It Ain’t Over ‘til it’s Over
During a chance meeting with Paul last week I mentioned that I was about to start on a new column. "Not about Corona I hope", he thought the subject was getting to be monotonous, tedious and/or stale, depending on how I choose to translate the words he actually used.
Oops!
I hurried home to my archives and was relieved to find that I hadn’t written anything directly or exclusively about Corona since June last year. On the other hand, I must admit that Corona has been either the starting point or background for most things I've written since then and also an inspiration for many cartoons. This column is not only but also a reflection of life in the Netherlands so it could hardly be otherwise. It's not just the illness itself, all the measures, precautions and side effects have a great impact on all aspects of our daily lives. A friend recently remarked that she couldn't remember what we used to talk about before Corona. Well as it happens I can! It was Brexit. Being British and living in The Netherlands discussions about Brexit were frequent, repetitive and unavoidable. To be honest when Covid-19 first arrived I was just pleased to be able to change the subject!
The Corona crisis started here with an 'intelligent lockdown', something between the British 'no need to worry it's not much worse than a regular 'flu' attitude and the strict and complete lockdown some countries went for. It was to last for three weeks. I predicted that it would go on for much longer but that's nothing to boast about, I was thinking in terms of several weeks or maybe a month or two. I don't think anybody thought that the pandemic would still be an ongoing and dominant factor in our lives well over a year later.
Among the thing we have learned is that there are more immunologists, virologists and epidemiologists than we could possibly have imagined. Since the very beginning they have been appearing almost non-stop on current affair programmes and chat shows, some have achieved celebrity status! There was/is plenty to discuss and speculate about: how serious the virus was and how long the crisis would go on for. Later about the best precautions, the best treatments, hospital/intensive care capacity and the impact on society, education, mental health and the economy.
At some point, much later than in other countries, the great face mask debate exploded. A tiny piece of textile became an hot item. The scientists agreed that the protection provided by surgical face coverings wasn’t great compared to other precautions. Some thought ‘why bother with them then’? while an increasing number of people thought ‘every little helps’. Other arguments were more about behaviour: the wearing of masks, some said, would give a signal that the situation needed to be taken (more) seriously. Others, including the government, thought that wearing masks would give people a false sense of security.
Now we wear masks when and where we have too. We've got used to them. Few people complain. I haven't had even a common cold for more than a year but whether that’s due to masks or the other measures like not hugging, kissing and going to parties, it’s hard to tell. We’ll probably never know.
So - let's fast forward, through all the various phases of lockdown, the opening and closing of shops, restaurants and international borders...oh, and some other stuff like royal and political scandals, elections, revolutions, train crashes, earthquakes and genocide. A second, or was it third, Corona wave demanded a new and stricter lockdown. 'Curfew' was the new flavour of the month on the chat shows and in private conversations. The arguments were remarkably similar to the surgical mask debate and, in the end, we had a curfew, we got used to it and few people complained.
Fast forward again.. despite some resistance the restrictions are being slowly eased, the curfew has been lifted and the vaccination programme has started. Discussion revolves around the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, the manufacture and supply of the vaccine, who should be vaccinated first and should there be a vaccination passport? Privately conversations are about who has been vaccinated, which vaccine, when and where – oh - and “Does it hurt”? While people here are worried about their summer holidays and wondering if they should book their package holiday to Ibiza I heard from a friend in Phnom Penh, they are in lockdown after their very first Corona outbreak in February, they've just started! People in India and Brazil are dying in their millions!
Tedious Paul, yes, monotonous, yes that too, but unfortunately Covid is not yet stale news. This show still has a long way to run..
I’m not quite sure why but this news item last week cheered me up:
I heard that the Union des Oenologues de France, the Union of French wine tasters, are lobbying for priority status in the French vaccination campaign...
