Former SWFL man lives in China, says coronavirus has changed entire lifestyle

WINK News had a long conversation with David Andrews, who formerly lived in Southwest Florida, who now lives in China, and he told us the mood is eerie Tuesday.

The city where Andrews lives is a ghost town.

He’s not only worried about where he lives but also here in Florida.

Streets that were once bustling with millions of people are now empty. Grocery store shelves once stocked are now bare, and face masks are now an essential clothing item. This has become Andrews’ new reality.

“The city I live in is a city of 10 million people, and it became the city of 10 million hermits overnight,” said Andrews, an international drone pilot and manufacturing plant owner in China.

Andrews moved to Suzhou, China from Southwest Florida seven years ago to run his own plant. He says the coronavirus made it hard to leave his house and turned the city he and his wife call home into a place he doesn’t even recognize.

“They shut down all the schools indefinitely, and they shut down everything like restaurants, malls, anything like that,” Andrews said. “It’s all closed.”

The economic impacts of these closures concern Andrews, both for those in China who live paycheck to paycheck and for the global economy.

Andrews’ own plant opened back up just two weeks ago, but many businesses he works with are still closed.

“China is basically the world’s factory at this point,” Andrews said. “So, if China suffers, everybody’s going to suffer.”

Andrews told us no one he knows has coronavirus. (COVID-19). He says he and his wife are staying home as much as possible. And they’re looking forward to returning to the life they knew. The Department of Health says washing hands regularly is a good way to stop the spread.

But it’s his and his wife’s health that is his priority right now. And they’re looking forward to returning to the life they knew.

“I’m hoping things come back to normal soon,” Andrews said.