Life in the Time of CoVid-Day 8 Lockdown
April 3, 2020-Day 8 of Lockdown: OVER 1 MILLION INFECTED…
Give CoVid a round of . . . something . . .
Worldwide: 1,016,534 confirmed CoVid cases; 5,813 deaths; South Africa: 1,462.
A Third of the Global Population is on Lockdown:
I have hit a wall.
This just in from US Embassy in South Africa: “There has been a hiccup regarding the logistics of our planned charter flights for South Africa, and we are now looking for additional commercial options. We do not have exact details on a date and time but will send them as information becomes available.”
I can not do almost anything. And, as proven since Lockdown began, I can go nowhere-do nothing for a week. But 8 days…
Yes, I’m whining. I hear myself* We are in that sense “lucky” as South Africa has only been in Lockdown a short while in comparison: China has been in Lockdown since Jan 23; Hong Kong since Feb. 4th; Italy, parts on Feb 21, countrywide, March 10; Australia (phase 2) announced March 25; USA Trump “endorsed Social Distancing” on March 14th; South Africa’s first case confirmed March 5th, Lockdown began March 27
*Whining…not that kind! This kind.
Compared to Lockdown, “Social Distancing”—getting to hike, walk, go to the park, chat in person, drive around—as long as one is “safely six-feet apart” sounds divine! My butt is sore, my eyes are bleary, my heart hurts, and while I always travel with extra-meds (just in case), I don’t travel with a month of extras…I am almost out of HRT. That could spell trouble for my cellmate.
So, today, I am focusing on feel goods, like this:
Yesterday, or was it before that (the days are melting together), I shared the Broadway CoVid Medley announcing Broadway Shows closing. As brilliant it is, the Medley was also sad. While I can live on tinned tuna, I need music. Thill of my morning: News that BROADWAY IS BACK! (virtually)!
Listen to Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Announcement.
“The Shows Must Go On’, the new YouTube Channel that will be streaming a full-length musical every Friday at 7pm GMT for free so you can bring the theatre home! It will be available for 48 hours, so you can tune in whenever you like over the weekend!”
First up, it’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Save the date!
And, this passage from Winnie the Poo and Piglet popped up of Facebook:
“‘Today was a Difficult Day,” said Pooh.
There was a pause.
”Do you want to talk about it?” asked Piglet.
”No,” said Pooh after a bit. “No, I don’t think I do.”
”That’s okay,” said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.
”What are you doing?” asked Pooh.
”Nothing, really,” said Piglet. “Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don’t feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.
”But goodness,” continued Piglet, “Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you’ve got someone there for you. And I’ll always be here for you, Pooh.”
And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right.’”
On the sassy side!—in response to my work-out dilemma, my co-grandmother, Sally, (I looked it up, “co-mother-in-law” is officially what I call my daughter’s husband’s parents and my grandchildren’s “other grandmother”—that’s what one does when idle.) Anyway, Sally shared the Moodivator, “Carole Burtuzzi Luciani with her Take on Online Fitness (you’ll have to click over, I couldn’t get it to post here.)
On the light side: Hello (from the Inside) An Adele Parody by Chris Mann.
The Washington Post has published its 2020 Neologism List Here’s 1 for today:
Coffee (.n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
And a thought to ponder shared by Charles:
If poison expires, is it more poisonous or is it no longer poisonous?
Looking forward to the future, Shona sent a video (that has been removed for copyright infringement—of course I would post the attribution, but the screen is black.) So: Blah-blah-blah… My takeaway:
When Lockdown is long over, and CoVid has gone the way of polio, measles, mumps, chicken pox…the plague, and we are on the other side. What I want our children/grandchildren will remember is ‘That time when Mommy/Daddy/Granny/Whomever colored and played and built forts with me.’
Lest you think Shona’s all Zen, she’s also binge-watching: Tiger Kings
Forts! Now that’s an idea: Fortmaking in the Living Room:
Wash up!
Mask up!
Dose up on Vitamin C! Drink Up! (those lukewarm beverages)
Stay Well!
I’ll be back tomorrow because, well. . . Yes, Peggie, that is all there is . . .
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Life in the Time of CoVid-Day 7 Lockdown
April 2, 2020: Lockdown Day 7
Worldwide: 950,713 confirmed CoVid-19 cases; 48,313 deaths; 202, 826 recovered!!! Spain deaths surpass 10,000; Russia reports record spike in cases
If you think you don’t need to wear a mask; if you think you “need” to go out. That CoVid-19 is “no big deal,” read this email I just received from a student (in response to my note wondering why I hadn’t heard back from her):
“A sad event has transpired. Last week my father was hospitalized due to COVID 19 symptoms and after six days he passed away in an isolation unit. We learned that when hospitals close down they send everyone who isn't essential home and only keep the most critical staff. It was hard to get anyone to answer the phones and have information passed along, but we understood why.”
