So much can change in a week. Last weekend people were flouting the whole social distancing thing and flocking to parks like it was a bank holiday, but on Monday it was like everyone had suddenly thought ‘ok this is serious now’ and just like that isolating became the new norm.
My week has been busy as I’ve got to grips with having all my meetings as phone or video conferences and had to get my head round all the different apps there are for facilitating these. I’d never heard of Zoom before this past week; now I’m wishing I had shares in the company.
So many new words and terms have become part of every conversation – self-isolation; social-distancing; Zoom; Coronavirus; Covid-19; furlough, flatten the curve – has there been any other time in history when language has changed so quickly?
And it’s not just language of course, but a whole new way of life. How many battles have been fought in the workplace to try to convince employers that working flexibly and from home can be done only to hear the same old arguments about why it’s impossible. And yet, almost overnight we find out that it was possible after all. I’ve spoken to several insurance companies, a legal firm, social workers, the local council and care home call centres this week and each time the person I’ve been connected to has been working from home. Yes there have been some dodgy lines and the sounds of a dog barking in the background, but it’s been fine and business has been done. If it’s this good in the first week imagine how good it will be in a month’s time when the few technical difficulties are ironed out.
And politics. The world really has been turned on its head. Just before Christmas the country voted in the most right wing Tory government we’ve ever had. I was seriously worried about how harsh the policies they’d introduce would be and yet a few months down the line and we’re getting policies so socialist Jeremy Corbyn would think they’re too far to the left.
First statutory sick pay was changed so it can be paid from day one of your sick leave instead of only from day four. Ok, it’s still crap at only £94 a week, but at least if you’re off for a week you can get the full £94 now.
Next came furloughing. Workers who cannot carry on with their jobs because they really can’t be done from home can now be furloughed by their employer and the government will pay 80% of their salary. There are still lots of details to be worked out with this and it could be well into April before the system is set up properly, but payments will be backdated to the 1st March.
Then we heard about the self-employed. They can also get payments from the government if they fit certain criteria though in their case it could be June before the payments come through.
Not everyone will fit neatly into the criteria to enable them to access these payments of course, but the vast majority will. A lot of work is being done by the unions to ensure that agency workers, particularly those on zero hours contracts don’t slip between the cracks, and it is all starting to look quite positive.
There’s been one other massive act of socialism too. In the election campaign Labour spoke of re-nationalising the railways and was pilloried in the media and by the Conservatives for this. It would be a disaster for the country and completely unworkable they said. What have they done this week? Only gone and blummin’ nationalised the railways!
Okay, they say it’s a temporary measure and they haven’t done it for the people but rather to save the private companies that own them from going bust, but still THE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT HAS NATIONALISED THE RAILWAYS!!! If there’s one indicator of just how strange these times are this has to be it.
In addition to all the good things, the government has done some not so good things as well of course including giving themselves powers that are a threat to civil liberties. This is something that will need to be watched carefully to make sure they are used wisely and revoked when they are no longer needed. Really though, they had no choice as people just weren’t doing what they were asked to do to in order to stop the spread of the virus.
Cases have risen a lot this week as has the death toll. As there has been a shortage of tests many people with symptoms have gone undiagnosed, so we don’t actually know how many people have had the virus.
When anyone has symptoms that could be Corona they have to completely isolate themselves for 7 days and the people they live with have to isolate for 14 days. This includes many NHS workers who are having to stay at home because they have symptoms, but can’t be tested to check if it is Corona or just a normal winter cold. We’ve been told that we should soon have more tests and these will be rolled out to NHS workers first. However, despite the lack of tests for front line workers, Prince Charles and Camilla managed to get hold of a couple even though he only had mild symptoms (he tested positive) and Camilla had none at all (she tested negative).
A big change this week is that most shops are now closed. Supermarkets are still open but are enforcing social distancing and some are setting aside the first hour of business each day for elderly shoppers or NHS workers.
Factories are switching from making car parts or vacuum cleaners to making ventilators and gin distilleries now use their alcohol supplies to make hand sanitiser.
The change that’s affected me most has been the closing of schools. The vast majority of children now don’t go to school and exams for the year have been cancelled. Most schools have remained open in a very limited capacity for the children of essential workers and those children considered at risk if they are not in school. Schools have been reporting attendance figures of less than ten, with some schools only having two or three pupils in each day. Staff are on a rota taking it in turns to go into school to babysit these children. Yes, we’re not teaching them anymore and the national curriculum has been withdrawn, so those staff in school are just there to babysit and provide activities for the children to do. The staff not in school are working from home doing admin and advance planning and setting activities for the pupils staying at home to do.
At least this is what’s supposed to be happening and for once the government, Department of Education and the unions are in agreement. Of course in some schools this isn’t happening and staff are being expected to replicate the school day both for children in school and those at home. Can you imagine the stress this is causing for those children and their parents? To say nothing of the stress for the teacher trying to write a distance learning course for every lesson and every ability whilst looking after their own children and trying to support them with the lessons their teachers have set for them!
This and the fact that a few schools are having way too many staff in each day has meant I’ve been fielding an awful lot of emails and phone calls. Hopefully this will settle down next week though.
Being busy has meant I’ve barely had time to notice that I’m socially distancing. When I’m not in meetings or visiting schools I work from home anyway, so that’s nothing new to me.
I’m also quite used to entertaining myself so I haven’t felt particularly isolated at all. Dare I say I’ve actually felt quite positive about it all? I understand that it’s a horrible situation with some people not knowing how they’re going to pay their bills and others not knowing if they’ll still have all their family members at the end of it, but at the same time it feels like an opportunity to take stock, focus on what matters and actually have time to get stuff done. I feel like I have time to breathe again.
Of course the anthropologist in me is loving it. We’ve completely changed the way our society functions more or less overnight and have had to learn completely new ways of doing things. Our cultural and social norms have been pulled from beneath us and we’re having to negotiate new ones in order to navigate even the simplest and most mundane tasks. It’s fascinating for me to watch this unfurl and see just how adaptable we are when we need to be.
It’s not just anthropologists who are finding a global pandemic rather riveting. British humour is as its best when it has a difficult situation to make fun of and meme makers throughout the land have faced the challenge head on. My Facebook feed is now full of Covid related cats and dogs memes and I must say I rather like it.
How has your week been? Are you working from home? Trying to home school your kids? Or just spending your time in PJs scrolling though Corona memes? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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