COVID Testing Changes

It’s 1:14 in the afternoon on Monday, December 28 and quite a few things have happened since I last wrote about my return to China.

Changes made

About a week or two ago, I received a message from my HR representative at the university. She told me that starting December 23, anyone flying from the United States to China had to be tested only at the testing sites that have been approved by the Chinese government.

This means that my test results from North Carolina aren’t valid and won’t be accepted. Now, I’ll have to wait until I get to Los Angeles to get tested.

Who needed to be contacted

Yesterday evening, I sent a message to the consulate in New York because they’re the ones who are the most responsive in comparison to the one in Washington, DC.

I sent a message them and CC’d the health division as well. Both accounts responded with messages, however, the health division responded the fastest.

The email included a list of approved testing facilities according to departure locations. For LAX, there were only about 8 testing facilities on the list, spanning across the state of California.

The very first name on the list is, “Airport diagnostic Institute.”

Airport Diagnostic Institute

Google showed that this testing site is about 2 minutes (driving) from the LAX airport which is relatively close.

The kicker here is the testing fee.

Guess how much it costs to do the tests?

$265.00 ?

Pro: They are open every single day from 7am to 7pm.

Pro: They do both tests that are required to apply for the mandatory health code.

Con: The listed website is really, really sketchy. Looks like a scam. ?

Honestly, I feel like they kind of just threw up a website simply for the sake of having one.

So, on to Mr. Google to conduct a quick bit of research on the company. I searched for airport diagnostic Institute and found that they have a Facebook page and a presence on Yelp.

I checked out their Facebook page and it looked more reliable and professional.

I was able to schedule an appointment on the Facebook page. When I tried to do it on the on the website, it didn’t work and the webpage was unresponsive.

Seriously, fam, I really feel like they just threw up a website for the purposes of saying that they have one.

Thankfully, social media saved the day for them! Not to mention, I called both phone numbers that were on the approved list that was sent to me and left messages on both.

At the moment, I'm just waiting to hear back so I can inquire about what I need to do in terms of planning a timeline of when I should leave from North Carolina, the testing times and the projected timeline for receiving the results so I can apply for the health code.

My Scheduled Flight

Getting the test results, sending them off and apply for the health code will all play a factor in my departure, especially considering that my flight leaves out at 10:55p PST from LAX.

Final Thoughts

Earlier this morning, as my director and I were wrapping up a meeting, I shared my sentiments and explained that I have mixed emotions about everything.

I’ve shared this with you all before.

On the one hand, I am really excited to return to my home in China. On the other hand, I have no idea what to expect, you know?

Also, between now and my fast approaching departure, I'm still trying to meet my deadline of grading all of my finals now while I have reliable internet connection because I don't know how reliable the internet connect will be in quarantine.

That’s for two whole weeks!

Prayerfully with this new international T-Mobile plan, I'll be able to stay connected but I won’t know until I’m there.

That’s all for now...