Yesterday, on my way out for grocery shopping, I had to open the gate to leave the housing estate. This was somewhat strange because usually the gate is left open to pedestrians, but I didn’t think too much about it, especially because as I walked down the street I noticed that small groceries had opened, including my favorite bakery. On the face of it, things were getting back to normal. However, when I arrived back home, I entered the gate to discover several police officers and red-vested individuals, who I presume were some kind of volunteer. They were busy conferring with each other and the estate security guards. They didn’t say what they were up to, but several hours later a friend posted a map of confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in the neighborhood. There were no cases in our estate, but four in nearby estates. Another friend then posted an app for checking the location of confirmed cases throughout the city.

Here’s the point: this morning cat litter was delivered to our gate, but not our door. For the moment it seems, only residents can come into and leave the estate. I’m not sure if this means the security guards will start taking our temperature or not. I’ll go out today to find out.