Going on a blind date is always stressful. You don’t know who you’re meeting, and you’re normally doing it just to please the people setting you up. Blind dates aren’t very popular, which is why we have dating apps like Tinder and Bumble. You get to interview potential dates that way, after all.
Imagine going on a blind date and never being able to leave. Seems like it could be a living hell, right? Pair it with COVID and you’ve got a serious problem. That’s the exact situation that a woman in China is facing right now.
Wang, the woman in question, has been stuck in her blind date’s home since January 6th thanks to a sudden COVID lockdown. What was supposed to be a cute first date turned into a roommate situation without her say, whatsoever.
How did this happen? COVID lockdowns are pretty well-known, right? However, in China, things are a bit different. Let’s look at why she was in the situation to begin with, and then talk about the difference in lockdown procedures in China.
Wang is 30. She’s still single, and her family thinks she’s getting a bit old. Her family decided that it was time to start setting her up with potential suitors. They set her up for 10 blind dates, to be exact, all arranged to help her find the love of her life. Little did she and her family know that her blind date would be an ongoing experience.
The man in question was Wang’s fifth blind date. Rather than going out, he proposed that she come to his house so that he could show off his cooking skills. It’s a cute idea, and it’s one that can definitely earn a guy some brownie points.
It was all set, and Wang was to go to his place in Zhengzhou for a home cooked meal. Zhengzhou is Wang’s hometown, a city in central China. However, it’s also a city that’s still having problems with Covid. After the meal was over, Wang and her date discovered that the COVID outbreak had become more serious.
Wang couldn’t leave. The city was on total lockdown.
Let’s examine China’s lockdown procedures. As the pandemic has raged over the last few years, China has been known to seal off entire communities where outbreaks are starting. This is their way of containing the virus, and quickly stamping out local outbreaks. The strategy involves stopping all possible transmissions of the virus, paired with large amounts of testing and extensive quarantine periods.
As a reminder, the current U.S. policy for COVID (Omicron specifically) is a lockdown of 5 days with 5 days thereafter of strict mask-wearing. Wang has been in her suitor’s home since the 6th of January, meaning that she’s nearing 10 days of isolation with someone who was a stranger up until a week ago.
Wang’s original video has been removed after going viral, due to her kindness and sensitivity towards others. Her prospective suitor isn’t the most social person, and her video went viral almost immediately. To respect his privacy, she removed the video. Otherwise, things seem to be going okay. Wang commented on the situation in another statement, saying:
During quarantine, I feel that apart from him being reticent like a wooden mannequin, everything else about him is pretty good. He cooks, cleans the house, and works. Although his cooking isn’t very good, he’s still willing to spend time in the kitchen, I think that’s great.
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Let’s hope that things get straightened out for Wang, and that she finds love in this time of uncertainty. Maybe her time spent with blind date number 5 will be enough to persuade her.
