08.15 am, Tuesday 1 September 2020 – This was the point in time when I handed over the keys.
We live in France. Today is ‘la rentrée’, the first day of the new school year. Mum is at this moment on her way to deliver child to her primary school. We finally decided to do so purely to re-establish her social and educational welfare, not in response to the official order of the French national education authority.
Me? Covid19 gave me the short straw. I am at ‘high risk’ (old age + Type2 diabetes + high blood pressure). It generates the most family discussion, the most fear and the most anxiety about the most dreaded of consequences, death. I have an 8% chance of dying from a raging Covid19 infection.
So from the beginning, it was agreed that I stay in hiding, that we operated the strictest personal and family hygiene rules (made even more stringent in response to the population going crazy with the unlocking of the lockdowns) and that we looked after our physical and mental wellbeing as best as possible.
It has all worked pretty well so far. Our approach meant that, never mind the mortality rate, I had a very low probability of catching the virus in the first place. No more, I have just lost control of my own destiny! Now, the virus is free to hitch a lift home from school in the nose of my child – a potential hazard that repeats itself with every day of attendance. Naturally, as well as carrying on the existing protection rules, we have agreed some new family rules to try and mitigate the new risk:
By John Saunders
World Health Communication Associates (WHCA) & INSPIRIT Creatives UG NGO,
MediaWise and MediaFocusUK
News You Can Use
We are all vulnerable to this virus. This is a unique time for our communities all over the world as we work to combat this massive global threat. This blog aims to collect and share your stories and reflections that can help others to cope, thrive and build resilience…
Our communities are at different stages of response in different parts of the world. We can learn a lot from each other. Building on World Health Organization and other evidence-based guidance, this blog will gather and disseminate stories that inform, inspire and hopefully strengthen social connectiveness while we all practice physical distancing.
We invite you to contribute. At present we are looking for stories in the following areas:
May the force be with all of us.
Sabrina, Mike, Steve, Tuuli and Franklin for the Connecting Communities team
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While we grieve for the tremendous loss of lives in so many countries, we can see and feel that the need to connect communities and share learning grows everyday. Please attach your comments and stories to this blog or send them to cccov19@gmail.com or attach them to this blog. We welcome stories in all languages and from all countries. Here are some first examples of stories and links. Send us yours and make this blog useful.