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32 People Locked Down In Internet Café For 9 Days In China
Apr 27, 2022
Main image via WIRED, Weibo
There have been many interesting quarantine stories through the two years of this pandemic but this may be one of our favourites. Fellow gamers! This is the dream lockdown for you!
32 people in the city of Guangzhou, China, had to be quarantined in an internet café for a total of nine days after a Covid case was detected in the building next door.
via GIPHY
The group’s story went viral on social media especially across Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, with their postings garnering over 100 million views.
Among those quarantined was Zhang Chi, a 20-year-old who had entered the café just 30 minutes before it was ordered to be closed off. He was only going in to chat with his friends and never intended to stay for too long.
via GIPHY
A woman was reported to have taken the opportunity with open arms and spent over 160 hours on her game where her account was upgraded from “diamond” to “master” level due to her lengthy engagement. Definitely worth it!
Image via Weibo
While it may sound like all fun and games (pun not intended), the group had to cram themselves on the gaming chairs and they aren’t the most comfortable to sleep in…
They also consumed the café’s entire stock of cup noodles and snacks after attempting to order cooked food via delivery but it was too expensive and not sustainable for their location.
Image via Weibo
Despite their circumstances, netizens on the platform commented that the internet café is one of the better places to be quarantined as it is “a legitimate excuse to play games all day and night.” Others joked that the 32 people could form their own national e-sports team.
These “surprise lockdowns” are actually common in China as the government stands by the country’s “zero Covid” policy in which rapid lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions are enforced almost immediately whenever clusters emerge. The previous most recent lockdown took place in a hotpot restaurant in Zhengzhou city after a case was discovered in the area. The trapped diners though were treated to free food all night long. Fuiyoh!
If you had to be quarantined in a public area, where would you want it to be? Let us know in the comments down below!
Info via Insider