Chronicles of COVID-19

Title

Michel, Co. Tipperary

Contributor

Michel

Subject

COVID-19 (Disease)

Coverage

Ireland; Tipperary; Cork; 2020s:

Date

17 April 2020

Language

English

Creator

Cork Folklore Project

Rights

Cork Folklore Project

Description

GENERAL PHYSICAL LOCATION RIGHT NOW

Ballina, Co. Tipperary

USUAL LOCATION

Cork city

Q. 1 STAGES

My first recollection of a COVID-19 impact is on Thursday March 12 2020. The university I work at (UCC) closed without prior warning on the day and I realized my research notes would be locked in my office, with buildings possibly becoming inaccessible. I travelled to London later that day to visit my daughter and asked a colleague to collect the notes during my travel. The London visit made me fully aware of COVID. The city was not prepared and life went on as usual. In some cafes personnel disinfected chairs and tables regularly (Waterstones was one of these) but there were no other signs of preparedness, aside from some warning signs on COVID. During the stay I learned more about the sad news from Italy where the illness escalated and many died. Flights from Italy were cancelled, and more cancellations were bound to follow so I decided to cut the UK visit short for fear of not being able to return to Ireland. I realized that the time I had left with my daughter was precious and I might not get the chance again to visit her for a long time to come. It was hard to cut that trip short and say goodbye. We gave each other a hug still in the end, amidst people who practiced some distancing on a voluntary basis. I feel very fortunate to have seen her now that we are in lockdown. She recently became ill with COVID and lost smell and taste. This symptom is rarely mentioned in the news and not listed as part of official signs at this stage (where the problem is that other symptoms, dry cough and fever, intersect with many other illnesses, making self diagnosis impossible). After a first week with fever and coughing she recovered in the remaining week. Another family member abroad currently struggles with the illness. The return flight from London and the wait at Gatwick airport before the flight were stressful. Several people on the plane coughed, one in the row in front of me and one just behind. A flight attendant coughed while passing down the aisle. At Gatwick large crowds had gathered for delayed flights and it was almost impossible to avoid being very near other people. A rare few wore masks. On my arrival in Cork no measures were in place at the airport to track or test new arrivals and neither airport had sanitizing dispensers mounted for travellers. Pharmacies were out of disinfectant. There was a COVID information desk at Cork airport, but no one went to it. I collected my research notes from my colleague. We went through the strange routine of me placing a plastic box between us so he could drop the notes in and I retrieved the box when he was done. We stayed apart chatting for a while. Normally I would meet him and his wife inside for dinner. Life had changed, but friendships continue.

Q. 2 EVERYDAY ROUTINE

A main impact is not being able to see my family abroad or even plan to see them. I am concerned about my parents. I moved in with my partner at the start of COVID for the duration of the government measures. I left a home in Cork city I had recently moved into and joined her and her family to live about two hours drive away from Cork. Many couples had to make a sudden decision to stay apart or to live together. We made the right decision and I feel fortunate to live with a new family in these times, while being able to have my son visit under current regulations. I swam regularly before COVID and live within the 2km restriction from Lough Derg. Open air swims in a wetsuit give a feeling of freedom, so needed in these times. As a researcher I imagine that the effect of the imposed stay-at-home measures is less drastic than for most. I am passionate about investigating new ideas, which I can do anywhere at a desk. It is odd to work towards new results in a world in such flux. Online teaching is a hard transition, with many unknowns. The main concern is for next academic year since the distance teaching measures very well may still be in place next September and preparations to transition to online teaching will mean a considerable overload on staff, impacting research output and make teaching far more challenging. I keep a connection with colleagues abroad by joining in research seminars organized by Stanford University (CS theory group). The seminars now happen online and I feel grateful to my Stanford colleagues for having included me. I also take part in (virtual) coffee mornings at UCC organized by my department. I am currently preparing new lecture notes for next year based on research I am carrying out. These will serve to improve teaching new students next year. For several of my artist friends the impact has been radical. Audiences fell away, as did income and creative performance. A close friend in Belgium is an artist and so is my current partner. All of us need to carry on life with far less support and in an increasingly unreal world. The most constant factor for me is the underlying current of worry about the impact of a pandemic and the inability to see friends and relatives. It is heartening to experience a world-wide coordinated effort, a first in history. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. We still live far too insulated as nations and more unity is needed to overcome joint challenge. This is a first encouraging step towards some form of unity, flawed as it still is. Another positive is that friends and relatives describe a London with clear skies where people can see the horizon again, which must be the case in over populated centres worldwide. The world gets a much needed breather from global warming. I find life more peaceful with streets empty from cars and families walking together, having more time for each other, hard as the situation is.

Q. 3 GROUPS

Teenagers and young adults are often blamed for not caring enough to stay at home and put elders at risk. Young people need to explore, push boundaries and grow--the opposite of what they are now asked and forced to do. Many returned home to stay with parents and younger siblings after living independently, some stopped education entirely or only receive a shadow of what came before. They have no chance to travel or socialize, or have or be with partners. They are forced to live in isolation for what could be half a year or more. It is entirely unnatural for them to live like this. Some of our graduate students currently help with COVID testing and interrupted their university work and exams. Many are doing brave work quietly and bear consequences. I think the stress in this age group is considerable. I call my parents several times a week. They are older and very active. The restrictions are less stringent for recreation distance in Belgium than in Ireland (but more so in other ways) and my parents go on bicycle rides. The main problem for anyone taking part in long sessions of sports is the lack of toilet facilities. Only railway stations still have these available but they are more dangerous places amidst a pandemic. People end up using toilet facilities available at graveyards, which remain open to the public. Everyone needs to adapt to a different life. If the COVID-situation continues, as it may well do into next September, families will have been cooped up for almost six months and possible will be for longer. The effects will be profound for many, affecting generations for decades to come. Many nursing homes experience large amounts of deaths which is heart breaking. I feel for brave medics who returned to Ireland to help, giving up their former ways to return and putting their lives at risk. Some did not find lodging in a competitive rental market and were refused lodging due to their profession and the perceived risk. The government and other institutes who have lodging available should have stepped in right away to ensure such new arrivals received immediate and free lodging. These medics are heroes of our time and some received very raw deals.

