I’m getting a lot of stories from people in other countries. Instead of creating different posts about them, I thought it would make sense to either put the URLs here or copy the text so they all can be easily found again in one place for anyone who cares to see what is on our horizon, or look back after the tsunami hits us.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
George Santayana (1863-1952)
My Coronavirus timeline in Italy (by Tanya Alice)
What day are you on?
Day -1 (Feb 20 – 3 cases) – It’s something happening in a far away country.
Day 2 (Feb 23 – 152 cases) – Oh wow, there are cases of this in my country. But it’s just like the flu, no need to panic. Everyone is overreacting. And it’s well away from my area.
Day 4 (Feb 25) – They are closing schools and canceling sporting events in other parts of my country. But it really only affects old people. I’ll be fine.
Day 5 (Feb 26 – 424 cases)- Let’s talk about the politics of this. Politicizing it will probably lead to solutions. 🙄
Day 6 (Feb 27) – This is really going to hurt the tourism industry. We need to all support our friends losing jobs now.
Day 7 (Feb 28) -Ok, I think I’ve finally figured out how to wash my hands. 20 seconds seems like a really long time. Is this necessary? Why are some people wearing face masks?
Day 8 (Feb 29 – 1,128 cases)- Just getting back from visiting all my friends, hugging, eating, drinking, traveling, everything is normal.
Day 9 (Mar 1) – A lot of gossip, I heard there was someone in my city with it. It hasn’t been confirmed but I know someone who knows someone who works at a hospital.
Day 11 (Mar 3 – 2502 cases)
Day 12 (Mar 4) – All schools are closing. Should I close my school? But what about our St. Patrick’s day party? What about our plans this week? I’ve already scheduled everything. We need to meet about the Ireland trip this summer!
Day 13 (Mar 5) – A scramble to organize distance learning. Training staff over conference calls how to work remotely. Collecting things from the office to bring home.
Day 14 (Mar 6 – 4636 cases)
Day 15 (Mar 7) – Everyone you know is worried that their cold isn’t a cold. Coughing in public is frowned upon.
Day 16 (Mar 8 ) – Acceptance. This is happening. Many people are working from home. More offices are sending their workers home. More people are wearing masks and gloves in public. There are more cases reported, more fatalities, and now people closer and closer to home. This is real. We need to be part of the solution.
Day 17 (Mar 9 – 9,172 cases) – Total nationwide shutdown. #iostoacasa is trending (#ImStayingHome). You can leave your house for work, groceries or health reasons. Bars and resturants are open from 6am-6pm. No congregating on the streets. Maintain social distancing, one meter apart.
Day 19 (Mar 11) – Even more total shutdown. No more bars and resturants. All retail workers are out of work. Grocery stores and pharmacies can stay open as well as employees working on production and supply chains.
Day 20 (Mar 12 – 15,113 cases) – Cabin fever starts, but settling into remote working. More chatting and connecting with others over the phone and internet. Gosh I hope my phone doesn’t break.
Day 21 (Mar 13) – Scrolling through Facebook and realizing, most of my friends in the UK, US and Australia are on day 4.
As of March 12 there over 15,000 cases and over 1000 deaths in italy. 1,258 people have “recovered” and there are still 12,839 active cases of which 1,153 are critical, requiring hospitalisation with a ventilator.
It’s day 72 in China.
A coronavirus cautionary tale from Italy: Don’t do what we did
