Day
10 of staying home
#
of confirmed cases: 418 (31 new cases since yesterday)
#
of deaths: 5
#
of people tested: over 6,000
#
of people in hospital: 79
***
In
today’s 6pm live press briefing Health Ministry spokesman Sotiris Tsiodras and
Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias made more announcements. Some
are summarized below:
- Tsiodras reiterated that the strategy is to test only those who are showing symptoms and are in high-risk categories.
- Hardalias announced that as of tomorrow, indoor/outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people are banned, and punishable by a fine of €1,000 per person.
- He urges that strict rules must be adhered to and people should only go out for serious reasons such as:
buying food/necessary supplies
receiving medical care
going to work/ bank/ post office/ gas station
going to help someone in need
walking your dog
exercise/walking is ok, but 2 people max, keeping
distance from each other
He
also went on to thank not only the frontliners, but the unseen heroes, such as
supermarket workers, delivery services, bank employees etc. He stated the best
way for us to show them our gratitude is to stay home/remain indoors.
Also
the finance ministry has announced measures to curb the effect of the crisis on
the economy, protecting workers and businesses.
The
health minister visited the Chinese Embassy to thank the Chinese Ambassador for
China’s donation of 50,000 masks to Greece. The sign on the boxes read:
Solidarity – Friendship - Courage
***
At
my local supermarket, I always look forward to chatting with the woman behind
the meat counter. Her running commentary on current events are deployed with a
truthful, sometimes stinging humor.
On
Monday I ventured out to get a few things. When she saw me, she sighed, her smile
tinged with a nervous look in her eyes, she said “τι κακό μας
βρήκε;” (what evil has come upon us?) as she
chopped her cleaver through a chunk of beef.
I
rolled my eyes, shrugged my shoulders… “it will pass” was all I could think of
saying, while I quickly scanned the offerings behind the glass, trying to be as
brief as possible as others were waiting in line outside the supermarket.
“Uh,
I’ll take this and that, and oh that too…”
She
moved quickly, weighing and wrapping the meat. She said, “What about a leg of
lamb? Get one now, put it in the freezer…”
“But
it won’t even fit in my freezer. It doesn’t matter, I’ll wait until Easter to get
lamb.”
“κοπέλα μου, just get it now, who knows if lamb will
even be available by then…”
Another
shopper approached, keeping his distance, and chimed in, “huh, oh we’ll be stuck
here alright for Easter. No one’s going anywhere this year for the Easter
break… We’ll be roasting lamb on our balconies – if we’re lucky…” he chuckled,
eyeing the leg of lamb…
I
left, without the lamb.
Next
was the deli counter. The woman there, usually pleasant, told me to step
back as I approached. There was a huge, tall glass case between us already, but
I stepped back even further.
***
The
woman who lives in the apartment next to mine, is a nurse at a hospital
downtown… Yesterday, I sheepishly looked through the peephole in my door, the
landing was empty. I put gloves on, opened my door, and wiped down my doorknob
and keyhole with alcohol… I glanced at the door to their apartment, just a few
steps away from my door, are they watching me? I wondered. When I went downstairs
to throw the trash away, I didn’t use the elevator… Am I being paranoid?
***
Last night I dreamt that I was in the US, visiting family and found myself in a
sort of office complex or large conference center, waiting for my sister to
finish work. I was impatient and wanted to leave. I was annoyed, I had no car
and had to use public transportation. I found myself in the middle of an enormous
transport hub, with highways crisscrossing above me like slithering snakes, in
front of me, a mass of buildings and parking lots. It was daytime, but somehow
it was dark where I was. I nervously scanned the area for the subway entrance
and couldn’t find it. I had a feeling of dread.
Next, I’m walking down the
street in my hometown, the street where I grew up, in front of the house where
we lived. I was tired from walking. My clothes were sort of raggedy, as if I
had crossed a desert. I stood in front of the house, called my mother from my
phone, exhausted and irritated. “Well, I’m here.” I looked at the house
and construction guys were working furiously in the basement, ripping out wood
and passing it outside, through the basement windows. Long chunks of blackened
wood were strewn all over the grass, like guts hanging out of an open wound.
“Ma, did you know there are workers here?!” I said angrily. And I kept walking,
trying to get to the house where she lives, about a mile away.
I woke up, blinking into the darkness and feeling
unsettled.
***
The
10th day of staying home and I’m getting cabin fever. My
morning was filled with work stuff, emails, some writing and one call after
another… Friends, colleagues, relatives – mostly in Greece but also from the US.
In
my calls with the US, I realize that some Americans are just now realizing
what’s coming. Some of the people I talk to are already staying home, prepared, some are
not. Almost two weeks into this new reality, I see myself in their reactions.
It seems to go in stages – first disbelief, a denial that something like this
could actually happen. The one thing we take for granted, something that never
crossed our minds, is that our very movements could ever be restricted.
With
each new cancellation, broken plans, trips not taken, events not attended, the
reality sets in.
The
next stage is an acceptance of the situation, and putting a positive spin on
it. How hard can it be to stay home? Technology can keep us connected, working,
communicating. Technology can entertain us. All those books we always wanted to
read but never had the time… All the promises to ourselves to slow down, be
more mindful, stop rushing around… Now there aren’t any more excuses. The
running around has stopped, the over-scheduling is nonexistent, the I’m-too-busy
justifications are no longer valid.
And
suddenly we’re standing still.
And
on my 10th day of stillness, I’m almost restless. Maybe this is the
next phase, the third stage. Figuring out how to move past it, figuring out how to best use this
unsolicited gift of time. And thinking of it in those terms, a gift.
Time.
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