USA: 214,461 confirmed cases, 4,841 deaths; The death toll has quadrupled & now exceeds the number of deaths from CoVid-19 reported in Mainland China
LOCKDOWN. President Ramphosa and the SA government is smart to name it so harshly. Enough with the sugar-coating terms: Social Distancing, really? Unless you’re in a bubble, you’re at risk.
South Africa: 1,380 confirmed CoVid cases; 5 deaths; Mkhize warns of 'calm before a heavy and devastating storm
We just returned from the shops. Last trip, thinking we would be evacuated “early” this week, we only bought 3 days stock, so we needed to. The line waiting to enter Pick-N-Pay ringed the block. The Woolies line was only a few deep, so we chose it. Tension outside and in was palpable. Everyone racing and grabbing as though on a clock. Curtis too. I asked him, “Why are you acting so weird.” His response, there are so many people…” So many mask-ish efforts: scarfs, balaclavas, turtlenecks, hankies, etc. Lots without masks seem to think holding one’s breath helps. Including clerks wheezing “Thank you, Maam” through clenched teeth.
'Apprehensive' elderly German tourists apprehended en route to test for Covid-19
This could have been us had we tried to drive back to P.A.
Do you know how many times a waking hour you touch your face? It’s like trying not to scratch a mosquito bite. Count. Or better, watch someone else.
I caught myself 4 times in one hour—and that was me consciously trying not to touch. Every touch could bring a CoVid virus into your body. No excuses:
IF YOU HAVE A T-SHIRT AND TEETH, YOU HAVE A MASK.
Service Announcement Over, captivity is an issue; imprisonment for many doesn’t come with a garden or a balcony, or even a window that opens wide enough to fit one’s head. So, what do for exercise?
LAPS: Yes, I am one of the lucky ones, with a lovely garden. I walk laps as I listen to podcasts, webinars—conversation. Every time my phone chimes, I get up to listen & talk. One problem. My natural inclination is to walk counter-clockwise which, after the first few days seems to have made my left leg shorter, thus giving me a long-shoreman gait. So as of yesterday, every few laps I reverse direction.
Lapping the room works, too. It’s 19 medium paces around our room (bathroom not included). And, I’m told, very annoying.
12 STEPS UP-12 DOWN
STAIR-CLIMBING: Now that we are officially the only ones staying in Manderley Lodge, when Gloria is away, I sneak across to the office side and stair step. i call it the 12 by 12: Twelve steps up & twelve steps down. I stopped at 10 reps yesterday. Depending on Gloria’s schedule, I’ll sneak in a few more today.
YOGA: Do not roll your eyes. Or think I’ve gone all OHMMMM on you. Even Curtis can do this one as it’s all on the floor. Think of it as “stretches.” Here’s my 10 minute fav by _____________(Hint: Don’t try to do it without the video because you’ll find yourself shortening the time you stay in each position; or forgetting some. Trust me. I have listened to the same video at least 1000 times (no exaggeration). Miriam’s voice is now my Manchurian Candidate phone call: I mindlessly obey.
HUFF & PUFF: This is our new favorite. It only takes 4 Minutes! (a session). Curtis discovered it sometime back when he was trying to find a way to exercise without leaving his computer (Curtis loves his computer!) but we’d never tried it. IT’S GREAT! Yesterday was our 3rd day of Huff & Puff (Officially Called: Zach Bush MD: 4-Minute Workout.) Wow! I do! I do! I do feel the tingle/burn!!!
Oh yes, as if there isn’t enough drama in the world with CoVid, yesterday Graham, our landlord, Gloria’s boss, quit. Turned out his lease on Manderley Lodge ended March 31. Instead of renewing, or giving 3 months’ notice, he came last night, cleaned out the supply cupboards, and left. We know because the supply cupboards are in our room—2 locked cabinets at the end of our closet. He knocked while we were eating dinner. (5th can of tuna in brine gone…Charles says we should have our mercury levels checked when this is over.) —DEAR AUSTRALIA, WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL YOUR TOILET PAPER…
What does this mean to us? No TV for 2 days. Yes, Gloria, we will survive. (Thank you U-Tube! Thank you NYC for this Broadway Coronavirus Medley!)
