It is the 24th of March 2020.
At first glance, it seems like an arbitrary date and, in some ways, it probably is.
At this moment in history, the world is experiencing a pandemic. Coronavirus. Covid-19. Unprecedented. These are the current “buzz” words.
Just one week ago, I shared a day in the life from one month prior (35 days between the shooting dates for each):
We are currently living through a new normal.
I am just referencing worldometers.info and here is the data for today.
Coronavirus cases worldwide: 488,055
Deaths: 22,049
Recovered: 117,603
The data for Australia is as follows:
Coronavirus cases: 2,799
Deaths: 13
Recovered: 170
The data for Italy is heartbreaking:
Coronavirus cases: 74,386
Deaths: 7,503
Recovered: 9,362
We have been, for the most part, in self-isolation at home since the 15th of March. Just over 10 days.
I needed to get out. At the moment, going outside is not illegal. However, gathering in groups and approaching someone closer than 1.5 metres is banned.
I went for a walk to see what was happening out in the world: that is, Brisbane.
It was surreal and I learned a little.
Here are things I observed:
People were more likely to implement the social distancing stipulation the further away from the city one would go; furthermore, they were almost apologetic in the way that they went about it
When I passed hospital staff, they were more likely to smile and nod as compared to normal circumstances; this surprised me the most
People who wore masks were more likely to bunch up together so that they could decipher/hear what each other was saying; it seemed harder to maintain social distancing while wearing a mask
There was this ominous, eerie feeling in general; perhaps because you cannot see the virus (unlike the recent bush fires, for example) it was a unique kind of situation to be in - everything had changed but seemed to only be reflected in higher prevalence of masks, sometimes gloves & social distancing (not sure that I even heard a single cough)
Finally, here are some things I am grateful for during this time in history:
It is very easy to be (too) busy in the current lifestyle; the pandemic feels like it has hit a pause button and I think most of us needed that
It is a great opportunity to re-set, re-evaluate & re-prioritise; when you are faced with a crisis, it is interesting what becomes important to you
It has gifted us with more family time; this investment has been reflected in how joyful our toddler’s face has been since Dad has had to work from home and there are several collisions of each other’s worlds in the day <3
The morning rays of sun on our bedroom ceiling always bring hope for the new day:
A little time checking out Pete’s bumper crop of tomatoes (must be 00s!):
The carrots are growing nicely:
Pete’s chilli plants are a bit top-heavy now:
Our council libraries are currently closed; good thing we chose wisely last time as we’ll have the current collection on rotation for a couple of months (at least):
Chloe’s Easter basket that she carries her My Little Pony figurines around in:
Watching a bit of Andy’s Baby Animals:
Breakfast time:
Bluey is a gift that keeps on giving - we traced the characters on the tablet onto some baking paper:
Now that we have slowed down a little, I have started to notice just how many stickers our little one has put up around the house - it is bringing a surprising amount of joy:
I rarely buy hand sanitisers and 10/10 times prefer soap and water but this is proving useful when we happen to go out at the moment:
“Mum, play! You can be Apple Jack!” (I have to assume a Texan accent…):
Almost without fail, if Chloe comes across frangipani flowers, she - unprompted - collects one (or two) for me:
Going for a walk (following social distancing guidelines):
Fever clinic for Covid-19 at the Royal Brisbane Hospital:
Currently cafes are allowed to continue to serve the public but must provide takeaway options only:
The further into the city you go, the more coronavirus-related signage you start to see:
This hairdresser kicked a couple of chairs to the kerb when spacing them out to 1.5 m to meet current social distancing guidelines:
Useful and pertinent information in one of the world’s smallest lifts:
Plenty of chocolates at all stores that cater for Easter:
Essentials either running low or unavailable at supermarkets:
Plenty of Easter-related chocolate, though:
Ominous marketing at a local dry cleaner:
Signage tells a lot about the personality behind the business brand; this sign for Uniqlo simply informed patrons that they could still serve up to 514 persons at any given time:
More personable content in this smaller store (including the recommendations to “buy socially acceptable amounts of toilet paper and look after each other”):
This one included a reminder to “stay at home, support family, friends, and be there for loved ones” and framed the current situation in the context of opportunity to be creative:
This one was perhaps the most blunt:
Inviting entrance to the Brisbane Blood Donor Centre; construction currently under way:
This store - Indian Cuisine Adelaide Street - has an incredible story; the owner was homeless at one stage and now feeds the homeless at the end of trading every night (delicious food, too):
Pete and I are geeks/nerds and we looked up the research on how long coronavirus lasts (not lives - technically a virus is not live and requires a host) on different surfaces; in light of what we read, we decided to douse the tic tac container in hand sanitiser just to be sure:
This storekeeper wore a mask and disposable outfit over the top of his regular clothes:
Included this as it was part of the day’s experience; my first thought when I saw how much the tickets are ($65) was, “What if the cost alone gives you anxiety, though?”:
Needed a grounding cup of tea to end the day (also noticed the expiration date of our English Breakfast… it never goes off, right?;):