It's a glorious sunny day in Sydney, not just warm
but actually hot, with a breeze. When I hang the washed sheets out, they seem
to dry before I turn around. (Just as well, for reasons I'll explain in
a later post.)
I haven't settled into a routine, exactly. I do the
same things each day: cook, wash, tidy, read, catch up with email, check the
news, do a bit of exercise. The last two days I went out walking in the
daylight, to generate some Vitamin D and stretch the legs. Tried to pick times
when no-one would be on foot in my suburb, but misjudged that - met young women
walking dogs, tradesmen repairing houses, and kids coming home from school. So
I have been learning the new social skill of swerving 2 metres away from other
people without seeming to insult them. The Corona Shuffle.
On my daughter's advice, I have stuck bright yellow
Post-It notes up at various points around the house, rather authoritarian in
tone, to remind me of quarantine rules: WASH HANDS WELL; DON'T TOUCH FACE; GLOVES
IN KITCHEN. Good idea: memory lapses are to be expected as I get older. Though
I forget exactly why.
The news has been full of governments announcing
emergency measures, generally too little, too late. Closing borders well after
the virus is established in a given country is particularly futile - as WHO has
been politely saying. But it feeds the racist-nationalist narrative that so
many regimes now rely on. Any problem, blame it on Foreigners. Trump's tweeting
about the "Chinese virus" is particularly offensive (and biologically
stupid), but it's far from unique.
The news has been showing scenes of empty
supermarket shelves as people seize supplies for themselves to hoard. Well,
it's the capitalist way: behold the deregulated Free Market in operation! (I'm
hoarding yellow Post-It notes, expect to make a market killing some day.)
But with that all that nastiness floating around,
and much legitimate fear, it's good to record positives. As well as family,
I've had offers from at least ten neighbours, friends and colleagues to bring
food and other needs for me while I'm in isolation. Thank you, every one! It's
good for my spirit, as well as my health.
And that's not unique, either. Australian university
managements have not covered themselves in glory with this epidemic. Their
responses have been inconsistent, and many have been slow to act, especially to
support casualized and outsourced workers in precarious jobs. But there has
been strength within the workforce. I'd like to quote a message from Kurt
Iveson, the president of the Sydney University branch of our National Tertiary
Education Union, who says about his meetings with workers in different parts of
the university:
I’m absolutely in awe of the kind of support that
members are providing one another to get through the crazy events we’re now
living through. That support and solidarity is even more precious in times like
this.
