Last night, Boris announced new
measures to tackle the virus, all designed to keep us in our homes. Do not go out unless it’s to do occasional groceries
shopping, for medical reasons or for one spell of exercise per day, he told
us. Travel for work only if it is
essential. Gatherings of more than two
people are prohibited. Baptisms,
weddings and other ceremonies are off.
It will all be reviewed in three weeks but could well be extended as it
has been in Italy, Spain and other countries.
We knew it was coming, but it was dramatic and shocking nonetheless.
The necessity of it is
obvious. Unless we act now to slow the
spread of the virus, the NHS will be overwhelmed in the coming weeks, we’ll see
the appalling scenes from hospitals in the north of Italy repeated here and
more people will die. I have friends
working in the NHS in Bournemouth. It’s
quiet at the moment, they tell me, but they’re dreading the coming onslaught of
Covid19 cases and it’s critical we do everything we can to ease the eventual burden
on them.
Knowing the sense to this
lockdown doesn’t make it easy – and it’s only day one! I have what I know is the good fortune to be
in Cornwall, staying at my parents’ house in Lizard, having come to visit them
for a few days at the end of last week.
Yesterday’s announcement meant I had to make a choice: go home to
Bournemouth or stay in Cornwall. I’ve
since joked about my first-world problems!
Which of my two lovely homes do I stay in?!
It was a difficult choice
though. In Bournemouth, I’d be
surrounded by all my things – the stuff that would help to keep me occupied
over the coming weeks and months – and I’d maintain at least some of my routine
and independence but I would be alone with very limited options of places to go
for exercise. Being in Cornwall means I
have numerous cliff-paths I can walk with the dog – so long as it’s dry – and I
have company, but I have to compromise on my independence and I think my
parents and I already share some anxiety about how we will get on, living with
each other indefinitely. My sacrifices
are small and I’m much better off than many, but the impact of Covid19 on all of
us is already enormous.
This morning, I re-read my New
Year’s Day post from just a few months ago when I was full of positivity,
optimism and hope. It’s startling how
then, none of us could foresee how the freedoms and rights we take for granted
would so soon be curtailed. Now, none of
us know how long this new way of life will last or how we will endure it.
It’s been announced in China today
that restrictions in Wuhan will be eased in a couple of weeks – nearly three
months after they were introduced.
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