TEN THINGS I HAVE (RE)LEARNT DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Hello hi,

It’s been just over 2 weeks since my last blog post here and the word has changed enormously between then and now. I remember making a joke about the priests potentially greeting the congregation members using fist-bumps by the next Sunday. Sadly, large gatherings including church services were cancelled so I have not been able to go to church since then. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus (COVID19) a pandemic, therefore I hope that everyone is being alert and do their best to stay safe. While things seem to be getting better with the virus issue in some countries such as South Korea and even China, the situation is horrific in countries like Italy and Spain. I have been trying to keep up with the numerous emails and news of the virus situation, as I am sure many of you are.

Presently, I am self-isolating and practising social distancing, therefore I have not been able to go into the office, so I am forced to work from home (or at least try to work). Social distancing means not having visitors including neighbours, staying away from crowds (currently more than 1 person), staying 6 feet or 2 meters away from the next person, and also avoiding dates (yes, you read correctly). In my last video, I talked about dating during this period; if you have not watched it, you can watch them on my Instagram (@UgochiUkah) here: part 1 and part 2, or the full video is on my Youtube channel here , if the video below does not play.

During this period of self-isolation, I have made several observations about myself and others, and I have learnt some things that I did not know of, or did not realise how impactful they were. Of course, I already knew certain things such as how working at home is annoying (for me at least), but this period made me realise how unproductive it can really be, unless I take drastic measures. However, there were a few other things I had not really paid attention to or realised. Therefore, in this post I will be sharing 10 things I have learnt so far or been reminded of, during the coronavirus pandemic.

10 THINGS I HAVE (RE)LEARNT DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

1. I have always been a hermit: Okay, maybe not literally but for almost all of my adulthood I have lived by myself, away from my family and friends. This has been due to my academic background, having me move from one country to another, even before I turned 18 years old. I also attribute this solitary behaviour to my preference of staying at home except when necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I still know how to “turn up” or socialize if I have to but if I don’t, you’d find me indoors probably on a phone call with my family or close friends. Therefore, when we were asked to self-isolate ourselves, nothing felt different for me (except the working at home part). As a matter of fact, I almost found it funny how people seemed so worried about being at home. Hello? Welcome to my life!

2. Some professions are invaluable: It’s no surprise that medical doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are very important people in the society. Kudos to them and all the healthcare workers that have been put in the frontline to attend to patients during this period. Apart from these professions, I’m happy to see other professions that have been in the dark (or appear so) being recognised now e.g. farmers, grocery workers, airline staff, postage and delivery guys, IT folks, scientists and researchers, including epidemiologists and public health fellows. I can’t tell you how all of a sudden people have started asking me questions about health and the coronavirus J While I would like to help you, I can’t do so unfortunately, because my area is not in infectious diseases. However, you can stay well-informed about the virus through WHO or your national health ministry websites.

3. Good people truly exist: In a world where we sometimes experience disappointment from people including ‘friends’, we often find ourselves doubting whether good people exist. However, I have heard so many wonderful stories during this period, including young people helping to do grocery shopping for the elderly, stores creating specific shopping times for the elderly too, people volunteering to stop the spread of the virus including some healthcare workers coming out of retirement, and several donations have been made to feed people and combat this pandemic. I am really inspired by all of these and grateful for the efforts put in place. We too can be good people by checking up on our family, friends, colleagues, and older people using technology. Another way that we can be good is by not getting in the way of these workers, therefore please stay at home unless necessary (I’ll tell you when necessary later in this post).

4. A lot of people have misplaced priorities: It’s surprising and annoying how some people are not taking this pandemic serious despite the current global news. Some people are still partying, going for award shows, and even tweeting fake or irrelevant information about the virus. Suddenly, people are making disease burden comparisons with regular influenza (flu), malaria, or HIV. While these other sicknesses are important, they are not global pandemics at the moment and comparing crude numbers of death (rather than incident mortality rate per infected person) is not helpful in encouraging people to take precautions. What is even more annoying is that many of these people are not real advocates for anything; a lot of them have never advocated for the prevention of malaria or HIV before now, so why distract or discourage people from being alert about the coronavirus? If you don’t have anything useful to say, just stay at home quietly, Please!

5. Anything can be politicised: Speaking of priorities, it is quite a shame to watch how some politicians have used the endemic as a selfish weapon. While some leaders are fighting hard to keep their people safe, others are more interested in the economy, stock markets, waiting for their children to return from abroad before they shut down the borders etc. I hope this would serve as a lesson for all to vote “right” in future elections.

6. Travelling is a privilege: When my department first imposed a travel ban, I was upset because I had lots of exciting trips and conferences that I was looking forward to. So you can imagine my grudge when I had to cancel reserved and unreserved trips (5 and counting), when all I had in mind this year was to travel around the world. I grumbled bitterly until my mother had to remind me that life and health were more important. And yes, I also probably had my priorities wrong (just like those people hoarding toilet paper, lol) but at the time when this first happened, the virus was still at the beginning phase (except for China) and not yet a pandemic – so don’t judge me. Nonetheless, I have had to re-evaluate my needs and wants during this period and now, I am more aware of how privileged and blessed I have been. I am really thankful for all the times I got to travel and hopefully for my travels in the future.

7. I have movie commitment issues: Having access to Netflix, you would think that I would have finished watching all the movies online. However, this is not the case for me, because I find myself starting to watch a movie and stopping halfway. They are either too long, too boring, too serious, or too predictable/cliché for me, or sometimes I don’t even remember that I started watching a movie until Netflix reminds me. This probably explains why I only go to the movie theatre on average once a year and usually end up watching movies on the plane.

8. I really like the church: I’m a regular Sunday church goer; the only time I don’t go to church is when I travel and/or I can’t find a church in the new place. However, I don’t think that I really paid attention to how much it had become a part of my life and that I enjoy it, until these past 2 weeks where we have had to stay at home. I still try to follow the service online for now, hoping that thing will get better.

9. Connection and communication are key: In this period, it is important to stay in touch with loved ones and communicate remotely. This is essential for good mental health and can also serve as a motivation for other things such as exercising and staying fit. I have regular check-in buddies for exercise, work plan, spiritual check-in etc. Sometimes with isolation, you can either find your passion or fall into depression. So make sure that you have a way to stay in touch, not only with the news but also with others.

10. Finally, family is everything: If you don’t know that by now, you better give your family members a call and check up on them.

So those are my 10 lessons so far from this pandemic. Before I sign off, I would like you to place your hand on your chest and say these words:

“I will stay at home unless I have to:

·       Visit the doctor or

·       Buy groceries or food to eat (and not to hoard) or

·       Take a walk* for physical activity purposes (not to smoke). If I take a walk, I will walk alone - just me, myself, and I, except for with household members.^±

So help me God. Amen.”

*Please check with your place of residence if you are allowed to take walks.

^±Please note that ‘household members’ means people living in the same house/apartment with you, and not neighbours or people living in your apartment building.

Thank you for reading my post and please share. Don’t forget to keep visiting my blog and follow my Instagram page @lavivsblog and twitter @vivio_gogo for more updates (my main Instagram page is @ugochiukah). Until next time, please stay safe and stay indoors. Have a great week and God bless. Xoxo.