ZHENGZHOU, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Coronavirus has disrupted the lives of many. It unexpectedly scrapped the wedding plans of Swiss Raphael Zumsteg, who was set to wed on Feb. 9 in his bride's hometown of Pingdingshan, central China's Henan Province.
Staying in his father-in-law's house over the past month, he recorded the local life and posted the results on Twitter and Tik Tok, drawing a big crowd of fans, and catching media attention.
He was brought under the spotlight back in his country, after the Zurich Highland Daily and Swiss TV station Tele Zuri featured him in their reports.
"Without coronavirus, I would have posted my wedding in China on Twitter and Tik Tok," said Zumsteg, who instead recorded the epidemic prevention in his father-in-law's neighborhood.
He said with the video clips and tweets, he had intended to share his knowledge on the epidemic prevention with his fellow Swiss.
One of his posts shows a quarantine staff in a protective suit disinfecting the neighborhood streets, which received more than 70,000 likes and over 1 million views on Tik Tok.
Zumsteg said at the beginning of the epidemic breakout, his family was more worried about his safety in China. Now, his wife has begun to worry about their family in Switzerland and kept sharing with them how to protect themselves against COVID-19.
The Swiss government on Monday declared an "extraordinary situation" in the country, the highest level in terms of the Epidemics Act. All shops, markets, restaurants, bars, entertainment and leisure facilities in the country will be closed until April 19, with only medical institutions and food stores allowed to be open.
According to data released on Monday by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, a total of 1,680 confirmed cases and 14 deaths have been reported in the country.
"China responded decisively in this anti-epidemic battle and took practical measures. It did take effects to take good care of everyone, making people feel safe," said Zumsteg.
He said under the government's coordinated move, communities have taken effective epidemic prevention and control measures, which made him feel safe.
"Residents are cooperative to stay at home as much as possible, receive body temperature checks and wear masks when going out. People keep a distance of more than one meter from each other when shopping in supermarkets. They can also call the supermarket in the neighborhood to order and deliver," said Zumsteg, taking notice of all the things that he saw and learned while staying in Pingdingshan.
China is resuming work and production in an orderly manner as the epidemic situation wanes, he said.
"Now, how to prevent the epidemic is a problem that the whole world needs to face together. China has engaged in international cooperation to eliminate the epidemic. I will wait to make up for my wedding," he said.
