Coronavirus confusion

Are you having trouble keeping up with the constant flow of information and studies regarding Covid-19?

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented communication. Over the past five months, since the first reports of a deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, we have been bombarded with information, a lot of it contradictory. No wonder you might be feeling a little confused.

Here’s a summary of the some of the most significant contradictions.

 

There is no human-to-human transmission – There is human-to-human transmission.

It’s like flu – It’s worse than flu.

The virus originated from a market in Wuhan – The virus was synthesised in a lab.

Only old people are at risk – Children and young people are also at risk.

Wash your hands for 20 seconds – Wash your hands for 40 seconds.

Wash your hands with hand sanitiser – Wash your hands with soap and water.

Now is the time to go into lockdown – Now is not the time to go into lockdown.

A distance of 1 m from others is safe – Keep a distance of at least 1.5 m from others – Keep a distance of at least 2 m from others.

Keep hand sanitiser in the car – Don’t leave hand sanitiser in your car overnight.

Face masks are useless – You must wear a face mask.

The coronavirus spreads on surfaces – The coronavirus does not spread easily on surfaces.

It's dangerous to take Ibuprofen – It's safe to take Ibuprofen.

Be productive during lockdown – Don’t be productive during lockdown.

Herd immunity will protect us from Covid-19 – Herd immunity will not save us from Covid-19.

Herd immunity will be achieved in weeks – It takes years to achieve herd immunity.

Warm weather will stop the spread of the coronavirus – Warm weather will not stop the spread of the coronavirus.

You can’t get Covid-19 twice – You can get Covid-19 twice.

Children are super-spreaders – Children are not super-spreaders.

It’s too dangerous to reopen schools – It’s safe to reopen schools.

Runners are super-spreaders – Runners are not super-spreaders.

Inject disinfectant (if you believe Donald Trump) – Don’t inject disinfectant.

Vitamin D protects you from Covid-19 – Vitamin D does not protect you from Covid-19.

Vitamin C protects you from Covid-19 – Vitamin C does not protect you from Covid-19.

Now is the time to come out of lockdown – Now is not the time to come out of lockdown.

Sweden was right not to go into lockdown – Sweden was wrong not to go into lockdown.

You can’t go on holiday – You can go on holiday.

Temperature checks at airports are essential – Temperature checks at airports are useless.

Now is the right time to introduce a quarantine for international arrivals – Introducing a quarantine for international arrivals now makes no sense.

A vaccine will be available in September – We might never have a vaccine.

Writing a blog is a good idea – Writing a blog is a terrible idea.

 

The list is endless. Please let me know if I left anything out.

*Image created by Ruth Burrows. Submitted for United Nations Global Call Out To Creatives - help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Life coming out of lockdown: week nine

It is now two months since the lockdown measures were introduced in Berlin. Though many restrictions have been lifted, our new way of life is being dictated by strict Hygieneregeln, or hygiene rules, and Abstandsregeln, or social distancing rules. Nevertheless, life is slowly returning to the German capital. If it wasn’t for all the people wearing face masks on public transport and in shops, or around their necks on the streets, and the 1.5 m gaps between people in queues, it would almost look like life had returned to normal.

 

It has been a week of changes, starting with the most important development (at least if you’re a sports journalist and have only been commenting on virtual sporting competitions over the past weeks), the return of the Bundesliga. Football matches can be played again in Germany, albeit behind closed doors and players have to find new ways of celebrating when they score a goal (elbow bumping seems to be a popular option). The eerily empty streets have been replaced by eerily empty stadiums and football fans are not overly pleased. You can now hear the sound of the ball being kicked rather than the fans cheering.

 

This week has seen the return of year 1 and year 5 pupils to primary school, for a couple of days at least. The plan is to get all children in Berlin back to school by 29 May, even if only for a few hours. Primary schools in Berlin reopened on 4 May, but only year 6 went back in the first week. From next week yet more pupils will return to school, including my son for one day. Although schools have restarted, it is hardly school as usual. Class sizes have been halved and strict hygiene and physical distancing  measures are being enforced to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. Distance learning (or homeschooling) is not over yet.

