COVID-19

Today was my niece’s birthday. She was born on May 13, 2020 and now she is 20 years old! It was a wonderful birthday and all family and friends were together and we were talking and remembering the year (2020) when Neola was born.

Then I told her it was the worst year ever in our life except you born in this year. Then she asked me, “Why?” I answered her that there was a global pandemic. This pandemic was called Covid-19 and it started spreading from China to other countries very fast. That's why we were in mandatory quarantine and it changed our daily life.

She asked me again, “How?” I told her that all cities were on lockdown and quarantined. That means we couldn't go outside and we had to stay home to be safe and to stop spreading this virus. We couldn't visit our family (cousins, uncles, friends, aunts) because it was dangerous, especially for older people. For example, we couldn't visit your grandmother for a while. All schools, universities and colleges were closed. It was a really hard time for kids because they had nothing to do. So, after that the government started to help students at home and we started to study online. Also, all workplaces, companies were closed and employees were working at home. It was a tough time for the whole world.

Neola was surprised and she asked me, “What else?” I told her that the churches were closed so we listened to the Mass on social media. For shopping, if you wanted to go to a grocery store or any supermarket to get any stuff, you had to stand in a long line and wait for a long time - more than an hour - to go in. That was unusual and you had to wear masks and gloves. You had to be careful not to touch anyone and maintain social distance between people - 2 meters. You would see a shield in front of the cashier when you pay. It was a big challenge for everybody but we had to cope with this situation.

Neola said, “OMG, I can't imagine life like that. I really feel bad for you guys!” Then she asked me if we could travel to different countries. I told her that the borders were closed between countries and all flights were cancelled and if someone was traveling and came back, he had to do self-isolation for 14 days to make sure he doesn't spread this virus.

Also, I gave her a good example. I told her that when you were born it was not allowed to visit your mom in the hospital or see you. It was really dangerous for both of you. It was a hard time for doctors and nurses and they did a great job at the hospitals. They recommended to use hand sanitizers and avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.

Neola asked me, “What about beauty salons?” I started laughing at this point. I told her that people were very upset because all beauty, nail and hair salons were closed and everyone tried to do that by themselves.

All doctors’ appointments were done by phone. Just for important health problems you could visit doctors. It was a tough time for everybody, so many people got depression, anxiety and panic attacks because they wanted their daily routine back. In short, my beautiful niece, this virus changed our daily life. It was a new thing that had never happened before, but we coped with this situation. We believed in our God and that these days would pass and that's what happened now and we are together to celebrate your birthday.

Neola said, “Thanks, auntie, for telling me this interesting story now. At least, now I can understand and imagine how life was in 2020 in the times of Covid-19”.