Coronavirus Stories - Reaching Out From Isolation

 Edited BY G P Kennedy Tassy - Karachi, Pakistan  The week went well. This means it was pretty much the same as previous weeks, and that always makes me thankful.  If I have to use two words to sum up the week gone by, they would be peaceful and fulfilling. On the work front, I gained three students who are coming to me for “in person” classes, a few times a week, over and above those that continue their virtual sessions.    This has definitely brought about a certain level of normality to my life and I’m loving the personal interaction and the little chatter that goes along with it. My husband also managed to go physically to the office for 4 of the 5 days of the week, which marked a shift in our daily routines.  We FaceTime our two children in the evenings after our dinner. They have sounded well and happy in their respective homes abroad. This makes me feel at ease.  With the apparent flattening of the curve of COVID19 cases the government decided t...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Ian and Minako - Tokyo, Japan  We are both very well; we're doing more exercise at home now that it can be difficult to get out in this rainy season.    The number of daily reported cases for Tokyo has been mostly above 50 in the last 5 days (57 on Saturday, 60 on Sunday). The average has been increasing compared to recent weeks as restrictions have been lifted. In total, there have been 325 deaths in Tokyo so far. Nationally there have been over 18,354 cases and 972 deaths.    Now the restrictions on movement between prefectures have all been lifted so people are travelling further afield across Japan. The number of people coming in to downtown Tokyo is 70-80% back to normal compared to pre-Covid time. We are still expected to observe the 2-meter (6 feet) distancing wherever possible, wear masks when it is difficult to keep the distance and sanities hands frequently. This has come as a welcome relief to the tourist industry, which is suffe...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Simon - Perth Western Australia   Well here we go again folks! I hope everyone is safe and well.    Life goes on pretty much as normal in Western Australia. My family and I are well and the kids finish term 2 of school tomorrow. Espe and I have both been working as normal although we are taking the usual precautions.    As this pandemic continues it seems more than ever that there is such a massive divide between how different countries and even regions of the same country are doing.    The situation globally and especially in the US is never out of the news with the figures there being on a scale that we simply cannot make sense of here. The other day America had around 40,000 new cases in one day. 40,000.    As things stand right now we have had less than 8,000 cases here since the outbreak started. Around 700 are still active and we have had 106 deaths. By contrast the US have had 2.6m cases, 1.8m still active and 128...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Sally - London, UK  This week has really, really gone slowly for me, but the world seems to be moving faster and faster.  Non-essential shops have started to re-open which means the roads and pavements are busier which people taking more risk and not observing the 2-meter (6 feet) rule.  Some of my friends have started to go back to work, which is great for them I guess; hopefully their employers have made it a safe environment.     Football (soccer) has started again, with no fans allowed in the ground, but the risk level hasn’t gone down!!  My colleagues who film the matches say its very surreal to be there when you can actually hear what the players and managers are shouting to each other instead of the deafening cheers are 50,000 fans.    Mané and Salah - two key players for Liverpool FC  Liverpool FC won the Premier League, which is brilliant as the last time they won it was 30 years ago. Unfortunately it broug...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Peace - Lagos, Nigeria  HUMANITY NEEDS A LARGE DOSE OF LOVE  As numbers reached 20,000 and Lagos state having more than 9,000 of the COVID-19 patients the Government this week started enforcing the use of Masks in public spaces and face shields to try to flatten the Curve many people don’t understand that COVID-19 is increasing in our communities as local transmission rates are at 50%.    The Black lives matter BLM around the world continued to make a point of asking Governments to realize that all humans are equal. The world over color, religion and tribe are issues. Tribalism is a big issue in my country Nigeria as well, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa being the predominant tribes have deep issues amongst themselves.    The world needs a load of love, the whole world is at war with itself, the lockdown brought out a lot of pent up anger triggered by the killing of George Floyd and that seemed to spark the anger that many people had decided it wa...

Edited BY G P Kennedy   Ellie - Milan, Italy 1. Photo by Angelo Amboldi  Just like many other social waves, Italy is now also swept by the protests and debates on racism that started in the United States over the past month. At first, events and public discussions were simply meant to show solidarity with Black Lives Matter. However, very quickly the attention shifted to racism in Italian society itself, which has seen its significant share of violence and injustice. Racism here often is seen through the lens of the refugee crisis and so it can be masked as some other kind of social tension. However, let it not be mistaken: it is racism.     One of the focal points in which this has been manifested is the figure of Indro Montanelli, an influential journalist active between 1930-2000 and the subject of the monument in the photo above, placed in the public park in Milan also named after him. Montanelli volunteered as a conscript for Mussolini's colonizing campaign...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Ian and Minako - Tokyo, Japan  The tragic event of George Floyd’s death has raised awareness about the BLM movement and institutional racism in the U.S. more than ever before in Japan.    This has left us upset and angry about what happened and that urged us to learn about the historical/social background and the reality. Tokyo police beat a Kurdish man during a traffic stop  Five days later, there was news about a Kurdish man who was held down and brutally treated by a police officer after he refused a police search of his car in downtown Tokyo.    This case has brought home, for many people, that racial injustice is not irrelevant to Japan, and that triggered a call for change. Peaceful demonstrations and marches took place in major cities in Japan in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and protest against racism.    In Tokyo 3,500 people joined the march and in Osaka and Kyoto 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silenc...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Today we have a feast of photos to support and illustrate our Stories from Tokyo, Japan ands Milan, Italy. It is interesting to see Ian and Minako's experience, from a place where the virus has been well contained, side-by-side with Ellie's perspective from a virus-ravaged Italy as it starts to emerge from its deep lockdown.                                                       Ian & Minako – Tokyo, Japan   We are both very well, sheltering from the rain and trying to stay cool in this muggy season !     The number of daily reported cases for Tokyo has increased slightly as society has opened up more to a 7-day average of 18. A significant proportion of the new cases can be traced to nightlife destinations in Shinjuku. In total, there have been 314 deaths in Tokyo so far.    Nationally there have been ov...