Corona and the People

Reaching out to friends around the world to see whats going on at the ground level

As the UK begins its lockdown, I decided it would be interesting to reach out to my friends around the world to get an insight into how the virus is impacting life on the ground so to speak. As one of the later countries to enter this self-quarantine periods many of them have already been isolating. Whilst the stories are largely anecdotal and limited to the experiences of a small number of people, it has been interesting to gauge the reactions of people on a personal level, rather in the broad scope of national policies.

Australia

Starting with Australia I had a couple of different reactions. In the rural town of Nimbin I heard that life continues mostly as normal. Whilst they still have the infamous toilet paper shortages, they seem largely unaffected, most likely due to it being relatively far from population centres. People seem only slightly concerned about the situation.

In Adelaide, my friend Charlie suggests a slightly different situation. There has been a lot of panic buying of supplies, and restaurants and bars saw a “dramatic” decline in patrons and people were avoiding public places, even before the lockdown. He describes the level of concern as being divided on generational divides. The young seem not to be worried and are critical of the news. In contrast, the elderly are much more freaked out. This makes sense due to their increased vulnerability.

All in all, Australia seems to be in similar straits to the UK.

Sweden

The situation in Sweden seems similar. The shop shelves are empty as people gather supplies. Strangely bread and taco dips seem to be especially in high demands which is not what I was expecting. The level of fear is supposedly higher there, with the media causing many to be scared of the situation. Even among the young, so perhaps they aren’t as critical of the news as those in Australia. They have stopped publishing the number of cases, which was last as 600. Perhaps this is an effort to lessen the stress.

Vietnam

Vietnam was an interesting case. I had expected it to be more extreme there given the countries proximity and border with China. However they had succeeded in controlling the virus pretty well. They even had a stretch of 22 days with no new cases. This changed on the 22nd of March when an infected girl returned from London, causing a new outbreak. Since then my friend Ngận said that lots of Vietnamese people have been quarantined, including 12 westerners at the time. They have been tracking down those on the same flight as the girl. Time will tell if they will succeed to preventing further spread. Overall though people seem to largely be calm regarding the pandemic so far.

France

My friends in Paris describe it as a ghost town and unrecognisable. There is evidently frustration at the lockdown as it prevents them from living their lives. Dissatisfaction at being locked away is the main unease for my contacts there, rather than fear. They are in the same boat as everyone else in that the worry isn’t too bad, although some are buying supplies en masse.

America

In America, I’ve heard it described as “the hysteria is far worse than the actual situation. Grocery stores are empty and people are avoiding social contact, at least in San Francisco. The news I apparently apt at making things seem worse than they are. This is not to say that the situation isn’t serious, but I maintain that fear mongering is not helpful.

Thoughts

It seems to be that we are all united in feeling the same ways, with the majority of people I reached out to describing similar situations as we are experiencing in England. Shops are becoming empty and people are staying at home, but this is too be expected. Whilst those I spoke to are young and healthy I am glad to hear that people are remaining calm and taking appropriate steps. During a pandemic like this it is easy to get afraid, but if we all act smart and don’t let the fear cause us to make things worse things will hopefully be fine. Look to the CDC and WHO for information and avoid unnecessary contact with other.

I wish you all the best as we head into lockdown, I hope you have board games to play with your family. Stay happy and healthy