The second week of stories from around the world sees a mixed response from governments and mixed feeling from our seven storytellers
BY G P Kennedy
Welcome back to our weekly column in which seven people from different continents around the world reach out to you and each other.
Isolation can be deadly. Community can be the cure.
A number of themes are developing in our stories. We see the differences of approach from governments but there is a commonality in the experience of Coronavirus and the lockdown. Boredom, for sure. Time for reflection, for many. Lots of binge eating, drinking, and watching is happening, too. Inequality is becoming evident in the way Coronavirus treats its victims.
Outcomes for people locked down, and chances of survival for those who become sick, appear increasingly to depend on where you live, and on your income, in many cases.
Let’s check in with our lockdown friends, starting with perhaps the biggest story of the week in which a leader of government almost died of covid19.
Sally – London, England
We are all going slightly mad, again not helped by the baby and her random sleeping patterns. The other night she woke up every hour from 1am till 6am…James and I are basically spending every second of every day together but after the really bad night with baby we both decided that we needed time away from each other. We all managed to go to sleep for an hour when the baby had her morning nap and then when she woke up I took her out for an hour so James could have some ‘me time’ and then after lunch he did the same for me. So even though are only allowed one walk a day technically the baby had two but me and James managed to clear our heads and I think that’s really important also.
Our Prime Minister Boris Johnson ended up in hospital in intensive care due to the Corona Virus, I don’t like our PM but I don’t wish unwell on anyone. He is out of hospital now but back still sick. I don’t tend to watch the news any more as it was taking over our lives. James stays up after I have gone to bed and catches up and the daily new and politics and lets me know if I have missed anything important.
We still go outside the house every Thursday at 8pm and Clap for Our Carers. I’m enjoying our weekly #clapforourcarers We moved into our road when I was 8 months pregnant then have been living in our own baby bubble for the last year so only know our direct neighbors, but even though we are social distancing I am saying hello to more and more people who live near me.
My family in Liverpool is ok. My parents haven’t caught it but my sister, her husband and her eldest of 4 children have shown symptoms. My Uncle who lives in a nursing home has had a couple of falls this week and an ambulance was called, although the paramedics wanted to take him into hospital he refused but it got me thinking that if anything serious happened then no one could go into the hospital to see him and if the worst case happened then my mum couldn’t be with her brother to say goodbye! Anyway he seems to be on the mend so hopefully that is a bridge we won’t have to cross yet.
The baby started to walk this week, she’s been pulling herself up for a few months but this week she took a few steps on the sofa but today on our daily walk we took a blanket to let her crawl in the grass but she stood herself up and walked about 8 paces - yay!
The baby started to walk and none of the grandparents will see it, obviously we recorded it on our phone and sent it to them but by the time she meets them again she won’t be stumbling and tottering around, she will be a confident little walker. Also her first birthday is getting closer and I am gutted that none of the family will be around.
We are good still, health wise and mentally (just). The baby keeps us in our own little bubble and is a constant distraction. We are one step closer to find out how much the benefits we will receive will be so just knowing that we will have some help financially has helped.
Reading everyone else’s answers made me realize that, although I know this is affecting everyone around the world, I am not the only one having worrying thoughts and feelings and we maybe a world away from each other but we all have a lot in common.
Ian – Tokyo, Japan
We are well. We have the same routine with our daily walk around the park or local streets and occasional walks into our town for supplies.
After very long deliberation the national government finally declared a state of emergency on April 7th to run until May 6th but only for some prefectures including Tokyo. It’s not a full lockdown and there are few legal powers of enforcement but a request is normally interpreted as a command here. It is frustrating and confusing, the prefectures’ Governors are arguing with the national government about the measures, which is making everything so slow and ambiguous. The Governors are demanding stricter actions to protect the public. Central government seems hesitant because of the economic impact.
There appears to be little financial support from central government to small businesses and people who are now out of work. The number of people working from home is still tiny but transport and the streets of downtown Tokyo are quieter, we see many images of the famous Shibuya crossing now almost empty. However many are still very concerned about having to travel on crowded trains.