 

Since Friday restaurants and cafés have also reopened and not only for takeaway. You can now go and have a meal in a restaurant, as long as you comply with the regulations. You can even sit at a table with a friend or friends, as long as it’s not more than two households and you keep the required distance. Since the end of last week, we are in fact allowed to meet up with friends from another household (only two households at a time), both outdoors and indoors, but at a distance. This has been a most welcome change.

 

Museums and art galleries have also reopened or are in the process of reopening, but cinemas, theatres, concert halls, pubs and clubs still remain closed.

 

Despite all the ongoing concerns about the Coronavirus, the future is starting to look brighter, as the borders between countries in Europe are expected to reopen from mid-June. Perhaps some of us will be able to see our families this summer after all. Fingers crossed. 

Life in lockdown: week eight

This week has been an emotional roller coaster ride. On Monday I was fed up with the whole lockdown situation, especially the uncertainty about the summer. At some point in the afternoon my son pointed out that I had schlechte Laune, i.e. I was in a bad mood. In the evening when my husband got home from work, he suggested I do something relaxing. I washed up while listening to loud music, while he dealt with bedtime. That’s when I came up with the tips for surviving the next phase of lockdown. In a sudden burst of creativity, I rushed backwards and forwards from the kitchen sink to my notebook, while reciting the mantra “tomorrow will be a better day”. By the time little one fell asleep it was past 10 pm and we were pretty tired ourselves, but we decided we needed something to help us switch off from the world. I would definitely recommend watching “The Dawn Wall” if you want to escape from it all.

 

By Tuesday evening I was feeling exhausted and mentally drained after trying to juggle homeschooling (or distance learning, as we are supposed to call it in Germany) with household chores, while fitting in some writing and looking after my own mental and physical well-being, as well as that of the other family members. Of course, it’s not all bad. I really enjoy spending time with my son and we laugh a lot together. It’s just that I need a break every now and then.

 

Then on Wednesday we started to see the light at the end of the tunnel with the announcement that Berlin, as the rest of Germany, was taking further measures to relax the lockdown. There were several confusing and worrying moments. For example, it would seem that while the federal governments are keen to ease the lockdown, Angela Merkel thinks it’s premature. So, will they have to shut everything down again in a few weeks’ time? Possibly.  There was also a surprise announcement about first-year pupils going back to school on Monday, followed by all other years. Nobody had seen it coming, so the schools in Berlin were thrown into chaos and given effectively only one day to plan, as Friday was a public holiday.

 

I spent most of Thursday wondering how it would work out until I received an email from the school in the afternoon with “the  plan”. School will only be for a few hours and a few mornings this month. Each class will be divided into two groups so that the children can keep the required 1.5m distance from each other. At this point I still don’t know if my son is in group 1 or 2 so I still don’t know when he will go to school. He's hoping it won't be next week, as he actually prefers being at home than in school.

 

Friday was an exceptional one-off public holiday in Berlin (not in the rest of Germany) to mark the 75^th anniversary of the end of the second world war and the liberation from the Nazi regime.  Some people in Germany would like this to become a national public holiday, but not everyone agrees. We decided to escape the city to the green countryside. 

 

On Saturday my son and I finally managed to get a haircut. Luckily, I had made the appointment first thing on Monday morning, because my hairdresser is now fully booked until July. I thought she meant June, as Juni and Juli sound quite similar in German, but no she definitely meant July. Now that hairdressers (and their customers) are required to wear a mask, they look more like surgeons about to perform an operation than actual hairdressers, but at least you don’t need an anaesthetic to get a haircut. By the way, we had to take it in turns to go in, as there can’t be more than four people inside the salon at the same time and I had to write down my contact details before I left, in case the hairdressers or one of the customers tests positive with Covid-19.

 

Now it’s Sunday, the last day of another welcome long weekend and also Mother’s Day in Germany and in many other parts of the world. It’s also supposed to be the last warm and sunny day for a while. The temperature is expected to drop by 15 degrees tomorrow. The weather is also a roller coaster ride at the moment.