For many, 2022 was to be the year when they finally got to go home to see their families. But some are finding that easier said than done, as overzealous authorities implement ever-more stringent and constantly changing requirements forcing them into quarantine.
对于许多人来说，2022 年是他们终于可以回家看望家人的一年。但有些人发现说起来容易做起来难，因为过于热心的当局实施了越来越严格且不断变化的要求，迫使他们接受隔离。
Ms. Chen is one such example. She works in Luohu District of Shenzhen City and planned to return home to Nanjing for the upcoming Chinese New Year. After checking the local epidemic prevention policy in Nanjing that a 48-hour nucleic acid test (NAT) negative certificate would suffice, Chen, who works alone in Shenzhen, bought a ticket home and looked forward to it.
陈女士就是这样的一个例子。她在深圳市罗湖区工作，计划回南京老家过年。在查看了南京当地的防疫政策，只要有48小时核酸检测阴性证明就可以了，独自在深圳打工的陈某买了回家的机票，满怀期待。
But then the next day, Chen received a worrying SMS, Therein, she was informed that upon arrival in Nanjing, she would need to undergo a 14-day quarantine followed by 7 days of tests.
但第二天，陈女士就收到了一条令人担忧的短信，短信中，她被告知，抵达南京后，需要接受14天的隔离，然后进行7天的检测。
Chen’s next move was to call Nanjing Lukou International Airport. Customer service informed her the quarantine is only for those with a history of living in medium or high-risk areas. Given that the epidemic situation in Luohu had recently stabilised, the NAT should have been enough.
陈的下一步行动是给南京禄口国际机场打电话。客服告诉她，隔离只针对那些有中高风险地区生活史的人。鉴于最近罗湖的疫情已经稳定下来，NAT应该已经足够了。
“Although I live in Luohu, Shenzhen, I am not in a medium and high-risk area. Why was I sent this message? Which should I believe?”, quizzed Chen, reported 21st Century Business Herald on Friday, 21 January.
1月21日周五，《21世纪经济报道》报道称，“我虽然住在深圳罗湖，但并不属于中高风险地区，为什么会发这样的信息？我该相信哪个？”
Now Chen has no idea what to do. If she refunds her air ticket, on which she spent ¥700, she’ll need bear a handling fee of ¥200.
陈现在不知道该怎么办。如果她花700元的机票退票，她需要承担200元的手续费。
A reporter for the aforementioned publication called the airport’s epidemic prevention headquarters again last Thursday and got the same automated reply. They then tried a service line staffed by an actual human. No one answered, not even after 10 attempts.
上述刊物记者上周四再次致电机场防疫指挥部，也得到了同样的自动回复。然后他们尝试了一条由真人操作的服务热线。没有人回答，即使尝试了 10 次也没有人回答。
The media also researched the relevant up-to-date public policies in Nanjing, which make no mention of any kind of quarantine.
媒体还查阅了南京最新的相关公共政策，其中没有提及任何形式的隔离。
So Chen should now have been in the clear. But she’s not. After many calls to Nanjing’s public health hotline, her family finally got through and learned that those coming from Luohu and Longgang districts of Shenzhen are indeed to be quarantined.
所以陈现在应该是清白的了。但她不是。经过多次拨打南京市公共卫生热线，她的家人终于接通，得知来自深圳罗湖区、龙岗区的人员确实需要接受隔离。
Chen is just one of thousands who have been troubled by the problem of inaccurate population classification in epidemic prevention and control policies. The phenomenon is being described as “expanding the scope of identified medium-risk areas”. Authorities have admitted the ad hoc policy is impacting a large number of people seeking to return home from cities which are or were medium risk.
陈只是因疫情防控政策中人口分类不准确问题而困扰的数千人之一。这种现象被描述为“扩大已确定的中等风险地区的范围”。当局承认，这项临时政策正在影响大量寻求从中等风险城市返回家园的人。
Some of those affected have cancelled their plans to return home. Others, who were already halfway there when they received the mysterious SMS, simply turned around and went back from where they came.
一些受影响的人取消了返乡计划。其他人，在收到神秘短信的时候，已经走到了一半，干脆转身就从来的地方回去了。
So while no one really seems to know what’s going on, people like Chen are now dreading the new year holiday, rather than cherishing the very idea. Epidemic chaos, it would appear, is once again the status quo.
因此，虽然似乎没有人真正知道发生了什么，但像陈这样的人现在害怕新年假期，而不是珍惜这个想法。 Epidemic chaos, it would appear, is once again the status quo.
