Coronavirus Stories - Week 9 – Reaching Out From Isolation
Unrest across America reaches boiling point in New York City; Pakistan is still reeling from a deadly airplane disaster; politicians and their acolytes continue to embarrass themselves in London; while all is quiet on the Eastern front in Tokyo, except for a creeping sense that some people might be letting complacency set in; and in Istanbul there is time to contemplate a different future.
Daniel – New York City, USA
This was a more difficult week than most. Towards the end of the week I just felt really discouraged about what’s going on this country around the issue of race and police brutality.
I’m not sure how much that story is making the international news, but the killing of George Floyd is just the latest case of a white police officer killing an unarmed black man. Like the situation with legal assault rifles and mass shootings, the powers that be in the US are completely unwilling to make any kind of meaningful changes. So, while I think I’ve gotten used to what’s going on with the COVID lockdown here in NYC, this situation was like a kick in the head. Very disorienting and upsetting.
Because of the rioting, the neighborhood has felt very different at night over the last few days. There are helicopters circling overhead all night. There are police cars and fire engines screaming down the street at very regular intervals. This all makes for a lot of interrupted sleep. Really makes me feel bad for people who have young kids at home, people who are essential workers - these people need a good night’s sleep to get up and face the day every day and I can’t imagine they’re getting it.
I suppose the highlight of my week was a 20-mile bike ride we took to see friends - at a socially responsible distance - in Upper Manhattan yesterday. We’ve been doing a lot of cycling over the last two weeks and our ride yesterday took us down streets we don’t normally ride on. The weather was perfect, too. Really helped to be out of the house for seven hours.
I spoke of this above, but Thursday and Friday just felt really bad, like people here - especially people of color - are really suffering right now. Of course I’m angry - in a rage, really - about it, but I can’t understand (as a while male) what it must feel like for them. It beggars belief.
On a personal level, we’re two and a half months into this and I still haven’t gotten a penny for unemployment. We’re okay for the moment because my wife is still working, but I worked full-time for most of the last 35 years - paid taxes and then some - and the fact that the government can’t figure out how to get me some money is infuriating. Here again, I can’t imagine what it must feel like if you’re really in financial trouble, but for me this isn’t a good feeling.
If things continue this way, I believe that Trump will get re-elected. I don’t think people outside the US understand how Republicans have gamed the system of the past few decades. As a result, Republicans will take (or hold) many state and national offices while getting far fewer votes overall.
In other words, THE US IS NOT A FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACY.
Tassy – Karachi, Pakistan
The week has been a bittersweet one. We had five days of public holidays for Eid. I know that each day feels like a holiday for me with my work having come to a standstill, but my husband who has been keeping 13 hour days had a total break so we got to spend a lot more time together. In some ways there seemed to be some kind of normalcy as we met a few close friends every second day over drinks, coffee or dinner at each other’s houses. (Restaurants and cafes are still only open for deliveries.)
The social interaction did wonders to lift my spirits, but there seemed to be an eerie air of discomfort hovering. News has been overshadowed by the aftermath of the horrific plane crash last week, with the black box being discovered, and speculation rife over who should be blamed.
There has been more gloom with hospitals announcing that they did not have any more capacity to take in COVID patients, as they were all full. The numbers of cases and deaths have reached record highs in the wake of laxity.
With the opening of shops and small businesses a couple of weeks ago, everyone knew that this was bound to happen so it comes as no surprise. It is however more alarming now as we keep hearing of people we know, or friends of friends who have contracted the virus. So although we are reveling in human company after almost more than 12 weeks, it feels as if we are playing with fire.
The Government seems to have adopted a cavalier attitude towards the pandemic and as a result people seem to be getting mixed signals and have failed to take much caution. It is only NOW, that it has been made mandatory for everyone to wear masks in all public places.
I seem to be balancing on a tight rope as I try and figure out what risks I am willing to take. I need a new pair of trainers as my current ones are worn out, and much to my daughter’s annoyance I am actually thinking of venturing out to the shops tomorrow (for the first time!) to buy myself a new pair. She doesn’t see this as an essential item, but I do.