Most of the large department stores are closed. Some restaurants and izakayas are still open (but are urged to close early by the authorities). This conflicts with government advice to stay at home and avoid crowded, confined spaces. Many cafes and restaurants, particularly in the suburbs like ours, have switched to takeaway only.
The number of covid19 cases is now rising quite steeply in Tokyo, nearly 200 per day now. Overall so far there have been 1900 positive tests and 40 deaths attributed to covid19. There have been about 90 cases of covid19 in our ward that has a population of over 550,000 in western Tokyo.
The park where we live is normally very quiet, especially on weekdays but now it is very busy, so much so at weekends it feels unsafe as people are too close to each other. Too many people are not adhering to the “Three Cs” rule that the government is promoting: To avoid closed and crowded places and conversations in close proximity. The term “social distancing” is only just starting to appear and seems to be a bit slow to sink in amongst Japanese people.
It is nice that we are still able to chat to our neighbors from a safe distance and wave from our balconies. One of our neighbors made some lovely masks from kimono fabric for us; there are still no surgical masks in the shops so we are seeing far more people wearing handmade masks that we would never see before.
The community is doing quite well at promoting the takeaway and deliveries from cafes and restaurants with details, maps and images on social media to support the local businesses.
There has been some beautiful weather this week, it’s so uplifting to see the warm sun shining on the new green leaves that replace the cherry blossoms. There are so many bright flowers in people’s small gardens, balconies and verandas. Although our routine hasn't changed a lot we do seem to be snacking more and gaining weight. Exercise is always important but it's not easy in a small apartment.
We need to maintain a good balance of keeping informed but still having fun. We’re watching a mix of documentaries and comedies - laughter boosts the immune system.
Espe – Perth, Australia
In Australia 6314 confirmed, 59 deaths and 3338 recovered. Here in Western Australia 517 confirmed cases so far and 6 deaths. Talk of easing the covid19 restrictions.
We have enjoyed a week of good health and have now finished our 14-day isolation period. We have enjoyed bush runs, cycling and walks. We have used FaceTime chats with friends and family, watched several movies and played board games. Built a chicken coop and gardened every day.
This week my employer -the Education Department - told me after the school holidays (two weeks) I will need to return to work. At this stage of the epidemic Education is considered an essential job. Even though most children are at home in isolation with their family’s, education staff are required to go work. Our children will have to go to their school. Unfortunately, our son has immunity issues. During winter months he frequently catches viruses often resulting in severe asthma response. This is a concern to our family. Simon is still working, and my parents are too old to help.
My parents have had services suspended due to covid19 restrictions and now are finding it hard to cope especially struggling with the isolation.
We consider ourselves lucky.
Gul – Istanbul, Turkey
We’re bored. But still, we are some of those people who have the privilege to stay at home. Some of my friends still have to go to work.
There’s still no full lockdown in Turkey but there is a curfew in 31 cities just for this weekend. Also the authorities set a new curfew restricting younger than 20 from leaving their homes unless absolutely necessary. In addition, wearing facemasks in crowded areas like stores is now mandatory. Plus, there’s 15 days’ ban on vehicles leaving and entering 31 provinces. Istanbul is one of them, actually the centre of the epidemic in Turkey. It’s the red zone and we live here. There were almost 5000 new cases yesterday and the death toll is now over 1000.
My father lives in a small town in Anatolia. He was in Istanbul visiting us and couldn’t get back to where he lives due to restrictions. His 3rd application to get a permission to leave Istanbul was finally accepted and he left yesterday. He wasn’t allowed any stopover so he had to drive 9 hours to get there. He’s safe and sound now. Although he won’t be allowed to walk around the village, he can spend some time in his own garden.
My social media is full of people of relatives of severely ill patients. They’re desperately seeking blood donors from recently recovered patients. They say blood plasma taken from survivors might help patients fight off the disease.
