Life in the Time of Corona Part 2
It’s Thursday in the first week of our lock-down here in Spain, and it feels very strange looking at the development of the UK’s strategy for dealing with the rise in Coronavirus cases and the increasing severity of the crisis in our former home.
Here, I’m not sure if we are sitting in the eye of the tornado, but there is a sense of calm, and it seems that people in our neighbourhood are facing the lock-down with a great sense of stoicism and fortitude. Case rates and deaths continue to rise, and concern is ever-present, but there doesn’t appear to be a sense of panic and this must stem from the clarity of message that has been put out by the Spanish Government. Lack of clear strategy leaves room for speculation and idle gossip which, in turn, fans the flames of panic and panic is something that must be quelled in situations like this.
I still see many questions being posed on social media about travel restrictions, and this is understandable when individuals are desperately trying to return to their place of residence when flights are so severely restricted and borders are closing. However, not justified are the questions relating to the restrictions to everyday liberty. The rules here are clear, and we simply have to abide by them. The police are taking a firm stance and, at the last count, 88 people have been arrested for flouting the rules. The health of the population, and preventing the older and more vulnerable, is paramount and everything else is secondary. Steps have been implemented to protect business as much as possible during and after the lock-down, but there is no escaping the fact that the world will be a very different place when everything settles down and we have to find a way to dust ourselves off and rebuild. For now, we protect life.
Yesterday, recorded case numbers in Spain had increased to 13,700, with 616 deaths and 774 patients in intensive care. 19 older people have been reported as having died in two separate care homes. There is no way to confirm how accurate these figures are, but they give an indication of the continuing battle that the medical profession and the government have on their hands.
In the UK it is worrying to see that there still appears to be a vague half-life between self-isolation and an enforced lock-down, where social distancing seems to be a half-baked concept to be adopted or ignored as individuals see fit. I am sure I speak for a lot of people when I say that not adhering to restrictive measures simply places other people at risk. My mother is 92 years old and in a care home, and could easily become a statistic like those older people who have died in Spanish care homes. One of Andrew’s close relatives is still at home, but also with dementia, and her carers are self-isolating as they have Coronavirus symptoms. My brother, too, is ill with a compromised immune system, and we have never felt so far removed from family as we do now. Everybody has a responsibility; exercise it.
So, what can we do to help?
Firstly, stop putting ourselves first and start thinking about everyone else around us. Our health services, as we are reminded constantly, cannot cope so we have a huge responsibility to do everything we can to alleviate the burden. Just spare a thought for those people who are on the frontline, trying to keep basic services operating, and don’t show such a blatant lack of respect by flouting the restrictions that are put in place for the protection of everyone.
So, abide by the restrictions that the government puts in place. If you are instructed to stay at home, then stay at home! It helps when leadership is clear, as this gives confidence to a concerned population. Having seen what happened here, and continues to happen here, visits to the larger supermarkets makes little sense when shelves of products have been cleared by hoarders. I have been out once this week to our neighbouring village Coviran, the small local supermarket, and the shelves were fully stocked with everything we need. No shortage of loo roll (I still do not understand this stockpiling of loo rolls), dried goods, milk, fruit and vegetables. They have an excellent butcher counter, so we will not be short of meat either. We are enthusiastic cooks, and being locked-down has provided us with even more time to get busy in the kitchen and just make everything we need to eat. Food is so exciting and to avoid any downside attached to the loss of our everyday liberty, what could be better than baking a cake, having a go at making bread or biscuits, soups and anything else that will titillate the tastebuds?
We have mentioned it before but an enforced lock-down is not great for mental health. In Spain, families are gathered together to get through this period together, and they are looking after each other. The UK population is much more fragmented, and there are many more people who do live alone, people of all ages, and being isolated for a period of time will take its toll unless it is faced head on. Following every development of this crisis on social media will not help as there are too many irresponsible posts - speculation, scaremongering, conspiracy. Find one reliable source of accurate reporting so you can keep up to date with government and healthcare actions and updates. Superfluous, sensationalist noise will swamp you if it is not self-managed.
We are now 4 or 5 days into our lock-down and we have started to think beyond March. Life will go on when this all dies down and we have to think about how best we restore our own personal, tattered business plans and finances. We also feel a strong sense of responsibility to play a part in the restoration of the lives and fortunes of the community in which we live. In the absence of our own families, divided as we are by this crisis, our village is our family and we care deeply about the future of the place we call home.
This morning, I have heard a couple of interesting points of view as I have gone about my domestic activities. On BBC Radio 4, the chap delivering the Thought for the Day referred to the need to build our trust in each other. I also saw on Twitter (despite the fact that I said above that we should perhaps reduce our social media exposure!) that someone said they felt that the social media platform was getting kinder. If anything positive comes out of this ghastly period, it would be wonderful to think that kindness, empathy and trust headed up the vanguard.
Conversely, it is very sad that the ‘British Traveller to Spain’ has been represented by a stupid woman who decided to go against the rules for her morning swim, and by the groups of beer-swilling morons wandering the streets of Benidorm, putting lives at risk. The swimming woman had to be removed from the pool by a member of the police force. Yesterday, it was announced that a different member of the police force died from Coronavirus aged just 37 years; he left behind a 5 year old daughter. Our actions have repercussions. Spain is so much more than this and undeserving of this negative portrayal of tourism, and visitors to the country need to understand that they are not on holiday under these restrictions.
In this time of isolation, we need to think creatively of the ways in which we can build our individual and collaborative paths out of these strange and uncharted waters.
Again, on Twitter, I saw a post this morning about a flyer that has been designed to promote British Theatre once the crisis abates. As a result, the major UK newspapers have all offered free advertising space for the poster. It is this level of support and cooperation that we all need right now, to see us through weeks of lock-down. From our own personal perspective, it would be encouraging to see similar support from airlines and rail providers, travel press, coach companies and hotels working together with small, sustainable travel and tourism companies to create a new and easily stimulated future for the travel industry as we emerge from this gloomy period. We all need a lot to look forward to, and to avoid us all being bogged down in our immediate, worrying present.
Keep positive. Use every method to keep in touch with all the people you love - Whatsapp, Facetime, Houseparty, phone chat. Make things, read, paint, do a jigsaw, sing out of your window. Record something that will make people smile, like Matt Naylor on Twitter:
PLEDGE
Pledge support (not financial, but just words of encouragement). Inspired by the Support Theatre campaign mentioned above, perhaps we could all pledge support, in writing, to anyone who may be needing encouragement when all they can currently see is a void. Tell businesses that you will return when everything settles down - pubs, restaurants, bed & breakfasts, theatres. Just send them an email, an SMS or a tweet to let the suppliers know that you will be back and you will support them. From our own perspective, and other small travel and tourism companies like us, the silence is deafening and we wonder if we will ever see a client again!
When we emerge from this ravaging moment in time, we will look forward to a kinder and more trusting world. Come and stay with us, come and help Spain and our neighbouring European countries rebuild the best in travel and tourism,. In the UK, go and appreciate the hospitality and entertainment businesses that enhance life.
But, above all, let us never forget the people who are risking everything to keep us safe right now.
Read ‘Life in the Time of Corona Part 1’
Read ‘Life in the Time of Corona Part 3’
Read ‘Life in the Time of Corona Part 4’
Read ‘Life in the Time of Corona Part 5’
Read ‘Life in the Time of Corona Part 6’
