It is 08.00 am on Friday 2 October 2020, the thirty-first day of back to school.
The cheery thing to report
Hey! we have at least remained asymptomatic for our first month of accepting being exposed to the new Covid related school risks – celebrated only by a quiet, deep, sigh of relief from mum and dad. Our monthly summit meeting has produced a new agreement to further tighten our own home anti-Covid procedures in readiness for a renewed viral assault from a local school outbreak and / or from the anticipated national second wave about to wash over us all.
The not-so-cheery thing to report
Mum and dad are into their second week of a self-declared quarantine (*).
(*) we don’t like the word quarantine, it’s too explicit and too emotionally distressing; we now refer to the concept in neutral terms, as an EPA (Extreme Protection Alert)
And meanwhile
Our anti-Covid behaviour outside: We are only in charge of making sure we fully comply at all times with all anti-Covid procedures: wear our masks correctly (snug fit and covering our nose and mouth); make sure they are fit for purpose (clean and anti-viral filtration compliant); maintain a minimum two meters social distance (particularly when others do not even try to); stay away from all unsafe places, procedures and events; and, above all, minimise all non-essential human to human physical interactions.
Our anti-Covid behaviour at home: we spoke in issue 4 about building a new line of defence in the event of the virus getting into the house. We are now basing the elements of this new line of defence on the assumption that Covid will inevitably make it into our house, however hard we may try our best to stop it. The school scenario, in the face of the current big increases in new Covid cases, is tailormade to create new hotspots.
The mum and dad plan for constructing our final line of ‘at home’ defence reflects the best advice we can get (from my on-tap friend and medic), from our own researches, from changing our own behaviours, and yes, from our personal opinions and preferences, consists of, so far:
In addition, we are testing a ten day course of Echinacea extract (confirmed to have upper respiratory anti-viral properties and to reduce the recovery time from colds) in order to confirm our compatibility with the product and to then have it on standby as an addition to the salt water regime if justified by symptoms.
Our brain function, as measured by a focus on the tasks we must deliver on to keep everything ticking over, is still far from perfect and we are now into coping mechanisms, like making daily lists so that we can’t forget, unless of course, we forget to keep it up-to-date or lose it entirely. Generally, we are pleased that our anti-Covid procedures do not overwhelm us but they really are tedious and time consuming. We have to work hard to stay upbeat, protect our good humour and enjoy the little gems of ‘joie de vivre’ that occasionally pop up, despite Covid’s best efforts to squash everything that is joyful to humans.
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.
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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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