British teacher shares video blogs of life inside locked-down Chinese city

Empty shopping centres, restaurants banned from opening and entire streets cordoned off – a British teacher, living in a Chinese “ghost town”, has been sharing video blogs of life at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.

Ardit Ajeti, from Wimbledon, south-west London, was living and working as a PE teacher in Guangzhou when the deadly virus saw the entire city placed on lockdown.

China, where the outbreak of Covid-19 first began, has reported 78,063 cases and 2,715 deaths. Entire cities have been placed on lockdown in an attempt to bring the spread of the disease under control.

The 24-year-old said the Chinese government has forbidden residents from leaving the city after it was placed into a 14-day quarantine on Wednesday.

Although supermarkets are not experiencing food shortages, restaurants have been banned from opening, with only takeaways and grocery stores allowed to sell food.

Residential areas have been cordoned off, and now citizens have to go through temperature checks before being allowed in and out of certain parts of the city.

Videos posted on Mr Ajeti’s YouTube site show him exploring the city, with normally busy areas completely empty.

He told the PA news agency: “All the facilities are closed, I’ve not been able to go to the gym because they want everyone to avoid having close contact, so have just been working out at home.

“At first, I was a bit worried; however, I think now I am getting used to it and it seems quite normal. The officials are not being horrible, they are just doing their jobs.

“Some schools are saying they will now not open until May, and universities have transitioned to teaching online.

“It’s hard to be social, as all the bars and restaurants are closed.”

Although his school is closed and Mr Ajeti is no longer able to teach, he said the Chinese government confirmed everyone will still be paid their full salaries.

“I think it is slowly coming under control, but it is really hard to tell if that is the case, or if I’ve just got used to living like this,” he said.