Prose 生活隨筆: 2021 Go Home (Taiwan) 1

(This post was published on my old blog on August 2, 2021.)
(這篇貼文在 2021 年 8 月 2 日發表於我的舊部落格。)

Until July 25, 2021, I tried my best to maintain a record of posting one post a day. However the 164-day streak was eventually interrupted because I really don’t have energy to write. My dad suffered a severe stroke and is in a hospital in Taiwan. He is unconscious. Now I have to be quarantined in a hotel room for 15 nights and not allowed to step out of the door after arriving in Taiwan. In this 177 sq. ft. room, besides frequent video chatting with my brother and sisters to discuss how to take care of my father, praying, listening to hymns, and giving each other encouragement and support, to avoid going crazy I can write some posts. Below is my story for the first two days of traveling back to Taiwan.

Due to COVID, it requires a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within three days before returning to Taiwan. After I got my test result, within 20 hours, I bought a plane ticket and found one of designated quarantine hotels with my siblings’ help that I will be quarantined for the next 14 days (actually It’s 15 nights/16 days). Then I set off. When I visited Taiwan before, I always felt so excited. But this time I felt somewhat at a loss. On the plane, the flight attendants wore a full set of protective clothing, masks and goggles, and many passengers also wore a full set of protective clothing. It gave me such a strange feeling, as if I was on a planet in outer space. Since most of the three seats were only occupied by one person, I was able to lie down on the plane. However, I was tossing and turning and couldn’t sleep during the 13-plus-hour flight. A few hymns (Receive your love, Rescue me, The Path of Grace) playing in my heads gave me some comfort.

In order to be able to control contact tracing and carry out community electronic tracking care, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control requires that everyone entering Taiwan must have a Taiwan telecommunications company’s issued phone number and be able to use a personal mobile phone (one person per phone). Therefore after getting off the plane, I have to buy a Sim card from Taiwan, and then fill in the “Quarantine System for Entry (Aircraft version)” form to obtain a Health Declaration Certificate. After the staff checked all required documents, I got my luggage and then waited in line to get the Deep Throat Saliva Test. After finishing the test, the staff will stick the quarantine sticker on the clothes. Then I went to get on a special designated taxi and head to a special hotel for quarantine. COVID-19 prevention policy in Taiwan is prudent and very strict in order to prevent the spread of the virus. But for those of us who had to go back to Taiwan, it was also difficult to go through the process. I pray that the pandemic will end soon.

直至2021-07-25我費盡心力想要維持一天一篇部落格文章的連續發佈記錄，但這 164 天的記錄終究中斷了，因為我爸爸嚴重中風，臥病在臺灣的醫院，昏迷不醒，實在沒有心力寫東西。飛到臺灣後，現在必需待在旅館房間中隔離 15 個晚上，不准踏出房門一步，在這5坪大小的房間，除了與弟弟妹妹常常視訊，討論照護爸爸的問題、禱告、聽詩歌、互相鼓勵扶持外，藉著文字的書寫，可避免發瘋。下面是我回台灣前兩天的故事。

因為受新冠肺炎疫情的影響，臺灣政府要求返台前三天內需取得陰性的聚合酶鏈反應（PCR）檢測。在我得知檢測結果後，20小時內，買了機票，在妹妹弟弟們的幫忙下找好隔離 14 天的防疫旅館(實際上是 15 個晚上／16天)，就出發了。以前要回臺灣時，總是懷著興奮的心情，這次卻是有些茫然，不知所措的感覺。在飛機上，空服人員穿著全套的防疫衣物，戴著口罩再加護目鏡，而旅客中也不少人全套防疫衣物，你會有一種很奇怪的感覺，好像置身在外太空星球上。在這 13 個多小時的航程中，雖然可以平躺下來，因為大部分每三個位子只有一人，我卻輾轉不能成眠，幾首詩歌(愛我願意, 祂從高處伸手, 恩典之路)在腦海中輪唱著，給了我一些安慰。

臺灣衛生福利部疾病管制署，為了能夠掌控接觸者健康追蹤管理並能進行社區電子追蹤關懷，規定每個入關的人，都必需有臺灣電信業者的門號，並能以個人手機( 1 人 1 機)進行申報，因此一下飛機便要買臺灣的 Sim 卡，然後填寫「入境檢疫系統」取得入境居家檢疫申報憑證，經檢察後，去領取行李，過海關後，排隊等深喉唾液測試，做完測試，工作人員會將檢疫的貼紙貼在衣服上，之後便可乘坐防疫計程車到防疫旅館隔離。臺灣對 COVID 的防疫政策是非常謹慎及嚴格的，因而能防止疫情擴散。但是對我們這些不得不回臺灣的人，也辛苦。真希望疫情能早日結束。