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Life in the Time of CoVid-Day 6 LOCKDOWN
April 1st : Lockdown-Day 6
I considered beginning this post with a fake news flash that CoVid was gone. Sick-sick-sick April Fool’s joke. I know. In my head I hear Lexi saying “Inappropriate, Mother.” She calls me “Inappropriate” often enough that it’s a stored recording. I’ve been head talking again. I woke this morning jabbering away to the universe. I haven’t done that in no clue how long. Or maybe I have, but all the other busy-ness crowded out my own thoughts.
The Horrifying Truth:
Worldwide: 862, 574 confirmed cases of CoVid 19; 42, 528 deaths
USA: 189,592; Italy: 105,792; Spain: 95,923; China: 81,554; Indonesia: 1,677
South Africa: 1,353 confirmed cases; 5 deaths; 39,500 tests conducted so far.
But, WE HAVE POWER! No joke! But, big surprise! Pre-dawn, I woke, went into the “loo” (“Loo is South African for toilet.) and flipped the switch. Light nearly blinded me! That’s when the “WE HAVE POWER!” light went off in my head. Because here, one never knows when you flip the switch, or want a shower, or need a charge, whether or not it will work. South Africa is Loadshedding.
South Africa is in a major electric crisis. The Power plants aren’t able to generate enough electricity. As a result depending on demand, the power is shut off. Everywhere. Yes, you can be in the middle of dinner, in the mall, at a restaurant, the doctor’s office and everything suddenly goes dark.
“Any country’s success with containment could be tenuous, and the world could remain on a kind of indefinite lockdown.”
WEAR A MASK!
Loadshedding has stages. Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3—up to Stage 8, depending on demand. Level 1 means 1000 megawatts of power need to be shed, or not used in one area so it can be used elsewhere. Stage 2 means 2000 megawatts, etc. For example, Port Alfred would be loadshedding so Port Elizabeth, about 98 miles away, could operate. I’m not sure how the stages translate to how long the power is out.
“load·shed·ding. noun. the deliberate shutdown of electric power in a part or parts of a power-distribution system, generally to prevent the failure of the entire system when the demand strains the capacity of the system. ”
Here’s what we experienced: when loadshedding the power would be off 1 time a day for 2 hours; on one Stage 4 day the power was cut 3 times for 2 hours at a time. As inconvenient as it sounds it’s better, we learned from the Masons living in Johannesburg, than the sometimes 8 hour-long power cuts they experience. Loadshedding Schedules are published (if one has Internet capability to find it).
During LOCKDOWN with every non-essential shutdown, SA is not Loadshedding. Thrilling…disappointing…ironic…not sure how to feel. Should we be saying thank you CoVid-19 for forcing us to finally heed the warning and use less power?
JUST IN: First repatriation flight leaves South Africa to Brazil. A total of 321 passengers were on LATAM flight to Sau Paulo, Brazil. (Is this an April Fool’s Joke?)
Look closely…there’s a bird in that bush
Power isn’t the only thing more abundant. Birds are singing more and louder! (Or maybe they always have been and, like my head talk, we just couldn’t hear them.)
Talk about surreal, were we really “On Safari” at Shamwari Game Reserve this time last week? Birds! One thing one of our ranger/game guides, Wesley (who was a pompous, condescending Jack#$!) knows is birds. He wowed us by not only spotting and describing then, but also copying their calls.
On those early morning game drives, he’d cut the motor. (Or when walking, following the game drive single-file, we’d stop.) There, in silence so fine grass crackled and giraffe huffing and elephant farts were loud, he drew out attention to the birds. Birds don’t simply sing to sing. They claim their spots—in the bush or trees or grass—and sing out: I’m here! I’m here!
Helps that Gloria keeps the feeder well-stocked!
Manderley Lodge is a house, in the midst of a suburb of Cape Town. When we arrived, even last Wednesday evening, and the morning after, even in the darkest hour traffic noises droned. Now, when I wake, or sit, I hear breezes, leaves talking, the tots playing a few fences over, and birds.
When CoVid-19 is conquered/contained, Lockdown, Social Distancing, Shelter-in Place is over, will we immediately amp up to previous stages—or beyond?
Or? They say one can break a habit in 3 weeks. Will we have learned something by this slow down? Will using less energy become a habit in 21 days or 90 days or more?
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Life in the Time of CoVid-Day 4 Lockdown
South Africa: 1,280 confirmed positive for CoVid; 2 deaths; 31 recovered.
