Isolation – Sandpiper Editorial

One of the pitfalls of the isolation thingy is the “What day is it?” thingy. Just realised yesterday was Friday (sorry…)

Remember that proverbial rainy day? The one which people used to put aside for, just in case? Okay, well it’s here now, and a lot of people have been caught short because not only did they not think to put something aside, or just didn’t bother, but may have even been lulled into the false assumption that a rainy day just wasn’t on their horizon.

But it so is. That is the nature of rainy days and right now it’s bucketing down and a lot of people have been caught without an umbrella.

Sure, no one saw COVID-19 coming, but some have been caught so short it will take years for them to recover, assuming they ever do, and I am beginning to hear the word “victim” popping up more and more in news reports and talkback programs, and I am not necessarily talking about those who contracted coronavirus. Mostly it financial victims but the word is being bandied around all over the place and I am beginning to suspect there will be “victims” popping up who really aren’t, except maybe in their own minds. Only some of them will be genuine.

The financial victims will be those small business owners who have had to shut down their only source of income indefinitely, the people who lost their jobs because their workplace had to either cut staff and hours, or close their doors altogether, those low income earners/welfare recipients who live hand to mouth because they just don’t have enough left over after paying for food and other necessities to put anything aside, and those who, for some reason, don’t qualify for government support. Most people have rent or mortgages, and the stress levels among them trying to meet those obligations is rising.

My sympathies are with those now having to deal with being in that position, but tends to peter out a bit regarding those who have over-extended themselves to live in an upwardly-mobile bubble. They took on a mortgage for a nice house with a sought-after address they couldn’t really afford but would sort of scrape by so long as nothing went wrong. Went further into debt for brand new cars and other accessories, and life has revolved around their credit cards for so long they have forgotten what making do with what they have actually means. Others opted for a pricy rental in an expensive area that realistically was beyond their means but fed their aspirations. They could also scrape by (just) on a wing and prayer so long as nothing went wrong. Well yes, they lived precariously on credit card debt too and perhaps stuck their fingers in their ears while going “lalalalala” whenever the inkling of a rainy day entered their heads (mustn’t think about that). But then something did go wrong. Very badly horribly wrong, and it all came crashing down. I don’t deny for a moment these people are dealing with genuine through-the-ceiling stress levels right now, but I’m not sure they are victims of the current situation because I think financial catastrophe was on the cards for them anyway, coronavirus or no.

Genuine victims here though, are those in countries where the poorest of their populations have had to leave their villages and go out into fields or hills and in some cases, even up into the trees, in order to self isolate because staying at home in a one-room abode shared with a lot of other people was not really an option. They are existing without facilities, with minimal food, water and shelter and near to no medical assistance should they become ill. These people have had their entire lives made much worse by this pandemic. Those I am less inclined to see as victims however, are people who are safely ensconced in spacious homes with all the comforts, oodles of money in the bank, swimming pools, gadgetry, televisions, plenty of food and clean water, supermarkets and basically everything they could possibly need to keep themselves entertained. Yet oddly (well, maybe not) these are the ones bemoaning their current stay-at-home situation. They can’t go out for coffee, they can’t go to the beach, they can’t pop around to friends’ places for drinks etc. These are the ones feeling “victimised” by coronavirus. Barely a peep from those people experiencing genuine hardship and/or social isolation and loneliness, just a lot of noise from Instagrammers, celebrities, wannabes and those so accustomed to having the lifestyle they want handed to them on a platter that they cannot deal with the sudden restrictions to their vacuous existence. Unsurprisingly, they are often the ones found flouting the social distancing directives as well.

But are they victims? No. There are a lot of victims out there but it’s not these guys.

