Opinion: A Leaf From The Corona Times Diary - How I Feel On Self-Quarantine

Mar 16, 2020 by apost team

It’s just a cup of coffee with a friend at her place - we will be super careful! It’s just a small get-together! We will be super cautious! It’s my yearly vacation - I won’t get a refund on my hard-earned money. It’s our last trip to the zoo because then we will be stuck with the kids at home for 5 weeks. But, but ... it’s my wedding! I have been planning this for a year.

Many of us have the privilege of staying at home. Doctors, journalists, police, public service officials don’t! 

So, let us not abuse the privilege that we have. Let’s act responsibly!

Life as we knew it has come to a halt. It feels like a surreal science fiction film right now. The news stream is worrying - every day new rules and regulations are being imposed on curbing our activity as social beings. Fake news is spreading fast and there are so many opinions floating around that we are all confused and are facing so many dilemmas within ourselves. I wish there was a manual or a book that I could download that would tell me the do’s and don’ts. However, the only sane thing that we can do at this point is to press the pause button. Let’s use this time to think and reflect.

apost.com

Let us use this time to reconnect and catch up via video calls. Let’s host watch parties to mark important events like birthdays and anniversaries. Let’s help out parents at home by video conferencing with their kids and reading them stories or giving them online lessons. Let us catch up on the books we piled up hoping we would read them one day. Try out that recipe that we cut out of the magazine. Finally, pick up that half knit sweater. Or start a new hobby by watching videos online. 

Now you may not agree with me - or you might feel like I am calling out on you. And you might choose to bar me from your social circle forever. I have calculated all those risks. And am still putting this out. Because the urgency of the matter is real. Because if we don’t comply with the rules and don’t take all the necessary steps and precautions we are only prolonging the misery and its unforeseen consequences. #socialdistancing #flattenthecurve #stayathome

Note: For further reading here are some recommendations and protection measures from the World Health Organization against the Corona Virus - Advice for the public by WHO, Information on Coronavirus symptoms and how to protect yourself by the Center For Disease Control And Prevention. 

What are your thoughts on the matter? What steps are you taking to protect yourself and your family? Feel free to pass this information around and stay safe. 

Author: Roma Rajpal-Weiss, Editor-in-chief