In isolation - Laurence Chellali

In China, the vast majority of residences are supervised by guards. Since the outbreak, no one from outside the residences can enter. And body temperature is systematically monitored. En Chine, la grande majorite des residences sont surveillees par des gardes. Depuis l’epidemie, plus personne etranger aux residences ne peut entrer. Et la temperature corporelle est systematiquement relevee pour tout le monde.

The wide avenues are deserted. Les larges avenues sont desertes.

South Nanjing Station is usually the busiest with hundreds of trains per day. Since the end of January, it is almost deserted. La gare de Nanjing Sud est d’habitude la plus frequentee avec des centaines de trains par jour. Depuis fin janvier, elle est quasiment desertee.

Briefing of a group of volunteers tasked with measuring body temperatures with the use of a drone. Briefing pour un groupe de volontaires qui sera charge de relever les temperatures corporelles à l’aide d’un drône.

Students returning to the military university are expected to have a health check. Les etudiants qui reviennent a l’universite militaire sont attendus en vue d’un check de sante.

A group of volunteers tasked with measuring body temperatures at different strategic points. Un groupe de volontaires qui sera chargé de relever les températures corporelles dans différents points stratégiques.

Volunteers from the Youth League of the Communist Party pose in front of a banner in support of the « Epidemic Ware ». Des volontaires de la ligue des jeunes du Parti Communiste posent devant une banderole en soutien a la « Guerre contre l’epidemie »

A group of volunteers tasked with measuring body temperatures at different strategic points. Un groupe de volontaires qui sera charge de relever les temperatures corporelles dans differents points strategiques.

In front of each public car park entrance, a guard is in charge of taking the temperature of the drivers and passengers of the cars. Devant chaque entree de parking public, un garde est charge de relever la température des conducteurs et des passagers des voitures.

A shopping mall near one of Nanjing’s largest universities seems to be standing still. Un centre commercial a proximite d’une des plus grandes universites de Nanjing semble fige.

Some rare restaurants are open but only take-away orders are possible and it is forbidden to eat on site. Here, a woman orders a pizza and waits outside for it to be ready. Certains rares restaurants sont ouverts mais seules les commandes a emporter sont possibles et il est interdit d’y manger sur place. ici, une femme passe commande d’une pizza et attend dehors qu’elle soit prete.

Wherever possible, messages to encourage the fight against the virus are posted. Here, it is written : « wearing a mask is good, it’s necessary to fight the epidemic effectively, everyone is responsible ». Partout ou c’est possible, des messages pour inciter à la lutte contre le virus sont affiches. Ici, il est écrit : « Le port du masque est bon, il faut etre efficace pour lutter contre l’epidémie, tout le monde est responsable ».

All universities and their campuses are closed until further notice. Students as well as professors and administrative staff who live there are virtually imprisoned inside. They are not allowed to enter or leave unless special permission granted by the dean of the university. They are supplied with food on a daily basis. Toutes les universites et leurs campus sont fermés jusqu’a nouvel ordre. Les étudiants comme les professeurs ou le personnel administratif qui y ont une residence sont quasiment emprisonnes a l’interieur. Ils n’ont pas le droit d’entrer ou de sortir sauf autorisation speciale du doyen de l’universite et sont ravitailles quotidiennement.

All small squares and children’s playspaces are forbidden to the public. Tous les petits squares et les zones de jeux pour enfants sont interdites au public.

Only supermarkets, drugstores and small fruit and vegetable shops are allowed to open. Wearing a mask is compulsory to go there. Seu;s les supermaches, les magasins de fruits et legumes et les pharmacies ont l’autorisation d’ouvrir. Pour y aller, le port du masque est obligatoire.

The wide avenues are deserted. Les larges avenues sont desertes.

All schools are closed until further notice. Toutes les ecoles sont fermees jusqu’a nouvel avis.

As any foreign person is not allowed to enter the residences, the deliverymen wait at the exit for the customers to come and collect their parcels. Comme toute personne etrangere n’a pas le droit de penetrer dans les residences, les livreurs attendent a la sortie que les clients viennent retirer leurs paquets.

Never a subway train has been so ¢¢empty while we are in the middle ¢of the afternoon, close to the rush hour in normal times. Jamais uen rame de metro n’a ete aussi vide alors que nous sommes en plein apres-midi, proche de l’heure de pointe en temps habituel.

Few people use the metro, and although it is disinfected every day, the stress of being contaminated is high. Rares sont les usagers qui empruntent le metro, et bien qu’il soit desinfecte chaque jour, le stress est grand d’être contamine.

Xinjieku subway station is the biggest in Nanjing. Usually crowded, today we only meet the maintenance staff. La station de metro de Xinjieku est la plus grosse de Nanjing. D’habitude bondee, on ne croise aujourd’hui que le personnel d’entretien.

Guards check body temperature in Deiji Plaza, one of the largest shopping malls in downtown Nanjing. But only a few people cross the aisles, most of them on their way to the subway. Des gardes vérifient la temperature corporelle dans le Deiji Plaza, un des plus grand centre commerciaux du centre-ville de Nanjing. Mais seules quelques personnes traversent les allees, la plupart pour se rendre vers le metro.

The shops in Deiji Plaza, one of the largest shopping malls in downtown Nanjing, are surprisingly open. But the aisles are deserted. Les boutiques du Deiji Plaza, un des plus grand centre commerciaux du centre ville de Nanjing, sont etonnamment ouvertes. Mais les allees sont desertees.

