Containment From the Get-go: Returning from the UK

NOTE: KION's Josh Kristianto currently shows no symptoms of COVID-19 (coronavirus). He is self-isolating by his own choice for the benefit of his family and the public. News-Press & Gazette Company, who owns KION, has also mandated he stay and work from home to safeguard those working in the newsroom.

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) SCREECH!! The loud thud of our British Airways plane hitting the runway at the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport was smooth, even if rain was pouring down hard on the city this past Saturday evening.

I had just made it home after a week-long trip to London, England, where I stuffed my face with fish and chips and meat pies under similar gloomy weather. But coming back home, I wasn't too excited. I knew the situation in my homeland, especially in my home state, was getting dire.

We'd read news stories of long lines at Costco, basic toiletries vanishing and a sense of urgency with schools and businesses shutting down or scaling back their services. People were panicking it seems, whereas the situation in the UK was more calm.

Coming home was a mix of relief that we had made it home and dread about what's to come. We had planned on going to Paris during the trip, but a 2am knock on our door by the front deskman at our London apartment told us our families back home just saw President Donald Trump's announcement of a travel ban between the US and continental Europe.

We had just missed a travel ban to the UK and Ireland as well, which was slated for the following Monday, two days after we landed back in America. PHEW!

The three of us (we all work at KION in some capacity) knew we had just been told by our company, News-Press & Gazette, that we wouldn't be allowed back to work at the station. As a precautionary measure, we would have to isolate ourselves from our station premises for 14 days (the length of time it takes to see if any COVID-19 symptoms show up) to protect the rest of the newsroom. We'd have to work from home.

Two more weeks of "vacation," I thought. That doesn't sound so bad. And, of course, self-quarantining at home is what the CDC recommends to do to protect the rest of the public after you travel from certain areas.

As soon as I got home, the first thing I did was spray all of my luggage down with Lysol disinfectant spray. I wiped everything down too: all my phones, cords, glasses, hand sanitizers, food packages, gum packs, water bottles, gifts from London. Everything.

I also threw myself into the shower and washed all my clothes, even if I hadn't worn that one shirt on the trip.

It felt good to do all that, in a way. We had been sort of on edge in all our time in London too, washing our hands every chance we got, using hand sanitizers, wiping down our hotel room and airplane seats and taking Vitamin C supplements.

But a routine that felt only needed in a foreign country now fell to my own home in Salinas. It's a bit somber to do it still, like things are still the same here even though there aren't any confirmed cases in Monterey County.

I do live with my parents at home. You should understand why if you pay rent on the Central Coast. Both of them are over 60. I thought about staying in a hotel, but decided against it because we didn't want to risk affecting other people IF I have the coronavirus. Maybe I'd get sued by the hotel I'm staying at too or kicked out.

So I'm taking precautions at home. I'm wiping things I've touched down with disinfectant every day, wearing a mask around the house, separating my dishes used to eat and staying in my room and bathroom for the most part.

I am not showing any symptoms of COVID-19 right now: no fever, cough or difficulty breathing. I feel fine. I'm self-isolating for the benefit of my family, my coworkers and the public. But I'm still anxious. It's going to be a long couple weeks.