Tag: Self Isolation During Covid-19

‘Covid-19 Is The Time To Give Back To Our Community’

By LokMarg

Konpal Mishra, 28, an e-commerce manager in Mississauga, Canada, says she was supported by Indian community to settle down in a foreign country. It is payback time for her now.

I too was once an immigrant in this country (Canada). I know how overwhelming it can be for anyone landing in a foreign land and settle down! When I first moved to Mississauga, I found help and support from my friends and colleagues who made sure that I settled well. They had helped me set my house, even let me borrow their belongings

So, when I was approached by a female friend for help in her moving to Canada, I decided it was payback time. The current Covid-19 crisis has made the process more complex and demanding. But this time has also taught us to stand together as a community and help each other.

While moving to a new country, a person does a lot of planning to look for a suitable accommodation, essential supplies, paperwork etc but shifting in the time of a pandemic can require additional care and support.

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My friend told me that due to Covid-19, it was mandatory for the newcomers to show the authorities a proof of pre-booked, non-sharing space to go through two-week isolation. Along with that one had to also share a detailed plan ensuring regular supply of groceries and medicines during these times.

The bread and breakfast inns are the most affordable option in the beginning for any new immigrant. However, due to the pre-requisite quarantine norm, they have been reluctant in renting their spaces for self-isolation.

My first job was to look for suitable options for my friend’s prospective accommodation. I learnt that many landlords were taking advantage of the pandemic and resorting to irresponsible overcharging, even imposing inconvenient conditions on the people looking for spaces to quarantine. I decided to personally visit each accommodation that was on the table.

Travelling from Mississauga to Toronto daily can be exhausting. For two weeks, I drove every day to look for houses. It was very important for me to find the right house for my friends because if the landlord does not turn out to be a good host, it would only add to the inconvenience during self-isolation.

ALSO READ: ‘I Moved To Another Country Amid Covid-19’

Fortunately, the house we finalised had a humble landlord who was happy to issue a letter of accommodation for the authorities. He also allowed me to stock groceries and other supplies in the apartment even before my friend could move in.

Next was shopping for medicines, groceries and other essentials for our new guest. A few visits to the supermarket saw this through. Everything fell in place in the nick of time and I felt relieved that my friend will not have to go through any hardship during her self-isolation period.

Many asked me why I went out of the way to help a friend, and the only answer I had was that it could have been me in her place. It is the spirit of giving back to the community that motivated me to help a friend in the Covid-19 pandemic. As a community, we all have a collective responsibility to step up and extend support to all those in need.

Get Ready For ‘New Normal’ In Post-Corona Times

By Sanjoy Narayan

Wherever you are in this recently-turned-surreal world, you’re either locked down at home; or self-isolated with minimal social contact; or, in the worst case, quarantined somewhere. In India, the entire population has been locked down now since March 24, and people’s movement has been severely restricted. The lucky ones have work that they can do from home; the less fortunate are seeing their incomes dwindle. Elsewhere in the world, such as in Finland where I temporarily reside, the population is so sparse that voluntary self-isolation and social distancing are thought to be enough to curb the spread of the deadly Covid virus that has held the world in suspended animation.

But no matter where you are, the weeks of isolation have probably begun to take their toll and affect your life in more ways than you could have imagined. For those eking out a living at the margins of the economy such as daily wage earners, casual workers, or those employed in the informal sectors (in India that means more than 80% of the workforce), the lockdown is like a devastating blow to their lives, a blow from which they could take months, if not years, to recover. For others, it has changed their lives in lesser but still significant ways.

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Some symptoms of those changes are palpable. When liquor sales were allowed in several Indian locked-down states, queues, some of them albeit socially-distanced, snaked outside liquor shops, and, in some places, stretched for several kilometres. Alcohol-deprived, locked-down denizens just wanted to stock up on booze, which to many is a convenient aid to escape the monotony and depression that sets in when movement is restricted, economic fortunes seem uncertain, and fear and anxiety looms large. The queues outside alcohol shops were probably longer than those outside stores that sold essentials such as food during the lockdown.

Several state governments, which get to set their own excise duties on liquor, raised the rate of taxation, some by as much as 70%, trying to maximise the revenues that can earn in an economy that has sputtered to a halt. These high prices for booze are unlikely to decline even after the Corona virus scare has ended (and no one still knows when that could happen).  

Alcohol consumption could be on the rise during the lockdown but there are less visible changes that are already affecting people’s lives. Staying indoors, often with children and other members of the family, 24X7 for weeks on end can take its toll psychologically. Even in a developed country such as Finland, police admit to getting increased number of complaints of domestic abuse and violence towards women and children. In India, data is as yet unavailable for that sort of behavioural changes but with entire families cooped up in (often) cramped homes; strapped for cash; or for even food and other daily necessities, it could be like ticking time-bombs.

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With much of the privileged world shifting to school education online during this period, many parents feel the pressure to cope with enforcing discipline on their children to adhere to the new norms of lessons via the internet—not an easy task, particularly when their children are very young and unaccustomed to the process. According to a few family therapists, in many cases, this could lead to abnormal tensions within families and affect family members adversely. Coupled with their own predicament—job cuts; reduced earnings; and the uncertainties about the future—such pressures, not inconceivably, this could lead to serious long-term psychological effects on people and even lead to familial fragmentation.