At the underground entrance of Deiji Plaza, one of the largest shopping malls in downtown Nanjing is open, but a warning board indicates that a mask is required. L’entree sous-terraine du Deiji Plaza, un des plus grands centres commerciaux du centre ville de Nanjing est ouverte, mais un panneau d’avertissement indique que c’est e la seule condition de porter un masque.

The Xinjieku subway station has many shops in the corridors. All are closed. La sation de metro de Xinjieku abrite de tres nombreuses boutiques dans les couloirs. Toutes sont fermees.

The mall most popular by young people because of the hundreds of cheap shops is closed. Le centre commercial le plus prise par les jeunes a cause des centaines de boutiques bon marche qu’on y trouve est ferme.

The only workers left on the streets are the tireless cleaners. Les seuls travailleurs qu’on trouve encore dans les rues sont les inlassables nettoyeurs.

This area of Xinjieku, usually extremely busy, is mostly frequented by young people because of the hundreds of cheap shops that can be found there. It is also deserted. Ce quartier de Xinjieku, d’habitude extremement anime, est surtout frequente par les jeunes a cause des centaines de boutiques bon marche qui s’y trouvent. La aussi il est deserte.

A man reads a notice at the entrance to an office building. There are new rules governing entry, such as having special permission, wearing a mask and accepting a body temperature check. Un homme lit une notice a l’entree d’un immeuble de bureaux. Des nouvelles regles en régissent l’entree, comme par exemple etre muni d’une autorisation speciale, porter un masque et accepter le releve de temperature corporelle.

Located in the heart of the city, Deiji Plaza is one of the largest shopping malls in Nanjing. Here as elsewhere, its surroundings are deserted. Situe au coeur de la ville, le Deiji Plaza est un des plus grands centres commerciaux de Nanjing. Ici comme ailleurs, ses abords sont deserts.

All public buildings are closed, including government offices, museums, theatres, cinemas and even parks. Tous les edifices publics sont fermes, que ce soient les administrations, les musees, les theatres, les cinemas et meme les parcs.

The wide avenues in the city centre are often congested. There, not a car is in sight. Les larges avenues du centre ville sont souvent encombrees. Là, plus une voiture n’est en vue.

Despite the spring sunshine, the sidewalks are deserted and the rental bikes remain wisely lined up. Malgre un soleil printanier, les trottoirs sont desertes et les velos de location restent sagement alignes.

Daxingong is one of the busiest subway stations in Nanjing. Yet its alleys are deserted. Daxingong est une des stations de metro les plus frequentees de Nanjing. Et pourtant, ses allees sont desertees.

The Nanjing subway remains open but there are almost ‘no users. On the other hand, the cleaning staff continues their work, and everything is disinfected. Le metro de Nanjing reste ouvert mais il n’y a presque aucun usager. Par contre, le personnel de nettoyage continue son travail et tout est passe au desinfectant.

Shopping malls are closed to the public. Les centres commerciaux sont fermes au public.

Although some restaurants have been allowed to open, they are deserted. Only a few customers come to take out. Bien que certains restaurants ont eu l’autorisation d’ouvrir, ceux-ci sont desertes. Seuls quelques clients viennent pour prendre des plats a emporter.

Apart from grocery stores, no shops have yet been allowed to reopen. Hormis les magasins d’alimentation, aucun commerce n’a encore eu l’autorisation de rouvrir.

All the restaurants on this little pedestrian street are closed. Located next to a university residence, it is usually crowded with students. Tous les restaurants de cette petite rue pietonne sont fermes. Situee a cote d’une residence universitaire, elle est d’habitude bondee d’etudiants.

On 31 December 2019, the first suspected cases of Coronavirus 2019-nCoV were reported. The virus spread rapidly and on January 23rd 2020, the World Health Organization declared the state of international health emergency. On February 13, 2020, 59,882 people were diagnosed positive for the virus, and there were 1,368 deaths.

Faced with this health crisis, the Chinese authorities are imposing a strict quarantine on several cities, including Wuhan which is the epicenter of the disease. In the end, the entire Hubei province will be put in isolation, that is to say more than 60 million people.

Other regions of China are affected to a greater or lesser degree and other cities are under strict quarantine. But even regions that are spared by the scale of the epidemic are taking drastic measures to try to stop the spread of the virus.

This is the case of Jiangsu and Nanjing, its capital of 9 million inhabitants. At the peak of the crisis, there were « only » 93 people infected and fortunately 0 deaths. Although there are no imposed containment measures and public transport is working, people are confined to their homes. But it must be said that slogans urging people to fight collectively in the « War on the virus » are everywhere, in all media, social networks, public posters and advertising spaces. And of course, wearing a mask outside is mandatory and wearing gloves is highly recommended. All shops, except for basic necessities, are closed and all businesses, factories, construction sites are at a complete standstill and imposed, unless special permission is granted. Before entering anywhere, from supermarkets to the metro and even the smallest shop, body temperature is checked by a multitude of employees or volunteers – often members of the Chinese Communist Party – assisted by drones equipped with thermal cameras. If you exceed 37.2º you are immediately and compulsorily transported to one of the diagnostic centres.

Internationally, most countries have suspended their flights to and from China, and 16,000 aircraft per day are no longer landing or departing. Others have chosen to close their land borders.

De facto, 1.45 billion people are in isolation.