The ‘Myth of Zero-COVID’ Nation: A Digital Ethnography of Expats’ Survival Amid Shanghai Lockdown during the Omicron Variant Outbreak

Abstract

This study presents a digital ethnography of expats’ survival amid the Shanghai lockdown during the Omicron variant outbreak. This study drew insights from studies on resilience and secondary coping within the context of global migration to comprehend the diverse emotional challenges faced by expats in a series of lockdowns and persistent nucleic acid amplification tests. Thus, this study asks what the major emotional challenges expats faced and what sources of social support they could draw from citizens in their host country during the Shanghai lockdown. Accordingly, this study collected WeChat group conversations to draw empirical findings, promoted scholarly conversations about fundamental survival necessity, and traced the process for establishing intercultural collective resilience with citizens from their host country. Overall, this study emphasized the significance of host country members who can promote certain coping mechanisms for their visitors in the specific regional and geographical context of China.

Trauma-Informed Care: A Transcendental Phenomenology of the Experiences of International Faculty during the Delta and Omicron Variant Outbreaks in East China

“…The cities’ precision prevention models were highly recognized, and especially Shanghai could control explosive chains of lethal transmission successfully before the Delta and Omicron outbreaks. Their residents demonstrated “strong collective behaviors by wearing masks regardless of age, gender, occupation, or location in looking out for their neighbor’s wellbeing” [ 5 ], ([ 8 ], p. 1). Yet, over 28.5 million residents in Shanghai, including foreigners, were in a panic and had to deal with sudden emotional changes such as anxiety, uncertainty, stress, and frustration, because they never expected the nation’s most economically advanced city could be sealed [ 8 ].…”

“…The lockdown experiences of the IFMs during this specific timeframe can greatly be different from other previous lockdown cases, consisting of the long-term citywide lockdown in Wuhan for 76 days (23 January–8 April 2020), because they were unexpectedly isolated into their own residences or compounds without specific notices and plans to be unsealed. Notably, the case of the long-term Shanghai lockdown (2 March–1 June), which has still been ongoing partially (as of August 2022), demonstrates an illuminating example in which residents were not allowed to order food and gain survival necessities [ 8 ]. Thus, they could face an enormous number of emotional challenges and encounter potential traumatic events and risk factors.…”

“…While a growing body of evidence has shed light on mental health and social and behavioral changes among Chinese citizens in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been relatively little research regarding mental health issues among foreigners, despite the fact that some recent studies investigated the pandemic experiences of international students and faculty during this timeframe and highlighted them as socially vulnerable populations without the emotional and social support of their families and friends [ 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Although China normalized the level of the public health crisis after the spring semester of 2020 (March–July), many international students who had stayed in their native countries could not return to China due to the ‘Zero-COVID’ policy that strictly reduced cross-border traffic [ 10 , 11 ].…”

“…Despite the Delta variant outbreak during the summer through fall of 2021, Chinese citizens engaged in collective behavior to reduce confirmed cases, though residents in some key economic or metropolitan cities experienced a series of short-term (48 h) and long-term (14 days or more), city-wide lockdowns (e.g., Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Xian, and so on). Nonetheless, the currently ongoing (as of August 2022) Omicron outbreak, which started in the late fall of 2021, has caused the pandemic to enter a third year [ 8 ]. Hence, we argue that the Chinese national public health policy entails a raft of tightened restrictions and a series of lockdowns.…”

“…A recent study regarding the major Shanghai lockdown period (2 March–1 June 2022) showed that over 160,000 expats were isolated at their homes. This study observed a total of 1558 WeChat accounts and identified that numerous foreigners had emotional challenges due to frequent policy changes and drastic lifestyle shifts [ 8 ]. Despite the in-depth understanding of the lockdown experiences of expats, the previous scholarship was limited to describing vivid traumatic experiences of international faculty, while depicting frustration, anger, and stress.…”