Coronavirus Pandemic

Just so I NEVER forget..... 

Right now we are in the middle of the  Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 11th, 2020 🦠  It amazes me that the things below are happening all around the world at the same time.  My family and friends in the USA and other parts of the world are going through the same things as us right now. 

As of today there have been 184 cases of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Tasmania and 7 deaths. 

💵 Petrol prices have dropped as low as  $0.99 a litre in Tassie

🏫 Schools brought holidays forward. Students began learning from home at the end of Term 1 and will continue to learn from home in Term 2.

❌ There is tape on the floors at supermarkets and shops help distance shoppers 1.5 m from each other.

 

👫👫 A limited number of people are allowed inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors.

 

🙅🏻‍♀️Non-essential stores and businesses are closed.

👩🏻‍💻Those who can are asked to work from home.

🏖⛰ 🚷 Parks, trails and beaches are closed.

🏉🏀⚽️🎾🥇 Entire sports seasons including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics cancelled.

🎟🎭🎬🎼 Concerts, tours, festivals, and entertainment events are cancelled.

👰🏻 💍🎉 Weddings are limited to five people, family celebrations and holiday gatherings are cancelled.

Only ten people can attend a funeral. 

⛪️ No masses, churches are closed.

🇦🇺 Australians are asked to return home from around the world if they can.

👫 No gatherings of 50 or more, then 10 or more, now 2 or more.

🏠 You’re not allowed to socialize with anyone outside of your home.

🚶🏾🏃🏻‍♀️You can only leave your home to get essentials, go to work or school (if you are unable to do it at home) or to exercise with one other person.

 

🎠 Children's outdoor play parks are closed.

 

🎡 Disney parks and other theme parks all around the world are closed.

🧻 🧼 Panic buying sets in and we have shortages of toilet paper, pasta, flour, disinfecting supplies, paper towel, laundry soap and hand sanitizer.

 

🧼 You are asked to sanitise your hands before going into a shop and waiting rooms have put in measures for social distancing. 

 

🧼 Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.

✈️🛳 Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.

👮🏼‍♀️👮🏻‍♂️ Fines are established for breaking the rules.

🏨 Recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.

🦠🎥 Press conferences daily from the Prime Minister and Premier.

🦠Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths

🚙 Barely anyone on the roads.

😷 People wearing masks and gloves outside.

🦠 Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.

Thousands of people lose their jobs. 

🩺🏨 Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.

😷 Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.

🦠🚑 Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.

Two hospitals on the north west coast of Tasmania are closed because of a large cluster of cases there. Over 5000 people are asked to quarantine for 14 days and the Australian Defence Force come to reopen and staff the Emergency Department once it is cleaned. 

BUT:

☀️🌈 We start enjoying the simple things in life again.

 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 🧩 Families get to spend a lot more time together.

🏘 We check on our neighbours, friends and family more.

🔨 We finally have time to do all those projects we never have time for.

📺📖 🎨🎲🎮 We don’t have to feel guilty about doing things we love.

🎼 Singers perform online.

📽 Movies are released online instead of in cinemas.

🎙Talk shows are hosted from home.

💻 We realise how lucky we are to live in a time when we have the internet.

 💵🍣 We support local businesses by doing online shopping and buying takeaway food instead of eating in.

 

👫 We take notice of others more and know we are all in this together.  

Businesses adapt to the needs of their customers. 

The government provides billions of dollars of financial support for thousands of people and businesses for the next six months, including a job keeper package and coronavirus supplements.

People draw on the footpath for others to see as they're exercising.

People put teddy bears in windows so that kids can go on bear hunts around their community. 

☀️💦 Pollution decreases and we have cleaner air and water.

💛 👫 We are reminded about what the most important things in life are.

It still feels like we are not even half way through it in Tasmania right now as there are so many new cases every day.  We are very lucky as my job is classed as an essential one, and I feel for so many people who have lost their jobs including close friends of mine.

Even though it's not ideal at the moment, I know that once we are through this and life is back to normal that we are going to look back on this time and be grateful for the time we had to just slow down and be together.