Covid-19 diary - 2020 to....

 Blog 2  29/9/20

What I thought would be a 6 week home work effort has glided into a 7 month period. The kids may be back at school but offices at city hubs remain empty, airport train stations as deserted as cemeteries while the 2nd wave of Corona continues its upheaval worldwide.  It's hard to remain humourous when life has changed so drastically and so quickly.  We are creatures of habit though and things soon start to become "normal."

 

Summer came and went and vacations were had in different style and closer to home but continual checking of Foreign Affairs app and country risk code had to be followed which does add a damper or tension to the freedom once felt when travelling abroad.  Suddenly, blowing your nose induces a guilty feeling and suspicion from anyone who coughs!  Postponed trips from March have been postponed indefinitely as each country deals with massive amounts of new infections on the rise and return to semi-lockdowns with uncertainty on the horizon.  Brazil's carnival has been cancelled for February 2021, the US Tennis Open was a ghostly affair and Roland Garros is a cold, lonely stadium without the enthusiastic public. Just when will it end we all ask ourselves?  Bankrupcies have begun and airlines are receiving massive bailouts and the future year does not look bright.  This while the economic repercussions have yet to be really felt. We're looking at a proper vaccine only end of 2021 and we won't know if this works until later. The scary thing with Covid-19 is that some who have contracted it have caught it again, plus many have the virus unknowingly with no symptoms but can spread it.  

Personally, I don't visit any cafes or restaurants but for the youth, who think they are untouchable, the hospitality industry is well visited.  Summer has assisted in being able to sit outside but with winter on its way things will move indoors. Thus, the newest measures of government are justified.  I cannot understand those that protest regulations although understandably, many's incomes are affected not to mention our general way of life.  But only we can get this thing under control and that means working from home is and must be the new norm. It's better for the environment and actually quality of life in the sense that travelling time is less and air quality is better.  Perhaps our freedoms had gone overboard with everyone being free to go anywhere, travelling abroad for work when things could be done at home using the technology we have.  Meeting face to face does not have to be so habitual, if done in moderation perhaps one day we can have the best of both worlds.  I wrote the first blog when there were just 200 K people infected.  Today we are over a million dead with 33 million cases.  US leads the negative scoreboard, with India, Russia and Columbia close behind.  In our own subjective realities though, no-one notices those who have gone, we don't see a sudden influx of funerals or suddenly available house, but undertakers are having their busiest years ever.  2020 will go down in history as having been a cancelled year because as days turn into weeks and months, soon it will be 2021 and somehow I don't think we will be rid of this virus.  

 

Take care readers, wear a mask whenever necessary, disinfect hands much and take care of each other and yourself. Keep your distance.  Hope you enjoyed the funny memes!

 

Blog 1 26/3/20 

One day we are riding in the saddle of the horse, the next, the saddle is placed upon our shoulders. (Persian proverb)

As societies shut down globally and practice social distancing, local and worldwide entertainment events are being postponed or cancelled in rapid tempo. Just in the Netherlands, there will be no King's day celebration or  75th Liberation Day 5 May commemoration activities. The European song festival, Formule 1 Zandvoort Grand Prix and European Football Cup postponed a year. Cannes film festival too and the list goes on and on. Sail 2020 which is in August is only held once every 5 year and I sincerely hope by that time we will be further out of this mess to enjoy the ships and good weather. But if not, the Gay parade and other summer festivals will just not happen. 

The income loss to cafes, restaurants, businesses, retail, aviation industry, tourism, hotels and you name it, is going to be huge. Governments worldwide have already issued and announced massive compensation packages, huge borrowing and issuing of bonds which did not do too much to stablise the volatile stock markets where price indexes have been plummeting. Worse than the 2008 crisis and being compared to WWII by Germany and the 1970's oil crisis by NL, the fact that a recession is on the way is  now matter of fact.  The pan-epidemic has reached exponential proportions and its spread is alarmingly quick. Here in small cities, the Red Cross are opening small emergency Doctor posts in sport halls to cope with the strain on the healthcare sector. Germany is planning to use hotels for extra hospital beds. Everyone is working from home, schools are closed, Netflix has even reduced it's streaming quality at the request of the EC, to enable better online working as we all switch to VR to continue our professions. Those who can at least.   Supermarkets are still open but despite different reports, there really are empty shelves when it comes to long life food, toilet paper, tissues or any disinfectants for body or household.  

Photographer unknown but they have a great sense of humor

The origin of the virus  from Wet Markets in Wuhan China, was a province no one had heard about three months ago and many didn't take it seriously. Perhaps we forgot just how global a world we live in.  The virus is apparently probably from an infected pangolin or bat that led to the human transmission. These animals are eaten as delicatessens in Chinese culture. Watch the end of the film Contagion and you'll see how quickly and easily a virus can enter the human species.  This will surely change Chinese culture forever.

The Chinese government acted quickly, shutting down everything and European countries have done the same but at different speeds with different rules. The USA have been somewhat slower,  their figures of around 14 thousand infected being slower to reach the grid, but BBC reports the USA is re far behind other countries when it comes to testing, so the figure is probably much higher. While some countries are in total lock down, some goverrnments are taking the "herd immunity" path, meaning, flattening the curve of the peak of the virus, accepting that many are infected, but hoping that the virus will eventually not have enough people to transmit to and disappear. It's an expert methodology, but not everyone agrees as there are other paths too.  We will only know the success I suppose in retrospect. Italy, France and Spain are in  complete lock down, borders closed and the French government has put all utility bills on hold. Any Dutch travellers going to Belgium to buy cheaper gas will receive a 4000 euro fine. 

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

The stats today are so much higher than last week and we have only had one week at home.  But we must remain calm and not panic.  Rather, take time to be grateful to all the incredible Health staff world wide who are risking their lives to tend and care for others. We shouldn't be emptying shop shelves because we are all in this together and individualistic selfish buying means others lose out.  They are the health workers and all those working in transport and logistics to bring us what we need.  

Dutch medical staff now have free parking all over town and in Madrid, parking is now free everywhere, although there  really isn't anybody around on the streets.  Italians are singing out windows, the French and Spanish have been banned from the beach because the crowds get too big and the Dutch held a national 1 minute clapping for all Health care workers at 20:00 pm the other night.  What a surreal world!  Still we must find time for laughter, space for movement which includes social distancing and applaud the comedians and artists trying to add a spark of positive light to these strange times.  The Daily Show is now being done from Trevor Noah's lounge!

Online, the #Coronaviruschallenge is being undertaken on Twitter with creative fun ideas for people to adjust to sudden home confinement. Some of the videos are hilarious and worth watching as laughter is good medicine. Some of the social media memes too are funny. This blog is a reminder that where ever you are in this world,  wash hands for 20 seconds with soap after being out and take social distance, everywhere if not for yourself, for others. Also remember nothing in life is permanent, the only constant is change. We will get through this together. If anything it is good preparation for any future more devastating deadly virus that could wipe out humanity, and a good test of how health care systems, governments and societies are prepared for crisis situations and economic downfalls. #Staywell readers.