We call my mother in law who lives in the UK each day, she’s fine. She’s 84 years old, self-sufficient and in great spirits. That’s good to hear. Our daughter who lives in Holland also is fine, still working from home. We’ve seen hundreds of images of her cat, Amber, luckily we will never be bored of any cat photos.
Balconies have always been part of our city lives and as the weather was better this week
balconies now have become the only safe public open space for us. But they are not romantic anymore. No one sings or dances at their balconies, like we saw in Italy in the beginning of the epidemic.
We managed to get regular big deliveries from Carrefour. During the day all delivery spots are full but we now make our order, just after the midnight, so it works.
I can’t believe I’m saying this as a highlight of my week, but we finished watching Ozark. It was a good distraction from the virus news.
We’re terrible at baking! We have baked the worst ever cookies. And, we forgot to buy some eggs and there’s a curfew for the weekend. There probably won’t be any eggs once we are allowed to go out. Living in the big city is actually the worst.
Peace – Lagos, Nigeria
Well it's been a busy second week of the total lockdown. There has been increased testing and increasing numbers, nothing crazy just yet, but remember we cannot cope with any phenomenal numbers. We have major infrastructure issues in terms of medical facilities. This keeps me very worried especially in relation to when community transmission increases in rural areas. I feel like we are working against time. As of now our numbers are 318 positive to the virus. It's also the week the Chinese have decided to kick Africans out of their homes in forced quarantine moves. The week of conspiracy theories on 5G as well as the Mark of the beast as they have decided to call Mr. Bill Gates call for mandatory vaccination. All in all the world seems to be dealing with so many issues all mixed up with the pandemic and all I can see is that the poor people will end up losing out in the battle of capitalism. We have also had to deal with religious bodies that want worship centers open.
Finally went over to see my mum. I hadn't seen her for almost three weeks that's unusual, we live a street apart but because our family friends in Israel had advised us to isolate the elderly. I wasn't going to put mum at risk - not at over 90 years old - but went by to drop groceries and just get a hug, mum lives with my brothers and their family so she is well looked after. Had a chat with her with my brothers, my nieces and nephews. It felt strange being so near but so far. I have to be more careful with this issue because of a health issue that makes my immunity important to me so I don't take risks in terms of stay home and stay safe. It's also been really difficult getting fresh vegetables and fruits at this time, as the prices are extremely high.
The highlight of my week is having eyes on TV, surfing the Internet for news update. I spent a lot of this week teaching friends about alternative remedies to build your immune system, The Neem (Dongoyaro) steam, and teas, organic cold press coconut oil, Bitter kola and honey with Turmeric. These are natural African methods that have helped me keep my immunity up for the last 10 years or so. Plus it's the same leaves my grandma used to bathe me whenever I got back from boarding school in England she said it would prevent me from getting fevers. I used to hate drinking it as a kid it's bitter but now it's my companion.
Being indoors all day is terrible. Mapping out needs in the communities getting overwhelmed by the work that needs to be done to protect the most vulnerable in the society. Trying hard to educate people on the reality of this COVID19 and basic hygiene. Trying hard with the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation to locate medical infrastructure that Africa may need; raising funds to feed 10,000 most vulnerable people we have identified - mostly widows, sick and elderly females. It's difficult trying to do all this just using the phone and Internet. Suddenly dealing with so many demands for help and not knowing how to say no but you keep trying to help with it all.
It's been a hard week to focus on meditation and prayer too much going on.
But lit a candle of prayer on Good Friday just to key in to My CHI (GOD) finding my balance.
Also we keep working normal work as we set up online webinar to see what the impact of COVID19 will be on the African Film industry.
One thing you want us to know right now: we are all reading too much conspiracy theories and it can be an issue processing things. Think carefully before forwarding that message or posting on social media - is it true and to what benefit? The social media has been both a blessing and a curse - it's right now in overdrive and causing a lot of panic as well as a lot of anxieties, in some cases depression. Let's practice some basic compassion and think before we post all the negative stuff that we cannot substantiate.