Q. 4 WAYS WE TALK

"Covidiot" comes to mind for people not obeying social distancing. People in the area place teddybears in windows so kids can have more interesting walks. People initially did not greet back out of fear during walks, even at great distance. At this stage people do say hi and most keep a 2 meter distance. At times the need to avoid people becomes comical. I go on runs with my partner and we need to climb low walls at times to avoid people on narrow paths. Many more wear masks now and almost everyone keeps a distance.

Q. 5 COMMUNITY RESPONSE

I am happy that Ireland took a sound course of action regarding COVID. I wish that more institutes and shops had taken earlier initiative rather than wait for an orchestrated government effort which happened on March 12. The one thing COVID achieved globally, as will any drastic event, is to show up lack of leadership. This happened for leaders in various countries and institutes who lacked the backbone, knowledge and integrity to implement the necessary changes early on and take decisive action. Some countries have had an amazing response early on but they were the exception. COVID is the emperor's new clothes for leaders. I expect, as was the case following WWII, that an entirely different society will emerge. On a smaller scale: the postal service change was a vivid indication of life no longer being the same: the post woman arrived clad in a mask, wearing gloves and appeared at first as someone from a SF film. Many have been brave, continuing work while having children and partners at home full time and being forced to also do home schooling, consider dwindling supplies and adapt to a life cut off from direct contact with family. The internet is a blessing in this situation, allowing for remote contact It was heartening that some shops were very responsible early on in dealing with change. The local Green Cross pharmacy marked large X-s on the floor early on so people would keep their distance while queuing by standing on designated spots. The pharmacist was clearly well ahead of planning measures and worked very late in the evening responding to messages and taking wonderful care of local customers. The retail space at the pharmacy is barred off by panelling and the card machine for payments was initially covered with plastic foil which was removed on every use (in case people entered a pin code manually rather than tapping the card on the machine). Now everyone uses the tapping system rather than pin codes or cash. A local butcher also was exemplary and as a result kept the business thriving. A local super market did not implement measures fast enough, i.e. did not organize queuing, distancing, one-way shopping etc despite requests from shoppers, and I no longer shop there. I have heard that better measures are in place since but only partly and as a consequence delivery requests have sky rocketed, potentially crowding out those who need it most. I avoid shops that do not organize matters well for shoppers and do not tend to return to a shop when this happens. It seems more a matter of personal choice for shops than a coordinated effort though matters change as time goes by.
Flights between the UK and Ireland continue as far as I know to this day, which seems unwise in view of the different speeds of reaction between the countries to COVID, and with insufficient testing in place to track new arrivals in Ireland. Trust is eroded in western governments worldwide for announcing at first that masks are not needed or helpful--a view which now is changing. Suspicion arose that this is on the back of a lack of masks not being available in sufficient numbers in the west since eastern countries realized the need for masks early on and the info was readily available.

Q. 6 THOUGHTS AND PREOCCUPATIONS

I think about the longer-term impact, the lives at risk and the oncoming recession. I am in the midst of selling a home and naturally the changes impact every transaction, with courts grinding to a halt. When my daughter became ill, I thought a lot about her safety and the fact that I could not reach her if she would be need to be admitted to a hospital. I think about my parents and older people in my family and about the problems medical staff face with medics becoming ill and the lack of ventilators. The recent news in the New York times about the use of ventilators being a high risk for patients and the need to re-evaluate protocols also gave me pause for thought. I think about my son who had to return from the UK and is cooped up as are other young people at a time when they are eager to live life to the fullest. At times it feels like we live on a sinking ship and need to act differently to ward off financial or health disasters, which means that some days it can be hard to focus on matters which now seem more trivial in the scheme of things. I trust that science will find a way forward, so am not overly concerned about the eventual outcome. I am more concerned about the recession causing international conflict. In the scheme of things it is a miracle that major conflicts have not erupted more in the last decade and this may be an ultimate test. At times I worry about me or my partner catching the virus and about older people in the family or family members who already have an on-going illness.

Q. 7 SIMILARITY TO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

No Response.

Q. 8 CHALLENGES AND COPING

No Response.

Q. 9 THE FUTURE

As was the case for society immediately post WWII, I believe that people will be far more conscious of the fact that real leadership is crucial. I expect a society will emerge that incorporates a better sense of reality and the consequences of self-serving, ignorant or lazy leadership, with higher expectations for the way life is organized, less delusion and more integrity. I expect that this will last for a few generations, with memory serving to maintain a new culture. At least until this memory is once more reset for newer generations who did not experience the actual event and no longer listen to the few people who will be alive and lived through it. The same happened with extremism rising as soon as newer generations emerged for whom WWII is mere history.

Q. 10 IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT SPRINGS TO MIND?

No Response.

Q. 11 IN A NUTSHELL

The most surreal aspect of it all is the feeling to live in a movie rather than ''real life". The adjustment to a rapid change in reality takes time. World society has become disconnected in a drastic way and is only held together by the internet. It is a precarious time to live in.

age

51-69

gender

Male