No one knows yet when the threat of the pandemic will ebb but psychologists and trend forecasters are already talking about a new way of living that may emerge. In many countries, notably in Europe, restrictions are being slowly relaxed. In Finland, restaurants will be allowed to operate in a limited manner (no more than 50 diners at a time) from June1. Schools are being opened for 11 working days from May 14, ostensibly to gauge whether the virus spreads further or not. In India, in some cities, people are being allowed to move around between 7 am and 7 pm in a sort of curfew relaxation. And standalone stores in many cities are now operating normally. Yet, as the threat of the virus refuses to die down, people have grown cautious about social mingling or being out and about in places where there are others.

These are trends that could come to stay. Many business models that are pinned on attracting volumes or numbers of people to make them viable—such as big restaurants; sports events; shopping malls; and so on—could be hit for a long time as customers and consumers decide to err on the side of caution even after the restrictions are gone. In some Chinese cities, after movie theatres were opened partially, they had to be shut down again not because of the renewed spread of the virus but because people just didn’t want to go and watch movies with others as they normally would have.

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The flipside of the pandemic-led paralysis of society could be in the form of innovations. Artists and musicians have already begun online virtual concerts on platforms such as YouTube with a pay as you please business model. Restaurants are cutting their overheads and focussing more on home deliveries of their fare as customer feel more comfortable and secure eating at home rather than visiting public places. Air travel is likely to change forever as business and leisure travel shrinks and people and businesses use the Internet to get work done. For many businesses that could lead to substantial reductions in cost.

Many may believe that these will only be a short-term impact of the pandemic. But perhaps not. The after-effects of the pandemic could be longer lasting. The ongoing crisis that the world is experiencing could upend many of the ways in which we live, communicate, and consume. The new normal after the Corona scare is over (whenever that is) would be very different from what we have been used to till now. It could be a not-so-brave new world.

‘You Must Hold Your Nerve During Home Quarantine’

By LokMarg

Pooja Barthakur, 36, an HR professional, had little clue her foreign sojourn will end up with home quarantine. Yet, she is happy to have escaped Covid-19

Thank God, my doctor husband (a radiologist and practicing psychiatrist) and I didn’t contract coronavirus, despite travelling to foreign countries during the thick of Coronavirus scare. But let me start from the beginning.

We left India on February 27 for a tourist trip to three European countries, namely Croatia, Hungary and Austria. Little did we know then what was in store for us. This trip was planned long ago and we weren’t in a position to cancel it. Moreover, since no travel advisories were in place, we didn’t know the scale of the pandemic spread.

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Our flight was via Qatar and we saw no additional checks in place at all. I spent nearly a week in Zagreb (Croatia) and enjoyed the tourist attractions but saw no signs of the authorities enforcing social distancing or any other precaution. Thankfully, we had chosen to stay at an Airbnb in all the places we travelled to, with very less people around. In hindsight, probably, our travel lifestyle saved our lives.

Pooja Barthakur

We travelled next to Hungary and found no precautionary enforcements in place. We all consider Europeans to be more woke and aware when it came to health issues or infections, so we too were at ease. Only people who had travelled from China or Italy were being questioned about their travel and medical histories. The rest of us were free. No one wore a mask, nobody followed distancing.

It was only when we reached Vienna (Austria) on March 11, the worrying signs begun to rise. On the 3rd day of our trip, we started feeling shaky. Austria had reported 900 cases on March 14. My husband advised not to panic. I de-stressed myself by cooking.

ALSO READ: How Tiny Finland Is Fighting Corona

On March 15, when we reached Vienna airport, the city had erected strict check points. However, there were no checks at all at the airport, the place where there should have been the most stringent checks. The Air India flight we boarded was half-full and I was very, very surprised to see just how aware and empathetic the crew were. They gave us multiple forms to fill, which required our travel and medical histories.

In a matter of 7.5 hours of travel, our world had turned upside down. At New Delhi airport, the process was smooth. There were doctors and support staff asking us the right questions, checking out temperatures etc. The airport was crowded though, just what it shouldn’t have been.

At Kochi airport, we were again thoroughly checked. We were advised to go on home-quarantine, which we dutifully did. Since we live in the medical campus, there were enough support. The local police checked twice whether we were following the rules of home-quarantine or not. Before leaving for Europe we had stocked our pantry well and lived easily for a few days. Then we restocked. The most important lesson I learnt in this period was the importance of calmness. I have been calm ever since I realized we hadn’t contracted the virus.

ALSO READ: ‘Locked Inside, We Are Going Nuts’

As I saw scores of migrant labourers panicking, I wished I could soothe them. Fear is a bigger killer than coronavirus. I have been calming people who reach out to me and I would request people to not give in to fake news or quackery. There’s no treatment available for coronavirus, but we can definitely keep ourselves through social distancing and keeping calm.