Life in Coronatime — week 2
Week two in Coronatime saw the arrival of British summertime. But rather than charging outdoors to celebrate winter’s end, we’ve been cosied up indoors. Again. So homely have we become that our daily fitness excursions even take place in our pyjamas… sorry, loungewear. Cooped up in lockdown, I’m observing how we’re adapting our behaviour to make sense of this new world. From fitness to socialising to working (if you haven’t been ‘furloughed’ — new word for me too) the shift to an online existence has accelerated. When this is all over, how much of it will move back offline? There are endless articles predicting seismic change, but what are these insights based on? Hopefully not the suspect modelling that informed the government’s initial response to Corona. Better to study the new rituals, habits and ways of thinking that are emerging. So, this is what I’ve learnt in week two.
Bending money and time with kindness
As the world slows down and we shelter inside, with little variety between days, money and time are bending into new shapes. Pay cuts are the norm for those who have managed to keep their job, day rates have been sliced, and many skills are being donated free to good causes. Couple the absence of paid work with the increase in time and volunteering seems like the right thing to do. While many of us are scared of ripping off a plaster, 750,000 people signed up to help the NHS this week (three times more than they requested). Community groups are jumping into action, fetching shopping and medicines. We’re learning how to #bekind
Donating data for good?
But it’s not just time that people are donating, 1.5 million people signed up to Kings College Covid-19 daily symptom tracker app (also known as Zoe). While the app anonymises data, it’s provoking debate about whether we should follow in the steps of China and South Korea and allow governments to control the spread of the virus through digital surveillance. But if we sacrifice our privacy for temporary freedom, will we get it back again? The tracker has sniffed a new symptom of Corona — the loss of your sense of smell and taste. Fortunately, that does return.
Cheering, at a distance
One woman I know has been stepping outside her front door at 8pm and clapping the NHS for over fortnight (an early adopter, obvs). This week, many more joined her, with added fireworks, trumpets and vuvuzelas. Thursdays will now see people spilling onto the streets in solidarity, because we need social connection in our isolated lives right now. And if we can’t physically touch each other — which Brits don’t enjoy much anyway — we can put our own hands together and participate in the mass clap off at a safe distance from our neighbours. After the first one on March 26th, social media became awash with positive emotion. We’re witnessing how the experience of mass gratitude can help us cope with our personal worries.
Nature love
Many people have commented on how quiet it is, apart from the loud squawking of birds no longer drowned out by traffic noise. I’ve spotted a couple of ominous ravens outside my window. Or maybe they’re just very large blackbirds. Over in Llandudno, locals have witnessed a herd of goats rampaging through the town and nibbling their hedges, while in Kerala a rare Malabar civet, thought to be extinct, has been prowling the streets. With the release of Google’s 3D animals, a zoo-full of creatures can thunder into your already crowded living space to delight the kids. As we retreat inside, nature is springing up out of the shadows and fresh from Blue Planet, our inner David Attenborough is primed to pay attention.
Accepting the long game
No one knows how long we’re going to be stuck inside. And humans don’t like this kind of uncertainty or lack of control. We like to plan and schedule and have a routine and know that everything will be OK. Which is why we’ve embraced stories from experienced isolators in China and Italy, telling us what the next few weeks of isolation will look like. The new normal. Their advice is to stop checking the stats every five minutes and embrace the slow down. Whether you’re playing Cards Against Humanity on Zoom, baking cakes that look like toilet rolls or upskilling through General Assembly, we’re all playing a waiting game.