So, so so impressed with the US Embassy in South Africa! Twice daily they send reassuring email updates telling us they are working on repatriating. I sent a private email in return asking if we might be able to obtain either a letter from the Embassy or permission from the police to return to Port Alfred.
The fired-back response was polite by firm:
“Thank you for your message. We urge you to abide by the South African government's travel restrictions and remain where you are, which is much closer to Cape Town International Airport.”—American Citizen Services, U.S. Mission to South Africa
USA: CoVid-19 number has doubled in 3 days; at least 136,880 infected; 2,414 have died—965 of those in New York. A 1000-bed Navy ship, ‘The Comfort’ will serve as a hospital for NY’s non-CoVid-19 patients.
Italy: 97,689 cases (3906 severe); 10, 779 dead; 13,030 recovered.
China: Who knows? Officials aren’t reporting asymptomatic positive results.
Circuit Training includes Laundry Limbo
Meanwhile back home, the Westhampton Neighborhood Facebook group has blown up with reports of the hoards swarming in from NYC—spreading virus and panic…
Meanwhile, I’ve created a circuit trail in the sunny, green breezy backyard which includes neck stretches beneath the clotheslines—especially challenging on laundry day.
Meanwhile creatives are cranking out new CoVid-19 diddies. Today’s hit: “We’re All Home Bound” by Claire & Mel
Meanwhile, Curtis & I, down to 2 cans of tuna and a grapefruit walked to the mall for a few days of supplies. Mall security & store staff managed the queues (with help of meter-spaced X and bottles of sanitizer at the ready.)
Who decided hair & leg containment, plucking or decorating was non-essential?
Inside and outside shoppers spoke only when needed in tight-lipped whispers and turned backs to each other. As only “essential goods” are allowed to be sold, the drugstore, CLICKS, had barricaded the hair decoration/hosiery/sundries aisle.
Do not even glance at those clothes…
Woolworth, likewise, has cordoned off a path through all the enticing clothing, home-goods, etc. etc. to the grocery section. No sneak shopping allowed in the time of CoVid.
I may not like, but I totally get why the government decided to ban liquor sales during Lockdown, but I do wonder about its decision to ban cigarette sales. Locked down, shut in with kids, wife, no money, no work…and no smokes??? Even to my non-smoker sensibilities seems foolish.
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Life in the Time of CoVid-Day 3 Lockdown
March 29, 2020—Lockdown Day 3
USA: 103, 321 confirmed cases; 1,668 deaths
Italy: 86 498 confirmed cases (finally numbers are decreasing); 9,136 deaths
It amazes me how some creatives spurt out brilliant, funny, clever responses in crisis. When the chips are down the funny get funnier, the clever get cleverer.
I am definitely not in that category. Friends I’m hearing from have set up offices and figured out how to work from home—and tackle lists of Honey Dos. (Charles has washed both cars, straightened the garage, and finished a puzzle.) Those with kids—wow! cook/ cleaner/ supervisor /teacher /entertainer/ referee rolled into one…Writer friends are zooming forward with stories. Homeless, I am not even a snail. I am a slug. A slug with Internet. An inert slug.
However, I have a room and a small garden to circle. I forced Curtis up from his computer to take laps around the tiny yard. 29 strides per circle. He clocked them on his fitbit, humored me through 25 laps; I jollied him through 20 toe touches before he cut bait.
But, while we circled, my thoughts turned to all the families and children Lockdown in the Townships living 5 or 8 or 12 to a 10x10, without a bathroom, maybe a clothesline to circle.
From what I’ve seen of South Africa in the 9 years and thousands of road trip kilometers, the country is largely rural. There are several major cities: Johannesburg, Durban, Capetown among them, these are like cities anywhere—buildings, businesses, highways, traffic, mixed with suburbs. And on the outskirts, crowded clusters where laborers, domestics, hourly workers and their families live.
Think tenements, barrios, kampungs—shanty towns. Whole extended families crowded into one tiny room with no running water, some no electric or TV, shared toilets at the end of a row.
whole families living in one room
Hundreds of tiny tin or cinder block homes squished side to side, thousands together—Social distancing??? Six-feet-apart???
…and my big complaint is internet speed and “only” getting to circle this lovely garden…
South Africa: Confirmed CoVid cases have risen to 1187, 2 deaths
Meanwhile…Headlines in this morning’s paper:
LOCKDOWN? What Lockdown? “Capetonians continue to shop and walk their dogs.”-timeslive.co.za