Week 1 – Social Distancing

Coronavirus, Covid 19, or SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, to give it its full title is wreaking havoc across the world as I write this. As of 13th March the government has asked all people over 70, and those with underlying health conditions to social distance themselves, If anyone has any symptoms they have to self-isolate. Only if they become very ill are they to seek medical help.

Social Distancing means staying at home most of the time, with walks outside and short trips to get food allowed. Self-Isolation takes this one step further, you have to isolate yourself, stay & eat in your own room, preferably with the window open, use a separate bathroom if you can, if not the bathroom has to be cleaned after use.

My husband is over 70, so we are following Social Distancing and effectively staying inside, away from everyone, except for a walk each day, on a country path where there are very few people. We are also minimising shopping trips.

So here is a run down of Week 1. (Monday 16th March to Sunday 22nd March)

What Have We Done?

Even though we need to start minimising our interaction with others, this was one going to be one of our last chances to stock up. I stopped into Costco on Monday, and it was busier than Christmas. However, there was no sign of panic buying. (Maybe everyone’s cupboards were full). Tuesday I did a last minute small grocery shop, milk, snacks & treats, to add a little variety through the coming weeks. We have found a small local organic veg shop, which I am using for veg top-ups.

We have spoken to both our boys quite a lot. Our older son, who lives in London, told me that the trial day they had planned to make sure that working from home became ‘you’re working from home from now on’. I do worry more about them, London is a hot spot, and where they live is an extremely busy area. My other son lives in NZ, and so far their government has kept an extremely tight handle on the spread of the virus.

We’ve gone out for a 2-4 mile walk each day, depending on the weather. We are already narrowing our routes to avoid busier places. Even this horse is trying out Social distancing – there were several horses in the field, but this one seemed to like being on its own.

I had my first experience of my Spanish class by Skype. It wasn’t totally successful, but it worked OK. the way ahead for the next month or two. Our Spanish teachers are from Madrid and they must be worried sick about their family back home.

Apart from that, we seem to have listened to / watched a lot of news bulletins, and government announcements, each one bringing in stricter measures. It is depressing, but at the same time, it is the only way we have of knowing what is going on outside.

What have we learned from our first week?

Everything feels a bit weird, I now have far more understanding how my parent’s generation during the Phoney war – September/ October 1939. Their world had changed, but they weren’t sure what was ahead, they just knew it wasn’t going to be good. The reality has started to sink in for us too. This isn’t going to be easy for us either. We don’t know exactly what is ahead of us, but whatever it is, it will take longer than we think, and it will be harder than we envisage now.

I have a better understanding of how easy it is to sink into depression. I am normally a pretty bouncy person, but even I have been affected.

We have spoken more to our friends and family in the last week, than in the last month. The saying is true – ‘it is good to keep in touch’.

I have started to feel a bit useless, here I am at home sitting around, but at the same time, if I go out and about, then I risk spreading the infection and bringing it back into the house. So the best thing I can do is stay at home, avoid the virus, and not put any additional pressure on the Health Service. I really feel for our front-line professionals who are being asked to do a really difficult job without the correct protective gear, or even the test kits needed to make sure they stay virus free. I hope these things ease for them soon, because so much more will be asked of them as the peak infection time approaches.

The strange thing for me, is that although I have all the time in the world, I don’t want to make anything. There was a time when a free afternoon would have been spent in the garage, banging some copper, but I just feel switched off. Hopefully my inspiration will come back soon. Meanwhile, I have been reading lots of books instead.

Thoughts for the Future

I picked up a newspaper on Tuesday 17th March (St Patrick’s Day!) I was struck by a couple of satellite pictures in it. A picture of Europe a few months ago, and a picture from last week. The difference is incredible, there is so much less pollution. The outcome of this virus might be we have a healthier planet, although I doubt the humans will be any healthier! I suspect the contents of the food plates are far from healthy, and with reduced exercise, the chances of burning it off are less!

There is a growing recognition that while the captains of industry might get paid a lot, it is the people at the bottom of the pyramid who are holding the country together. The people who stack the shelves, serve the customers, keep the Health Service running, drive the buses, deliver the orders etc. These are the people we can’t do without.

I also think we will be re-evaluating our lifestyles. This pandemic has made a lot of changes very quickly. People are unlikely to give up the new flexibility they have experienced through different working practices. Many unnecessary processes have just been cut out. Why bring them back?

And Finally!

Even in this last week, the world has changed already. As many people as possible are working from home (with the many challenges that brings). The streets are empty. The schools are shut, the pubs are shut. Buses have so few customers, they are running a Sunday service. The amount of trains have been cut drastically. Businesses are closing left, right and centre. Their work has just evaporated overnight. It does make me wonder what this world will look like, a year from now. There’ll certainly be fewer airlines.

Maybe next year, people will look again at the differential between the obscene salaries & bonuses paid to the Managing Directors, and the life of those on a basic wage. The government has stepped in to allow self employed people to claim SSP (Statutory Sick Pay) Many are saying – how can we live on £94 a week, with the response from many on benefits, – welcome to our world! I have seen elsewhere, a proposal that no managing director should be paid more than 20 times the lowest paid full time worker within the company. The gap between rich and poor has become so wide.

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