In homes and hotels across Taiwan, thousands of newly returned travelers are completing a 14-day home quarantine. They”re looked after by local officials and tracked by their smartphones, and many are turning to creative ways to stay busy and keep the blues at bay. Formosa News reporter Stephany Yang speaks with an Italian in quarantine, to hear her account. Videos from Italy show people under lockdown singing on their balconies. Nearly 1 billion people are confined to their homes around the world. In Taiwan, there are also many people under quarantine. Chiara Colognola, an Italian, who has residency rights in Taiwan, started her quarantine on March 15. Colognola returned to Taiwan after visiting her family in Italy. When she arrived in Taiwan, she was given a quarantine form at the airport. The form asked her to list her symptoms and her temperature every day during the 14-day quarantine.Chiara Colognola Italian quarantined in TaiwanWhen I arrived at the airport, everything was safe. I was wearing a mask. Everyone was on the airplane. And everyone was at the airport. I had to register what kind of symptoms I was feeling and then on the back, the record of my symptoms and fever temperature. From the airport, she took a taxi back to her apartment. Once back in her apartment, health officials informed her that her phone would be tracked by a GPS-based system. The system monitors phone signals to alert police and local officials if those under home quarantine leave their homes or turn off their phones. Officials also call once a day to ensure people don”t avoid tracking by leaving their phones at home. In terms of food, Colognola says authorities send food twice a day to her door. To keep busy, she”s been teaching fitness classes online. Chiara Colognola Italian quarantined in TaiwanI naturally moved my fitness classs from being face to face to online live classes. It has been very natural for me because I’ve been working with instagram for a year and a half already. So I know what it is to communicate something when the other party is not actually present there and replying to you. I enjoy so much being home and take advantage of all the time that I have and I can be in many places at the same time without moving from my house. With more and more people having to face social distancing, it is important for individuals to find ways to preserve their mental health at home. [[cg]]The World Health Organization suggests that people maintain their daily routines, eat healthy to boost their immune system, stay connected to the outside world through video chatting, and destress by listening to music, reading a book or playing games.
