He was required to take blood tests twice a day, a huge difference compared to the weekly nose swabs required in Korea.
“Somebody got COVID at school once, and we all had to quarantine for a month straight. Swabbed our mouths daily, but we had to walk all the way to the clinic.”
Zander looks back at his past and prefers his quarantine experience in South Korea compared to his experience in China. But despite his times of isolation and struggle, he learned a lot from his experience, making him more resilient and adaptable, traits that he carries with him as he continues his education in Beijing.