Tassy – Karachi, Pakistan
I’m now approaching almost one month in lock down. The first week was self-imposed as I was quarantining myself at home as my daughter had just arrived from Canada and she was observing self-quarantine for 14 days. Then we had the official three-week lock down imposed in the country. Our lock down is supposed to end this coming week. For a country of over 220 million people our infection rates have been relatively low. We also have 90 % of our population under the age of 55 with more than 50 % below the age of 25, which could also be a factor in the relatively low rates of COVID-19 as compared to other countries. Rather than get a false sense of security I suspect that it is because of inadequate testing kits, and a vast number of people being asymptomatic showing mild flu like symptoms and recovering without registering or getting tested for COVID-19.
The lock down has shown that daily wage earners that make up the best part of our population are more worried about daily survival than COVID-19. People like us with means and comfortable homes can afford to sit back and work from the luxury of our own homes but it is not sustainable for the vast majority. This could well lead to social unrest.
So my thoughts this week have been of wariness as I look at a grim situation ahead and a very long summer. The days all seem the same and are rolling into each other. A weekday or a weekend holds no meaning. I make it a point however to dress well every day, to look and feel good. My daily long yoga and meditation practice is helping me stay grounded.
The highlight of the week was celebrating my daughter’s 20th birthday with her. This was a treat as a few weeks ago, she was in university thousands of miles away in Canada and I didn’t think we would meet so soon. The other highlights have been my daily WhatsApp calls with different friends across the globe. Overall I am full of gratitude to be in the comfort of my home and having the means to sustain my current lifestyle without worry.
Daniel - New York City, U.S.A
I am still fine, health-wise. We’re lucky in that we’re able to pretty much stay at home and so can be pretty careful in terms of coming into contact with other people. At the grocery once a week - and during off-hours - and that’s really about it. Mentally, I felt like I turned a corner this week and got a better handle on how to manage my time, have better days. Doing my best to dig into projects so that I feel like I’m getting things done every day. That’s really been nice.
I’m looking at the news less and talking to friends - via Skype, Zoom, etc. - more. As a result, I’m feeling a stronger sense of community with my friends and family - many of whom live elsewhere - than I have in a very long time (and I’m a pretty social person).
For the sake of my own sanity, I’ve been avoiding the stories that I think other people in the world are seeing about NYC. It’s not unlike 9/11 in that, having lived through it, I didn’t feel like I needed to watch the news about it. I do watch Governor Cuomo’s briefings, so I keep track of the numbers and that news hasn’t been good. So many people are dying. The latest revelation is that the number of people dying in their homes and on the streets is 8x what it was for the same period last year and the suspicion is that the vast majority of those are people who had COVID (but never made it to the hospital and weren’t tested). So I think most of us have the feeling that the numbers so far - talking about infection and deaths - are actually quite low.
We live in downtown NYC, in the East Village. And, for the first few weeks, it felt kind of normal (if a bit more quiet than usual). But, over the last week, it really feels like it’s emptied out. Anecdotally, we’re hearing that a lot of people in their late 20s and early 30s have left to go live with their parents (in the suburbs or wherever) and it certainly seems like that’s true. But, in general, it just seems like more of a ghost town. There are fewer lines outside the grocery stores.
Not only have many take-out restaurants closed, but we’ve also seen many (most?) of the neighborhood bodegas close, which I’ve never seen before. The laundromats are now keeping shorter hours. Things are changing. On top of that, the streets feel different. There are a percentage of drivers who are speeding up and down otherwise quiet streets, flouting a lack of police presence. And, while there hasn’t been looting yet - at least I haven’t heard of any - there is a sense that it could happen as people get more desperate.
I’ve been sharing some photos on Facebook of the deserted streets of Soho and people seemed to be moved them. That felt good, like I was able to reveal to people outside the city something of what it feels like here right now.
The sense of not knowing how this will play out over the next year - it comes and goes. In the US, our federal government has almost completely failed us. They fucked up the response to the actual virus and they fucked up the economic piece as well. People will be hurting from this for a very long time and those repercussions were largely avoidable.
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