2019 novel coronavirus

“Guilty until proven innocent” … that is how we all felt on a short flight I took recently. We were guilty of nothing more than possibly … just maybe … incubating a virus. The likelihood that we were contagious was small given that this was just an ordinary flight from Thailand. We were far from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak 😷 . As we disembarked in Malaysia, we were met by fear-inspiring figures in white hazmat suits, aiming their ‘guns’ (some sort of thermometer) at each of us in turn before allowing us to proceed. Several middle-aged women sat forlornly in a roped off section nearby. 

Disclaimers

1.  What this blog post is NOT is an update on or explanation of the coronavirus situation. That I can’t do, first because the situation changes every day, and second, I am just an ordinary teacher / translator / writer and not qualified to comment. However, I can recommend a website which I often check these days:  

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

2.  I’m not exactly an impartial writer. Everything I hear about the fear and panic in China at the moment, I filter through the experiences I had in 2003. Back then, I lived in a SARS hotspot and developed a cough and low-grade fever. After ‘doing the right thing’ in terms of instructions given by authorities to the public, I went to be checked. The next thing I knew, I was quarantined in a SARS-dedicated hospital for observation and further investigations. It turned out that I didn’t have SARS, but a different type of atypical pneumonia. I’m very grateful that I never did develop SARS despite my proximity to so many who had it. I was in hospital for five l-o-n-g days.

3.  This time, however, I am writing from the comfort of my home in Melbourne.  I do not write as an ‘insider’ anymore. Last week, I returned home from Asia (NOT China). I confess that I have since taken my temperature on the odd occasion just to be reassured that I’m not harbouring any nasty germs. And I still sanitise my hands before mingling with other people for their sakes JUST in case.

Fear

People were fearful back in the time of SARS. Some said that the atmosphere then was like that of the days of the much earlier Japanese-Chinese war. The atmosphere in China these days sounds similar.

Fear and suspicion abound even down here in Melbourne. It is appropriate that people who have recently returned from China should be quarantined for a period, whatever their nationality, but it is not right that every person of Chinese heritage be treated with suspicion. And yes, that has happened in my neighbourhood. That story is not mine to tell. 

Fear of God, however, is something that Christians should embrace. Having a proper perspective of God during times like this puts scary situations into perspective. That is what gave Christians through the millennia courage to step into the streets at times when most people were fleeing to the countryside in attempts to evade illness.

The early church was known for its loving care of plague victims in the days of the Roman empire. Medieval monks served their communities in such times too. Christians today in Wuhan are showing this same confidence as they face this difficult situation. A pastor in Wuhan writes, “Christians are not only to suffer with the people of this city, but we have a responsibility to pray for those in this city who are fearful, and to bring to them the peace of Christ.*” 

Restrictions 

Christians can face whatever life throws at us with confidence in our identity as part of the eternal bride of Christ. Nothing can keep us from our true identity – not disease, not persecution and certainly not temporary restrictions on our liberties.

As Christians, we submit to authorities over us (Romans 13). China is uniquely placed to buy time for scientists to work out how to manage this virus before it spreads too far. Individual rights are readily relegated to the background when the community is threatened. Imagine trying to effectively impose home quarantine on the residents of Melbourne or Sydney for weeks on end – no sports, no outdoor play, and only one member of each household allowed out every few days to pick up groceries. That is what is happening in many parts of China.

Whether you agree with the restrictions on movement and requirements of masks or not, many cities in China are enforcing them. Individuals who have recently travelled anywhere at all are required to remain isolated from others. Authorities use drones with cameras and loudspeakers to identify and break up mahjong games and people doing morning exercises in groups, as well as to identify and warn people who are outside without masks.

Let me tell you about a few video clips I have seen online. A puzzled older lady looks up at a drone, which is hovering overhead and talking! (There is a ‘real person’ monitoring the cameras and speaking through the drone’s loud speakers from a control centre.) “Yes, Auntie, this is the drone talking to you. Go home now and wash your hands.” An older man, enjoying the sun on his flat roof, leaps to his feet when the drone zooms close and he suddenly hears, “Grandpa, go inside. Yes, you, the old man in pyjamas cracking seeds on the rooftop, go inside. You can crack seeds inside.” A small child is playing in a deserted village lane way. Again, a drone swoops low and announces, “Little friend, this is no time to be playing outside. Go home now. This is important. It is no joke. Run, little friend, run!”

A different attitude

Christians should have different attitudes to this crisis than the average atheist. We should be salt and light in our communities … communities that are often struck by fear. Social media and other forms of communications mean that community is alive and strong despite the lack of face-to-face interaction.

Yet social media can also whip up squalls of fear and panic. One example of this, sadly, was when rumours of the virus being carried by household pets led to the tragic and senseless dispatch of cats and dogs out the windows of tall buildings. I am NOT cutting and pasting footage I have seen online of that……

Churches are not meeting in many places in China these days and numbers are down even amongst members of some Chinese churches in Australia. While I am not criticising the precaution people are taking in not meeting together, I do hope and pray that Christians will support one another in standing firm and without fear during these crazy days. This is one instance when online support networks are especially helpful.

Fear and facts

Fear doesn’t always take notice of facts. Statistics suggest that coronavirus is not as deadly as the media make it out to be. Although a small percentage of sufferers will die from the virus, most will get over it and many only ever have a very mild case of it. There is a lot of uncertainty though because it’s so new still. They’re the facts.

It’s quite another matter, however, to live day in and day out in an atmosphere of fear and suspicion. In this environment, Christians can live fearlessly in (online) communities, confident that there is a God who offers hope for eternity. 

Martyrdom

Dr Li, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, is being hailed as a martyr for the people. He was the whistleblower of Wuhan who first drew attention to what he initially called another outbreak of SARS. That was back in December. He was reprimanded by authorities for unsettling the public at the time, though of course he has since been proved right. 

Dr Li didn’t have to care for fellow citizens of China who succumbed to this disease. He was an ophthalmologist, one of the safer medical professions, it would seem. He was one of the first to recognise the danger, giving him plenty of time to flee. A strong young man, statistically he should have stood a good chance of surviving even had he developed it. Perhaps he was exposed to a high concentration of the virus? Dr Li passed away from the disease last Friday, leaving a wife and two children, one as yet unborn. 

Was Dr Li a Christian? Some reports suggest that he was, though the popular media hasn’t picked up on that. I very much hope so. Regardless, he exemplified everything that Christians should be in a crisis like this – focused on others and fearless despite understanding the danger of caring for these patients better than most. He worked to bring health and wholeness to a system and community that was sick.

Our response

What is our response to this intense situation? 

First, let us “be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). It takes real discipline to manage our minds when everyone around us is panicking. We need one another to stand firm. As in ages past, this attitude is what will set Christians apart.

Second, let us pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in affected areas. Let’s pray not only for their physical well-being, but also their emotional health during the tense atmosphere in which they live. May they focus on Jesus and be salt and light in their communities. I referred earlier to a letter from a pastor in Wuhan. It is worth a prayerful read. The link is at the end of this blog post.

And finally, let us remind ourselves that our citizenship is not in this world but in God’s heavenly kingdom. As such, let us prayerfully work with him to see his kingdom come, his will done on this afflicted earth during these stressful days even as it is in heaven. 

Just the same, I am SO looking forward to this madness being over, and the sooner the better!

(PS: I am penning these thoughts half a world away from the epicentre of the virus. When difficulties next come my way, please interrupt my grumbling to remind me of these sentiments.)

* The translated letter from the pastor in Wuhan quoted above can be read in full here: https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/chinese-church-voices/wuhan-pastor-pray-with-us