Sunday, March 22, 2020

2020 Pandemic - 1

It's 2020. Today we stayed in. Everything is closed. Shops, restaurants, malls, salons, school, colleges. The city and country may shut down anyday. Tomorrow is a single day Junta Curfew. 

Yesterday we got some basic groceries, making sure not to take more than 2 packets of anything to avoid hoarding. The Dal packets and butter and many such things were finished. But well, essentials are covered. We have a weeks supply of vegetables. We saw some people buying 50 packets of vim. Enough for a year, two years? The hoarding has begun and begun affecting people even as the government and shop keepers alike say that there is enough. 

Today our son got his report card online. He did very well and thus asked for a new toy. We promised one, after the Corona Virus saga ends. And the countdown begins.

Today we sanitized money. We already sanitize ourselves, mobiles, wash milk bags.

People suggest sanitizing dustbins, all furniture surfaces. Door knobs of course. Clothes and shoes worn outside need to be removed and separated immediately. People don't shake hands. If you sneeze, people glare instead exclaiming "bless you". 

A few days earlier, an elderly gentleman stood outside our society giving sanitizer to everyone, risking everyone at his age to protect the society. We see the worst and best sides of human beings these days.

A few days ago, I took my son to ride his bicycle (no parks so this seemed a no contact way out), he was stuck and before I reached him, an elder kid helped him out. Instead of feeling grateful, I felt afraid. Did he touch the cycle, my son's clothes? Should I sanitize? That was the last of our rides till this ends.

When we thought how 2020 would be, noone expected this.
Virus pausing  and consuming mankind. Is this reality or some Sci-fi novel? Robin Cook, are you controlling reality?

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