I was visiting one of my friends, when the news first broke. We had just finished watching a movie, when I decided to check the news on my phone. Breaking articles all over the place. The front page being plastered in yellow and lots of exclamation marks. Something was going on.
At the same time I received a text from my girlfriend, asking if we were watching the news.
We turned on the TV and there she was.
Our prime minister.
On air.
Flanked by her ministers and the police chief.
Telling us the corona virus threat is real.
Telling us, that they are shutting down most of the public sector for two weeks, starting from Monday.
Advocating everybody else to work from home where applicable.
To not go to gatherings with more than 100 people.
My friend and I looked at each other.
Shit just got real.
We were dumbfounded. We had joked a bit about the Corona virus earlier, as my workplace had been hit. One guy had visited northern Italy and returned home, only to be tested positive later. The next day, over 30 colleagues were put in preventive quarantine.
Doors that were normally locked due to security, were being left open to minimize the amount of door handles we had to touch.
All in all, my company handled it like serious fucking business. Because that’s what it is.
Going from that, to seeing the entire country being shut down and seeing people stampeding to the supermarket to stock up on toilet paper and yeast. Fucking. Toilet. Paper. If you need 150 rolls toilet paper for two weeks, then you have more serious problems to worry about, than a corona virus.
Today, we received news at work, that we’re going to work from home for the next two weeks. Glad my company is taking it serious. However, it’s going to be two very interesting weeks, seeing how this is going to turn out.
I’m just glad I already have enough toilet paper to last the rest of the week.
This is part of a series of posts I’ve written about the Corona virus and how it have impacted our society. Equal parts news, observations and thoughts. See the rest of the posts here.