SHANGHAI (Reuters) – American Heather Kay and her family, including her cat Mochi, are part of a wave of residents leaving Shanghai, leaving behind their homes and memories, driven out by two years of strict COVID-19 restrictions. 19, including an overwhelming two-month lockout. Heather and her husband George arrived in Shanghai from New York in 2006 for a year-long adventure, but 16 years later their two-bedroom apartment in Shanghai’s historic former French concession is the only home their children have ever known. So while repatriation to the United States is technically a homecoming for Heather and George, leaving Shanghai means leaving home for daughters Charlotte, 14, and Matilda, 12. Heather spent June preparing to return to the United States. Her husband left weeks earlier with their family dog to help them prepare for their new life in Washington “I couldn’t afford to really mourn a lot of what I’m leaving behind because I have to get two kids and a cat out of here … so it’s really focused on those logistics,” she told Reuters from her apartment. which had just been emptied by movers. The Kaye family is part of an exodus of both foreigners and locals from Shanghai as China’s most cosmopolitan city tries to find its footing and return to normal life after a strict city lockdown aimed at eradicating the infectious Omicron variant . While some chose to leave amid the lockdown, stunned by difficulties in obtaining food and fears of being separated from family members if they contracted COVID, others like the Kayes chose to wait it out. They bought their new home in Washington DC online during the lockdown. For many departing foreign residents, the lockdown was the last straw, after two years of strict COVID restrictions that made it extremely difficult to fly in and out of China. The country, whose zero-covid-19 approach to the virus has increasingly outstripped the rest of the world, cut the quarantine time for incoming travelers from 14 days at a central facility to seven days, the biggest change to border restrictions be implemented in early 2020. The story continues According to the European Chamber, the number of foreigners in China has halved since the start of the pandemic. He predicts that number could halve again this summer, with a handful of international workers coming in to make up for the numbers leaving. “Talking to people who were scheduled to move (to Shanghai) in the summer, they’re not, they’re going to Singapore, they’re going to Bangkok,” Kaye said. “Being based here, so many people can’t do their jobs anymore because it requires so much travel and so that makes it prohibitive for so many.” With elderly parents in the United States, travel restrictions were also a big part of Kaye and her husband’s decision to leave, she said, describing how they had already decided before the lockdown. CROWD EXIT Kaye moved to Shanghai to work for a fashion company and was enthralled by the fast-charging energy of a rising China. She later started her own business, now known as eco-friendly swimwear brand Loop. Her husband left behind his career as a banker in the United States and quickly immersed himself in Chinese culture and learned to speak Mandarin. He eventually started his own sustainable bamboo toy business. They further cemented their ties to the city by purchasing their apartment, considered an unusual move for foreigners in Shanghai both then and now. “Anything you can imagine, you can build here. Anything you want to be, you can make it happen here,” Kay said. Since Shanghai eased its lockdown restrictions on June 1, Kaye has been busy packing, but she’s also made sure to find time to reminisce about her time in the city with bike rides on the Bund and one last plate of noodles from a favorite local hangout. The safe streets of Shanghai will be especially missed, she said, recounting how she would walk her dog late at night and felt able to let her children take the subway alone when she was just 10 years old. The Kaye family’s recent years in Shanghai have been colored by China’s growing isolation due to COVID border restrictions and the worsening relationship between Washington and Beijing, but Kaye said that has not marred their experience. “I think people all over the world are basically the same. We all want to be safe and be able to do our jobs and do creative things and get a good education for our children and have a home and a shelter and a community. ” he said. “I think at the government level things are so misunderstood.” Three days after Kaye and her daughters landed in the United States, all three tested positive for COVID, but they have no regrets about their move. (Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Brenda Goh and Michael Perry)
