We gave Covid 19 the keys to our house 276 days ago, how are things going?

It is 08.00 am on Friday 4^th June 2021, two hundred and seventy-six days from the start of the 2020 – 2021 school year.

Week five into our ‘new horizons’ programme

This has been largely a week of consolidating our gains, easing the foot off the pedal a bit in order to catch our breath, and tightening up on our weekly timetable so that it has a less randomly chaotic feel about it. Being flexible is OK in principle, but messes about with the amount of productive time we have to carve out somehow from each available day!

Three, two, one, off we go!

Remember the good old days, BC? No, not that old BC, the new BC, Before Covid – we’re talking about the new good old days, before December 2019, when the world order collapsed.

Going on your annual holiday BC was easy-peasy. You booked, you packed, you took off – done! Now, it is a nerve-wracking experience, we have an expensive lottery:

• For starters, if you are living in the EU, as we are, you must have a verified EU Vaccination Passport in order to leave the country, and our Child must have had a negative PCR test within 3 days of planned departure
• Managing your travel risks? This is the biggie. We are the innocent consumers, frustrated and desperate to re-engage with family at the first glimpse of an opportunity. We are about to use an airline, desperate to kick start its business and recoup some monies at last. How many Covid corners will be cut in the process? How many airports will provide real Covid safe environments for transit? How to cover your risks associated with jumping in at the deep end of a high stakes, politically driven, international lottery travel game? There is a lot can go wrong, and very quickly:
• the rules on travel can change overnight (green to amber to red? – spin the wheel)
• the quarantine rules can change overnight
• the scheduled flights can be cancelled last moment
• the loss of a connecting flight can leave you high and dry in an airport with nowhere to go
• AND, we need a travel insurance policy that covers all the costs incurred from any SARS-CoV2 related problems:
  • how can we trust the small print in any insurance policy, particularly when they will no doubt make sure the wording is deliberately not standardised and will be open to different interpretations?
  • what is the burden of proof that we have to produce to satisfy an insurer to pay out on a claim?
  • if the child’s PCR test turns out positive 3 days before the flight, is that our bad luck or can we definitely claim back all our travel costs?

So, where do we go from here?

Other than to stay local and chase down whatever nice places we can find that will actually relax us, uplifts, makes us feel normal and human again? At the moment, it is just yet something else to tease and annoy us in our sleepless night-time moments.

Our ‘new horizons’ programme With this week’s pause, there is no new progress to report

By John Saunders

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World Health Communication Associates (WHCA) & INSPIRIT Creatives UG NGO,
MediaWise and MediaFocusUK

Strengthening connections
while keeping distance

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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.

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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.