Chongqing – During this COVID-19 epidemic, thousands of ex-pats in Chongqing are performing self-quarantine at home.
How do they handle the difficulties of this challenging time? Are they safe, and do they have enough support from the government and local communities?
In this series 'Living with COVID-19,' iChongqing will reach out to them online and share their stories.
Today, we talked with Sharon Fraser from New Zealand.
Sharon is the General Manager of Crowne Plaza Jiefangbei Chongqing. At the outbreak of COVID-19, she firmly decided not to leave. "The health and wellbeing of the guests and staff always remain the top priority. At the time, it's really important that I stay here and see us through this critical situation," said Sharon.

She talks to her staff every day to make sure that they feel ok. "Communication is really key in a situation like this. We got a couple of really great internal groups to keep communications among departments. Keep everybody involved and not make them feel they are isolated." Said Sharon.
Although the hotel didn't take any further bookings, some long-staying guests have already been staying in the hotel. The hotel can meet their demand for necessary facilities and healthy meals etc. "The guests are incredibly understanding. They realize the situation we are in, and everybody wants to help." Said Sharon.
She also expressed her appreciation to the Foreign Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People's Government for updating the relevant news, information, regulation, and policies. "FAO has been a terrific source of information." Said Sharon.
Sharon spokes highly of how the authorities have handled the epidemic. "There are a lot of good measures. It's wonderful that everyone is so responsive to these measures and follow the instruction of the authorities. It's been a lot of communication to help us understand the reasons why these procedures are being put into place," said Sharon. She continued, "Authority is doing great things. We will be back to normal life very fast. And we'll have a hotpot when we are back to normal."