In late January, Shari Rosen traveled from her home in Shanghai, China to California for a one week trip to celebrate the birthdays of her children. She is leaving behind a country in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic. That one week turned into six as the coronavirus emerged on the West Coast of the United States and travel restrictions made it impossible to quickly return to Shanghai. Instead, She waited it out in Los Angeles working to find a way to return to her 17-year-old business that provides services for children with disabilities in Shanghai.

Shari Diamond Rosen, Ph.D. is a founder of the ELG which describes itself as a "social enterprise that provides a wide range of resources for children to develop and learn effectively." Shari grew up in the Mohawk Valley region of New York State attending Rome Free Academy. She started ELG while living in Shanghai and realizing the needs of children were not being met.

After coordinating travel arrangements she flew back to Shanghai arriving two weeks ago. At the airport, all travelers are greeted by workers in white hazardous materials suits. Rosen describes how they took her temperature twice and did an extensive interview. She was at the airport for five hours before she was allowed to leave and head straight home to a mandatory quarantine. She has heard of others spending twenty hours at the airport.

Rosen recognizes China has an ability to handle this type of crisis because of the massive manpower the government has at its disposal. She appreciates the intense effort to cut off the spread of the virus. "With all that's going on in the world. China has stepped up like heroes," she said.

The 14-day quarantine has taken a toll Rosen said, "I'll be honest it's pretty stressful." But, it has now ended. Rosen ventured from her Shanghai high rise for the first time in two weeks. She travels with a QR code on her smartphone that can be scanned to prove she's allowed to venture outside. She welcomes the strict regimen by the Chinese government because it makes her feel safe.

Rosen is worried for the health of family and friends back in the states. She feels not enough is being done considering the world new this pandemic was coming once it hit China so hard. She provides some hope for Americans in the sense of relief she feels from Shanghai. They have not reported any new cases in a couple of days. Rosen said, "I'm happy to be here."