The Corona Virus is here, COVID-19 they call it. Some say, it’s ok, it’s no worse than flu. Some die. From the people who have claimed to have had it and recovered they have not described it like flu. We do NOT have COVID-19 we are self isolating due to underlying conditions and being a family at risk.
March 17th 2020
I got up this morning actually feeling a little better than I have lately. I slept well (apart from my son’s coughing and husband’s snoring.) Last night I had no painful spasms or gruesome toilet trips like the night before.
We were all up about 8am apart from Boo who had a lie-in until 9am. Eldest daughter had already left for work. It’s early days yet, I’m sure we’ll stop treating this like a holiday and start working out some sort of routine to keep us sane and to keep the kids educated. It may be a long time before we escape from here.
In fact, for me it’s more like day 16 of isolation, because the only place I’ve been to in the last few weeks is the GP. There she told me I had a virus and to take paracetamol, lots of water and rest. This was before the pandemic. But, it was just a virus because I’ve not got any worse, and apart from losing my voice I’m feeling quite a bit better. I don’t have a temperature, or cough anymore.
Why are We Self Isolating?
Last Friday Star was unwell with a temperature and cold symptoms so she didn’t go to school. At the time the scare of COVID-19 in the UK was only just beginning, and I knew she only had a cold. Over the weekend she passed her germs on to her siblings, like you do, and they all had snotty noses, sneezes etc. on Monday so I decided to keep them all off school. At this point the recommendation was to self isolate those with certain conditions but carry on as normal for others. Even if a child had Corona Virus symptoms it was still okay to send their siblings to school.
I talked to the girl’s school on Monday afternoon and they were really understanding. I have an auto-immune and neurological condition, I am considered at risk. The school agreed that the girl’s shouldn’t be mixing with other children in case they passed on the virus to me. So, we agreed to self isolate. By the end of the day we realised that three family members were actually compromised and could be in serious trouble if they contracted the virus. I’m glad I chose not to send them to school, thanks snotty noses.
COVID-19 In My City
I currently live in Birmingham with a population of just over a million people. So far, only 15 have the virus. I don’t know these people, I don’t know where they are, we could have had contact with them, but statistically it’s unlikely. I expect it will spread quite quickly, the numbers seem to jump incredibly fast with this virus.
Life is already so very different. Suddenly the constant news casts about Brexit seem a little tame to the world wide spread of a killer virus.
People are reacting differently. Some with fear, some with a blase attitude. Some have been downright angry. The shops have been emptied of toilet rolls, pasta and hand sanitizer. Other things going missing are nappies, baby milk and wipes. People are fighting in the shopping aisles and being rude to the staff. So I hear, I can say for certain as I’ve not been anywhere. I hope this kind of behaviour isn’t happening in front of our children. What sort of example is that setting them?
A wise Dr from Toronto, Dr. Abdu Sharkawy, said ” Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. These are the words I intend to live by over the coming weeks, or even months.
Early Days
These are unprecedented times and I have decided to record our journey here because, why not? I may even make it a linky so everyone can link up and share their stories of how COVID-19 is affecting their lives.
I guess with so many people eventually being stuck at home, whether to avoid the virus, or to recover from it, I’m sure there will be plenty of stories to tell.
The Girl’s school have already started arranging work for them to do online and if the schools close they will be asked to log in each day. I’m not sure if the Little Man’s school will do the same, I did try to speak to them today but they seemed rather busy.
COVID-19 Link Up
Have you written about COVID-19? Would you like to share your story? I know I’m interested in everyone’s views on this pandemic and how they are coping.
Self isolating really is the sensible thing to do for your family. I did think about it with my girls and their dodgy hearts but there is only a couple of cases in the whole of our county and I want to keep the routine going as long as possible.
My youngest girls school today said anyone with a cough or a temp will be sent home and not surprisingly about 10 kids out of Ellie’s class were sent home, all with “terrible” coughs and told to stay at home until after the Easter holidays. Little so and so’s.
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Yes, there were 25 kids sent home with coughs from my girls school. I really can’t risk catching this virus, so I need to keep my family from catching it too. It’s not going to be easy in a big city, but we will do our best. x
I self-isolated before my state made it mandatory as well. On a positive note, I love how stay at home orders are bringing out the creativity in people. I have watched so many funny Disneyland ride recreations and can’t get enough of the toilet paper shortage memes.