Journal
MOBILITIES
Volume 16, Issue 1, Pages 35-50Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/17450101.2020.1827361
Keywords
Anxiety; Lockdown; Disruption; Immobilities; Macau; Covid-19
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In February 2020, the pandemic of Covid-19 affected the social and economic life in Macau, leading to anxieties over movement and distance. Despite having very few actual cases, the Macau government quickly implemented a lockdown. This article reflects on the experience of anxious immobility during the lockdown and discusses the politics of mobilities between Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, and the rest of the world based on ethnographic research.
In February 2020, Macau became one of the first regions where the pandemic of coronavirus or Covid-19 affected the totality of social and economic life leading to increased anxieties over movement and distance. Although Macau has had very few actual cases of the virus - 46 in total - and no deaths from it, the Macau government rapidly instituted a lockdown. The aim of this article is to reflect on how the social experience of being in lockdown can provide insights into understanding the type of experience or condition that we provisionally term 'anxious immobility.' Such a condition is characterized by a total disruption of everyday rhythms and specifically anxious waiting for the normalization of activity while being the subject of biosocial narratives of quarantine and socially responsible. The paper is based upon 3 months of ethnographic research conducted by two researchers based in Macau. We also reflect upon some aspects of the politics of mobilities in the light of disruptions and friction points between Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, and the rest of the world.
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