Day 7 of lockdown

We survived this week without any major dramas at home. Self-isolation is not as easy as it sounded. When I first heard it, I was slightly excited. Simply because I thought it meant that I get to work from home and work less. What a rude awakening - there is actually more work to be done. Colleagues are working overtime in order to get up to date with what's happening globally.

In my case though, I will be on medical leave next week so that my face can recover. The neurologist said that stress can impede the normal function of the immune system and recommended I take the week off.

Other updates for now - people can still get out to buy food, see a doctor, buy fuel, exercise, upon condition that they fill out a government issued form (it is simple to complete). Else, we face a 135 euro fine. The house is cleaner than I thought, maybe because we clean in between tasks. The kids got their new double bed, so goods are still moving in between states. Toilet paper and other food essentials are available at shops. In fact, there aren't too many people on the road or the shops, people in general are using their common sense nowadays to prevent the virus from spreading.

Now - courage to all parents out there, let's go now into week 2 of lockdown..

COVID-19

So the Coronavirus just hit Europe in the past few weeks, it originated from Wuhan in China. We are now in Day 2 of the official lockdown in France. President Macron announced last week that schools are closing this week, until further notice. Antoine and I are working from home. Luckily we have a little garden where the kids can go out and play. Antoine bought supplies that would sustain us for 2 weeks. Seeing that made me panic inside. And all the toilet paper at Carrefour are gone. People panic buying.

In Switzerland, it is under the State of Necessity/Emergency this week. Same thing - all borders closed. All restaurants and cafes closed. People are asked to enforce 'social distancing'. Large gatherings are not permitted. Travel within Europe and between Europe and the US are banned.

Older people especially are at risk and asked to stay home.

On my side, sadly half of my face is paralysed. The Doctor said that it could be triggered by stress. So I am now taking steroids (again) to calm the nerves. This is the third time this happened to me.. eugh.. hoping it goes back to normal in the coming weeks.

On the positive side: there is less pollution in the air, less planes flying, less cars travelling... more people exercising and actually communicating with each other.. Families get closer together...