The Come-Back, Day 1. Opening Day.
Today is the first day of Phase One. Today, we can travel throughout our entire province. Today, I can go see our daughter, and she can come home later this week.
Many will probably be breathing more easily now, thinking of leaving the house, getting together with those friends and family only seen on a screen these past two months. Probably they'll be thinking of sitting at the newly opened café terraces, sipping a coffee or a cold beer, chatting with friends before going shopping for new clothes. Well, they're thinking too fast.
We are still in semi-quarantine. The virus is still out there. What happened is that the rate of transmission has gone down, and it's not spreading like an Australian wildfire in dry-as-bone 40ºC degree weather. The quarantine is being eased so that we can check up on family and friends we haven't seen in ages, but keeping our distance of two meters. My daughter coming home is actually going against the rules. What we know is that we are most likely not infected, and that, with her OCD, she isn't, either. Whenever she comes back from her daily walk or shopping, she strips, gets in the shower, and then washes her clothes. The virus doesn't stand a chance surviving on her hands long enough to reach her mouth, nose, or eyes, because she is a compulsive hand washer (It's a good thing I bought some more hand soap.).
This time is also good for those who work in small stores to go back to work. It's also meant for those who have lost the art of darning because they never learned it, and don't have a darning needle or thread in the house, and whose socks are more holes than socks, to go replenish them. (There's an idea for the next lockdown. And, believe me, there will very likely be a next lockdown.) Or, if they discover their t-shirts have suddenly sprouted stains without any explanation after a winter in the closet, to be able to substitute them.
This is not the time to go out in the morning, amble down to the local café, sip a coffee for a half hour, amble down some more streets, sit at another terrace, and then wander into the fish market to see if there's anything worth buying for lunch, before deciding to check out the new spring fashions. You still cannot go out for more than a one hour walk. The plan is that those who need to visit a shop, can do so. But it's go to the shop and come back home, not wander and visit and play catch-up with old friends. And wear a mask if you are going to be in any kind of proximity to others. (That alone will ensure I will still stay home as much as possble. I hate the things.) I wonder just how many will understand that. I wonder just how much infections will begin to go up.
Wild animals are still wandering into towns. A few nights ago, in a mountain town in northern Italy, a brown bear somehow climbed onto a balcony. When he noticed that people were inside the windows and watching him, he climbed back down and kerplumfed into the night, down the street, with neighbors calling out in their amazement. If first floor apartments had to use extra security because of wily thieves, now they also have to have bear-proof windows.
During this time period there is no recreational fishing, neither in Spain, nor in France. So, a weekend fisherman decided to play a joke. He set up a dummy on the beach to make it look like he was fishing. The police saw it and went to warn the person he had to leave. When they saw it wasn't a person, they were not amused. The police searched out the joker and levied a fine, which could have been anywhere from 135 to 375 euros. Good joke, but the gendarmerie had the last laugh.
Life continues.
Many will probably be breathing more easily now, thinking of leaving the house, getting together with those friends and family only seen on a screen these past two months. Probably they'll be thinking of sitting at the newly opened café terraces, sipping a coffee or a cold beer, chatting with friends before going shopping for new clothes. Well, they're thinking too fast.
We are still in semi-quarantine. The virus is still out there. What happened is that the rate of transmission has gone down, and it's not spreading like an Australian wildfire in dry-as-bone 40ºC degree weather. The quarantine is being eased so that we can check up on family and friends we haven't seen in ages, but keeping our distance of two meters. My daughter coming home is actually going against the rules. What we know is that we are most likely not infected, and that, with her OCD, she isn't, either. Whenever she comes back from her daily walk or shopping, she strips, gets in the shower, and then washes her clothes. The virus doesn't stand a chance surviving on her hands long enough to reach her mouth, nose, or eyes, because she is a compulsive hand washer (It's a good thing I bought some more hand soap.).
This time is also good for those who work in small stores to go back to work. It's also meant for those who have lost the art of darning because they never learned it, and don't have a darning needle or thread in the house, and whose socks are more holes than socks, to go replenish them. (There's an idea for the next lockdown. And, believe me, there will very likely be a next lockdown.) Or, if they discover their t-shirts have suddenly sprouted stains without any explanation after a winter in the closet, to be able to substitute them.
This is not the time to go out in the morning, amble down to the local café, sip a coffee for a half hour, amble down some more streets, sit at another terrace, and then wander into the fish market to see if there's anything worth buying for lunch, before deciding to check out the new spring fashions. You still cannot go out for more than a one hour walk. The plan is that those who need to visit a shop, can do so. But it's go to the shop and come back home, not wander and visit and play catch-up with old friends. And wear a mask if you are going to be in any kind of proximity to others. (That alone will ensure I will still stay home as much as possble. I hate the things.) I wonder just how many will understand that. I wonder just how much infections will begin to go up.
Wild animals are still wandering into towns. A few nights ago, in a mountain town in northern Italy, a brown bear somehow climbed onto a balcony. When he noticed that people were inside the windows and watching him, he climbed back down and kerplumfed into the night, down the street, with neighbors calling out in their amazement. If first floor apartments had to use extra security because of wily thieves, now they also have to have bear-proof windows.
During this time period there is no recreational fishing, neither in Spain, nor in France. So, a weekend fisherman decided to play a joke. He set up a dummy on the beach to make it look like he was fishing. The police saw it and went to warn the person he had to leave. When they saw it wasn't a person, they were not amused. The police searched out the joker and levied a fine, which could have been anywhere from 135 to 375 euros. Good joke, but the gendarmerie had the last laugh.
Life continues.
We're also worried people here will take a yard when given an inch, but so far, I've noticed most are very respectful and keep a good distance from everyone except those they're with. I wear a mask when going to the shops myself although it's not q requirement here. I just find that when people see me wearing one, they seem to be more observant and stay out of my way more as well.. I hope you don't get locked down again to the same extent, Maria? It's been a trying time altogether, but much worse for you in Spain. We've been let off quite lightly and although our numbers are quite high, they're considerably better than our neighbouring country's which is in much tighter lockdown. I have a feeling some of the differences are cultural. The Netherlands is a country of individualists and maybe this makes a difference. It could also be simple statistical differences. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteI think the Dutch are generally more respectful, as well as culturally different. Here, when we meet someone, the first thing is a kiss on the cheek. People tend to stand closer together here, too, which is something I don't like personally. I just hope that if there are any localized re-outbreaks, they're contained locally well enough to not have to lockdown the entire country again.
DeleteI’m glad you are going to see your daughter again! We also will probably see a spike here but everyone I’ve see out is being careful about distance and wearing masks. Hoping we can all avoid a second lock-down.
ReplyDelete