Anyway, this is the rainy day that was always on the cards and with luck, we have all learned something from it. Hopefully the lesson has been to make preparations for the next one in case it comes down in cats and dogs like it has this time, and to get a handle on who classifies as a victim and who just doesn’t fit the bill, because I’m starting to see a lot of “victims” emerging who aren’t. Perhaps we might learn that we don’t have to have the best of everything like, right now. Previous generations worked and saved for those things and were prepared to wait until they could afford them. Start a mortgage on a starter house and move up from there. A reliable secondhand car will do you just fine until you can afford that shiny new wiz-bang model. If you’re any kind of celebrity, you should have at least a couple of million still sitting in your bank account so shut up, you are not in financial dire straits and if you have a home, a supermarket, a phone and social media, you are not really doing it hard at all, hence you are not a victim.

But as for the rest of us? Just organise that umbrella, okay?

With COVID-19 busy doing the rounds across the globe, most countries have sensibly gone into total lockdown in an effort to slow the spread of the disease, and their inhabitants are sensibly following the directives. That’s good. Smart people.

What’s not good (and just plain stupid) is what’s happening here in Australia. The word has been out for weeks now; stay home, stay indoors and if you do have to go anywhere, make sure it is only a quick trip to pick up food and other essential supplies and maintain a safe distance from others. Pretty simple really, so why are so many Australians indifferent to what is happening right in front of them? The footage on the nightly news of vacuous people, wandering around in groups and generally enjoying a day out on the town has me spouting profanity that I didn’t even know I knew. I’m talking a lot of people here (and a lot of profanity!)

Staying home means exactly that. It does not mean meeting up with your friends for coffee and huddling up for a get-together. It does not mean going off for a day at the beach or the park or to go wandering around whatever shops are open and generally socialising and having a good time. It does not mean that at all. It also does not mean holding a barbecue in the backyard and inviting all your friends and neighbours to drop in. It actually means Stay Home! Just you and your family, in your own home with no visitors, no matter who they are. Now how hard can that be? But there are still hordes of people out there thinking the directive does not apply to them, hence the vast numbers blatantly ignoring what they have been told. In the cities, scores of people are out having a stroll and doing it in total disregard of the “social distancing” we have all been asked to adopt.

Seriously? What is wrong with people? Why is Stay Home, Stay In, and Stay Away From Each Other not clicking?

To be fair, many of us are doing the right thing, but the number who are completely ignoring the steps that have been put in place to try and stem the spread of this disease is just deplorable!

Ditto with the hoarding. This began with the bushfire crisis here and has now flowed into the Coronavirus crisis. Time and time again people have been told that buying up more than they need is not necessary. Doing so is just creating shortages that don’t have to happen, which makes it incredibly hard for the rest of the population to buy what they need. But this is another directive that is not getting through some thick skulls out there and so shortages in food, toilet paper and other essentials continue to plague us. When will that message get through that there really is enough for everyone if the selfish and greedy few would just back off and let the rest of us buy what we need.

I think the problem here is that up until now, current generations of Australians have not had to contend with something like this. Yes, there were shortages and food coupons around the time of the First and Second World Wars, and there was the Spanish Flu epidemic, but the current generations were not alive when these events happened and so they aren’t really taking this seriously. I was not alive then either but I can at least see the logic behind the steps being implemented to try and slow the spread of COVID-19.

Surely people must be able to see the logic in following the plan? Well no, many here still appear to be ignorant of the threat, despite all the warnings. They are still hanging out at beaches, shopping centres, parks and each other’s homes. So what does it take to make the danger we are in hit home to these people? Have they convinced themselves that it won’t happen to them? I’m guessing it will take contracting the disease and ending up in hospital, as sick as, staring mortality in the face!

It has also come to light that those who have managed to return from overseas and tested positive, along with those who have just contracted it anyway, are ignoring the self isolation conditions. Police checking up on them, following information that they are going out into the community, are finding that yes, they are not at home. Self isolation would have been very precisely explained to them, so they cannot claim ignorance about the conditions, yet they are going out. Hefty fines are in place now, so we may see a bit less of that. But how many have they infected?

No one’s exaggerating here. COVID-19 is a very dangerous disease. It has shut down countries world wide. If infected, you are a danger to your community. You, and those you infect when you ignore the rules, could end up dying from it. It is a global pandemic.

And it can so easily happen to you.