Yoga and exercise has been my savior during these days and I am keen to go. Sadly a simple outing to the mall is causing so much indecisiveness. I am a little wary about what added precautions I can take around my parents and elderly mother in law, now that I have started seeing a few friends.
Tomorrow my husband finally starts going to his workplace as his office is opening for 25% of its staff at any given point. I am also now considering re starting my private yoga classes that I offer in my studio at home with health precautions in mind. Many gyms have opened around the city and it seems as if people want to just go about their lives now. I have already received calls from my students asking me when I’d be resuming my classes.
Pakistan seems to be in a situation where the lockdown is all but gone, while the infection is not. In fact cases have yet to peak with the trend still rising. There is a rumor that we will have another lockdown imposed soon, but until then we are all trying to find ways to resume some of our old life, while trying to exercise caution.
Gul – Istanbul, Turkey
It has been 11 weeks since we’re locked ourselves in a flat; it became difficult to be patient. There was melancholy and boredom in the beginning of this week but this feeling has gone now and my mood has completely changed with the good news; the travel restrictions will be lifted in all cities from 1st of June. Immediately, we have booked a chauffeur driven vehicle for four of us - my husband, my sister and brother in law. It’s so relieving; I was thinking I couldn’t take any more living in a flat with no outdoor activities.
There are still around 1000 new cases each day but the numbers of patients admitted to ICUs and people on respiratory support systems are declining. Daily death toll is around 30s everyday. We’re under the last curfew weekend at the moment and the life seems to be carrying on with new normal.
As of 1st June, civil servants on administrative leave or working remotely will return to work. Beaches, parks, gardens, libraries, museums, restaurants, cafes, and swimming pools will reopen, excluding places of entertainment.
Curfew for over 65 and under 18 years old will remain. People over 65 will be allowed out on Sundays between 2-8pm; under 18 will be able to be out on Wednesdays and Fridays during the same hours.
The decision has sparked anger in many homes as people over 65 say; with curfew they’ve been left in unhealthy situation. I agree. Most of over 65 are active people but they’ve been at home almost three months now. They need exercising and have some fresh air everyday. Once a week won’t be enough to keep a healthy body. Kids under 18 are the same. You should see them on the days when they’re allowed to be out, they don’t know what to do, and they’re running around tirelessly. I feel sorry for them.
Under the new normal people must wear facemasks and social distancing will be in place. There are new rules of everything, parks with circles, and toilets with sensors. There are so many restrictions and rules on the food and drink, I am not sure the places will be able to cope. We’ll see.
Another discussion was, while all restaurants and cafes, museums; pools are re-open why the entertainment places are still closed. Turkey is a secular country but the government is known with the battle of alcohol consumption as many entertainment venues serve alcohols, some people are worry that might be the reason behind the ban. If they will not be opened this season most of them will be closed down anyway. The government has introduced more taxes on alcohol than any other product – this is really annoying for us.
To be able to go to our second home was the highlight of my week. Of course we’ll be wearing our masks and keeping social distancing as requested over there too but to be able to live in a house with a big garden and go for a walk will make a big difference to our daily life.
My husband always wanted to live outside big cities and I don’t know whether we need to re-evaluate our lives these days. Living through a crisis, our beautiful Istanbul has lost its soul and became a bland, a dystopian one but I really love my city. We moved back here from Liverpool, England a couple of years ago and I still can’t get enough of this place. We’ll see whether coronavirus will change the way we live.
Sally – London, UK
I feel better after last weeks little panic and feeling down. The weather has been hot hot hot in London and I always think the sun helps, but the sun also brings out gangs of people, so we are dodging more and more people in the parks and streets.
Last weeks rule of being able to meet one person outdoors, who is not from your household, has now been changed to you can meet 6 people, still outdoors and still at a 2 meter distance but again the rules are open to interpretation.
