China is baffled by Britain’s coronavirus response

For the past two weeks, my relatives and friends in China have been frantically messaging me worried for my health and mortified that Britain’s pubs and clubs were still open. With Boris Johnson’s announcement of a lockdown, their concern hasn’t eased as images of London’s parks as busy as ever raise doubt over how seriously the British government is taking the threat of coronavirus. News of the Prime Minster testing positive for the virus certainly didn’t help.

Among Chinese students in the UK, there is widespread panic that the window for returning to China may be closing, as the Chinese government blocked all foreigner passport holders from entering the country on Saturday. Many fear the ban could be extended to Chinese nationals.

For now, life in China seems much rosier than in Britain. As restaurants in the UK closed their doors, outlets in China have started to reopen, and a nation obsessed with food is finally getting its belly filled again.