CoronaVirus Covid-19 Has Arrived
Small Town
I live in a small town (some would call it a village) in Northern Ireland, with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. We sort of thought we were a bit distant from all the CoronaVirus hooha but suddenly, it has arrived.
Cancelled Meetings
The first news came at about 2pm today, when a message cancelling a regular children's club (Brownies and Rainbows) was sent out, saying that someone had come down with a serious infectious illness and they had been a regular visitor to the Church Hall where these clubs are held.
Rumour
Of course, the rumour mill immediately swung into action, with suspicions it was Coronavirus and this was confirmed a short while later, without mentioning the person's name.
Not Immune
Of course, small rural villages are not immune to illnesses in the wider world. Our inhabitants go on holidays or have relatives and friends who go away.
Panic Buying
We needed some doggy poo bags this afternoon, for our current canine guest but the local supermarket was packed with people buying (it's not normally full) and there were no dog waste bags, nor bread of the kind we normally eat. Luckily, there was another shop that had dog waste bags available. I think we are going to have to change the brand of bread we eat!
What Next?
The UK is at level 2 of the Risk strategy. Level 1 was containment. Well that was a flop!
Level 2 is delay, so don't let everyone get it at once, spread it out. That's where we are now.
The Republic of Ireland has closed all schools but there is no word on that here. Large social gatherings may also be stopped. The local social gatherings for kids and adults are being cancelled by the people who run them, so Brownies, Men's Saturday Kids club, Crafting club, etc.
Should We Panic?
No, of course not. But we will now all be looking out to see if we get the symptoms. We don't know whether we know the person who has got covid-19, so we don't know if we have been near them. People apparently have the virus for 5 days before showing symptoms, so that was 5 days the person could have been passing on the virus around the town, unknowingly.
Wait And See
It's a wait and see game now. Nothing else we can do, apart from wash our hands.
Image Credit » https://pixabay.com/illustrations/covid-19-coronavirus-4908692/
Comments
VinceSummers wrote on March 13, 2020, 8:23 AM
Wow. Some (as you know) were thinking the initial concern over this illness was way over-hyped. But as you and I have come to recognize (if we didn't at first), this event is of real concern. Let's all stay in our homes and watch the old TV show: Lockup!
MegL wrote on March 13, 2020, 9:20 AM
LOL. Covid-19 is most serious for the over 60s. We are both in that region. But we need to prepare, not panic.
1VinceSummers wrote on March 14, 2020, 7:18 AM
My son heard there is now a lone possible case in Charlottesville, Virginia. Under observation.
MegL wrote on March 14, 2020, 11:37 AM
Oh dear. As soon as there was a lone case in our town, people started panic buying. Today, all the milk had disappeared! It needs to be prep not panic.
melody23 wrote on March 16, 2020, 4:54 PM
There has been very little in our supermarkets for weeks, no toilet roll, no soap, no fresh meat its getting worse
MegL wrote on March 16, 2020, 7:28 PM
Yes, ridiculous. I was prepping last year for Brexit. So I had a fair amount of stuff already but that was buying a few bits at a time to build up a small store of things we actually use, not clog the house with huge amounts of stuff that may not be used. When you prep, you are not removing other people's ability to buy stuff, you're actually helping because then you can do without if there is a shortage.
Colibry21 wrote on May 4, 2020, 8:04 AM
There have been quite a few cases since it all started. Hope you are able to stay safe.
MegL wrote on May 4, 2020, 10:46 AM
Yes, thanks, since this was written the UK has entered lockdown - that's a strange time, never imagined anything like this! So far, we are fine. I know a few people totally self isolating but we are not that worried. I go out to the local shops. My husband mostly stays home, which is better because he gets irritated with people walking out into the middle of the road to avoid passing.