I went to the supermarket and was followed in by a group of approximately 15 teenage boys, no distancing, between themselves or anyone else in the shop - its crazy. Teenagers and young adults seem to be the ones “breaking” the rules or seeing how far they can push them as I don’t think they can see the bigger picture.
The government has admitted that even though we are still at danger level 4 they decided to relax the social rules?? Why, who knows? So me, my family and all of my friends are still keeping safe and following the stricter rules, it’s the only way we can see that will slow COVID19.
Schools are apparently opening for certain age groups as of Monday and a few of my friends have chosen to allow their children back, if the baby was of school age I think I would keep her off till September?
Testing for COVID has started on a wider scale but only the test to see if you have it now is 100% reliable. The antibodies test is the one that will allow lives to become a little more normal but we will have to wait a while longer for that or a vaccine.
The biggest story I suppose is that Dominic Cummings, who is the chef advisor to the Prime Minister, has been found to have majorly broken lockdown rules that he helped to set. He drove from London to his parents house 260 miles away when he and his wife both had Covid symptoms so drop his child off so the elderly parents to look after them. He was also spotted on another long car journey when he was said to be ill and his excuse was the “he wanted to check eyesight” so got in the car and drove 30 miles with his wife and child, I usually go to an optician to have my eyes checked
Other parliamentary figures have been sacked or quit for breaking lockdown rules but Cummings must have some dirt on our PM as Boris Johnson has said he agrees with what he did???? Corruption within the Government, who would have thought!!!!!
My sister and one of her daughters has had Covid symptoms on and off for quite a few weeks but recently her chest has been getting worse so she has been given an inhaler to help clear her lungs. I have spoke to her and she says she is fine but I just keep thinking if it gets worse how can I drive 220 miles to visit her safely.
Thursday was week 10 of #clapforourcarers and it was decided that it would be the last week. I have really enjoyed feeling part of a neighborhood and waving at people in our street that we wouldn’t usually all in honor of the NHS and all the other front line workers. I will be sad when we don’t do it next week but I understand that it can’t go on forever but it was nice to a community, even if it was just for 1 minute a week.
Ian and Minako – Tokyo, Japan
We are both very well, still full of beans, munching lots of peas and avocados! The number of daily reported cases for Tokyo is still low but has increased slightly to a 7-day average of 13. There have been a few cases amongst people arriving at the airports. In total, there have been 304 deaths in Tokyo so far. Nationally there have been over 16,506 cases and 890 deaths; there was a spike in the figures for Fukuoka and clusters in some hospitals. As forecast, on Monday the state of emergency has been lifted for the whole of Japan.
The authorities here have focused on places that are most likely to have clusters: gyms, pubs, live music venues, karaoke rooms, and similar establishments where people gather, eat and drink, chat, sing, and work out or dance, rubbing shoulders for relatively extended periods of time and without masks. So although commuter trains can still be crowded, people don’t talk much and keep their masks on so the virus rarely spreads there.
This approach seems to have worked quite well. Interestingly there have been less deaths from all causes over the last few months than for the corresponding period in recent years, the flu season was relatively mild, people have been more careful, less traffic accidents etc.
It will be a gradual return to normal, numbers and opening times will be limited, for instance, concert audiences are limited to 100 at first, museums and libraries are re-opening, the popular museums have set capacity limits with pre-booking required. Restaurants and bars can now stay open later (10pm instead of 8pm) and department stores have re-opened with extra hygiene measures in place. Gyms can open in the 2nd phase next week but pachinko parlors and karaoke boxes remain closed. People are urged not to travel across other prefectures from/to Greater Tokyo and Hokkaido until the next phase.
Tokyo Tower has re-opened but the elevator is limited to only 4 people so if you want some post-lockdown exercise there’s a 600-step staircase to climb up 333 meters!
On Friday the Air Self-Defense Force’s Blue Impulse acrobatics team performed a flyover over central Tokyo in “a show of respect to doctors and medical staff” who have been at the forefront of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. Quite a few people including ourselves are wondering how this is a show of respect, of course everyone respects them but there must be a more appropriate or rewarding way of showing it and isn’t it a poor use of the money!
