Monday, April 13, 2020

Australia has closed its borders to the world.

For almost three weeks, our pubs, cinemas, restaurants, and indoor sports facilities have been shuttered. Concerts, festivals, and weddings are all cancelled. Churches, once bustling with community, are closed. Even funerals are limited to just 10 people.

The price of petrol has dropped below $1 per litre, but panic buying has left supermarket shelves bare of toilet paper, disinfectants, and hand sanitiser. Staples like pasta, rice, flour, eggs, mince, and canned tomatoes are in limited supply. Supermarkets have restricted some products to one or two items per customer. Lines form outside shops, as only a small number of people are allowed in at any time. Tape on the floors reminds shoppers to keep 1.5 metres apart.

Non-essential businesses are closing their doors. Office workers have shifted to working from home. Schools have closed, and parents are now responsible for home-schooling their children. Easter holidays must be spent at home. All non-essential travel has been banned, with fines in place for those who break the rules. Police patrol the streets and beaches, ensuring compliance.

Hospitals face shortages of masks, gowns, and gloves. There aren’t enough ventilators for the critically ill. Manufacturers and distilleries are pivoting to produce visors, masks, and hand sanitiser. Arenas, once used for sports and entertainment, have been converted to care for Covid-19 patients.

Children’s playgrounds are closed, and we’re all told to keep our distance from one another. Every day, government officials hold press conferences to update the nation. Massive amounts of money are being injected into businesses to prevent economic collapse. Governments are stepping in to pay up to 80% of wages for employees of struggling businesses. Every day, there are new updates—more cases, more deaths.

Our roads are eerily quiet. People who venture outside wear masks and gloves. Essential workers, especially those in healthcare, are filled with fear—fear of going to work and fear of bringing the virus home to their families.

This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, officially declared on March 11, 2020.

Why write this down? One day, Future-phee look back on this post, it will remind him of just how surreal and chaotic this time was. More importantly, it will remind him to appreciate the normal that will, eventually, return.