Yippee, it's time to stop writing the diary and head back to the office ... well, almost

A Spring Festival break away from the office proved longer than expected for Peter Welton, a senior copy editor at China Daily, who has just completed a weeklong quarantine period at home, imposed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Without wishing to be flippant in view of the seriousness of the situation, he chronicles how he narrowly avoided climbing the walls but found time to keep an eye on paint in the kitchen.

Day 1: Arrive back at China Daily in Beijing from a Spring Festival break overseas to find an email about quarantine measures. As it's 2:30 am, this news is slow to sink in, but on waking realize that food supplies are running low. Will there be a run on supermarkets? I assess the situation, but being lazy, decide to restock next day.

Day 2: Venture out for the first time since returning and meet a colleague in the office compound who points out I'm wearing my facemask upside down. Decide it's too risky to correct the situation, but vow not to err again. Buy food without any problems at supermarket. Wash hands on return. In the afternoon, feel slightly depressed and start to study paint drying in kitchen before cheering up and watching the award-winning movie 1917.

Day 3: Decide to take long walk in park near the office. It is closed with a metal barrier across the entrance, which people are jumping over to gain entry. Decide not to follow suit, but am later cheerfully waved in by a guard at a side entrance. Return home. Wash hands. Paint still drying. In evening, watch Sofia Kenin from the United States win women's singles in Australian Open tennis tournament. Looking forward already to men's singles final tomorrow. Only 22 hours to go.

Day 4: Yikes! It's snowing. Plan for another long trek abandoned. Deal with flood of emails from anxious friends and relatives. Start working remotely from home on story sent by my boss on how expats in Shanghai and Beijing are coping with the outbreak. Paint stubbornly shows no signs of drying. In evening, watch Novak Djokovic from Serbia win his eighth Australian Open men's singles title. Savor a large glass of something rather agreeable from Bordeaux, purely for medicinal purposes.

Day 5: Another story arrives from the boss, this time about pop music fans rallying to raise donations for medical professionals in Wuhan. Complete this, and head for the post office to mail card overseas for godson's 40th birthday. Return and wash hands. Boss leaves page proofs for reading outside my apartment door. Paint still drying. Settle down in evening with W. M. Thackeray's excellent Vanity Fair.

Day 6: No letup from the boss. Wake to find emailed story to be edited about efforts by volunteer drivers in Wuhan to help medical workers. Tackle this before venturing out for another trek. It's gloriously sunny, but there's hardly any traffic or people to be seen. I stroll leisurely across usually-manic five-lane highways, reveling in the marked absence of demon delivery riders on the sidewalks. Wash hands on return. Paint situation exasperatingly unchanged. More proof-reading.

Day 7: The boss is unrelenting. Another story needs attention－this time on various acts of human kindness amid the outbreak. But I can't open the file. Aaaaaaaaaggghhhh. Eventually succeed, complete task and gaze out of the window to discover it's snowing again. Miserable visit to park, as it starts to snow harder. Return to base rather wet. Immerse hands in water, cover with soap, and rinse. Feel depressed again, but then joyfully remember that the finishing line is finally in sight. Tomorrow, enforced confinement can be washed away and I can return to the office. I'm almost looking forward to seeing the boss again. I think. Even better, the paint has dried overnight.

Day 8: Not so fast. It's still snowing hard, so one more day working from home. But, hey, the paint's still dry.