Another odd initiative is the illumination of the rainbow bridge to indicate the coronavirus alert levels with red being the worst level. It was lit up in all the rainbow colors this week as the state of emergency was lifted. Only a small number of Tokyo residents have a view of the bridge, it’s 18km away from our place and I doubt we’ll take the risk of a lengthy train ride there and back just to check what level we are on, there’s much easier ways!
It’s so nice to see that the play areas in the park are no longer taped up, kids going crazy over the swings and slides! Children are also returning to the schools a few at a time and for short spells like just one hour to start with.
Also the signs in the park have partially changed to warnings about mosquitoes (eek!) - don’t go barefoot in sandals and wear long sleeves etc. A bit odd that these are only in Japanese, every Japanese person already knows this very well, it’s the foreigners who need to be warned!
We are still avoiding public transport, however, those who do take trains told us that there has been a significant increase in the number of passengers since the state of emergency was lifted.
No particular highlight for us, we’ve had a quiet week (not even had a takeaway!) apart from watching delightful scenes of cute baby ducklings and moorhens in the park but feeling more relaxed and positive as restrictions are lifted and more options for dining out and travel as we go forward. The rainy season is starting soon and lasts about a month then it’s the extreme heat of summer so we’re making the most of this pre-mosquito-rain-heat period.
We have a slight concern about the danger of people becoming too complacent. We are hoping that it won’t be like various other countries that as soon as any easing is announced people go crazy, gather in groups, share food, throw away their masks. The virus has not gone away, we’ll still be very cautious. Just keeping our fingers crossed for no 2nd wave!
Peace – Lagos, Nigeria
What a dramatic week filled so many happenings around the world, suddenly the pandemic took back sit as drama unfolded, it was the week another Black was killed by the police in America the video of George Floyd made so many emotions come up anger but just somehow giving up on humanity and compassion. “ I can’t breathe” should have gotten some compassion from the policemen over the years and over the world.
Police brutality has some how become the norm in Nigeria a police officer shot and Killed a 16 year old called Tina
If that wasn’t enough Drama a girl called Uwa who went into a church to find somewhere quiet to read was repeatedly raped and then had a fire extinguisher used to kill her
Obviously the pandemic has not taught human beings anything we are still full of. As we have always been not learning from anything .You would think that the high death toll of over 100k Americans will sober people up and make them think that color of skin would be the least of our problems at this time.
That the usual over zealous Nigerian police would have some conscience before cocking a gun, pointing at and shooting a young girl.
That for the young men that raped Uwa, this should not be a priority at this time, I have never understood the head space of anyone that commits rape. It seems that they are possessed animals who get some sort of high from forced sex, The girl child in Africa seems an endangered specie from all the kinds of sexual objectifying of women as sex objects and nothing more.
Nigeria finally reached 10000 people with the Coronavirus disease increased testing has meant higher figures, but government is easing the lockdown further to allow for religious services, wow am not sure who is advising Government on this but am sure they have been bullied by the Muslim clerics and the Christian Priests and Pastors Everyday seems to be something new with this virus.
Its been busy week for me for me I was feeling fatigued and decided to see my doctor. The journey to his office was like 3 long hours because of traffic. He said that I had Malaria but no temperature. Anyway, he put me on my medication and I started my long trip home I feel better though.
Also been busy with the Mask up Africa strategy.
It was also the week of the remembrance of the Nigeria Civil war the Biafra war that saw more than 3 million Igbo people die a genocide that Nigeria refuses to acknowledge. Hmmmmmmm.
The Biafra Remembrance Day was spent on Twitter with the community building on #OnyeAghanaNwanneYa and #ozoemena that was also the day that “I can’t breathe ‘ trended. It put more meaning to Ozoemena, which meant may another not happen.
This week I got angry with human beings they expect you to jump through loops for them, you find a lot of the time that humans have no conscience.
I am kind of exhausted really wish I could just travel and be really busy. I am meditating and praying a lot for guidance, as the ways of the world seem overwhelming at this time. Only with silence and contemplation will I find balance
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