The Corona Virus
I caught the flu and here’s a photo during COVID19 pandemic
Happy New Year to all! How’s your new year coming along?
Well, I caught the flu. I’ve been dizzy and my muscles are aching. What a perfect way to kick off the new year!
The coronavirus! What a delight! It gave us COVID-19, SARS of 2003, and the Spanish flu during World War I, for which, I believe the Spaniards are owed an apology (looking at you, America!) I can’t help but imagine when American soldiers were shipped off to Europe to fight in World War I, plagued by the coronavirus, they were merrily singing: “We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world was turning….” Historical accuracy!
When the COVID-19 started spreading, my wife and I were back in our hometown for the Spring Festival. We had to cut our holidays short and flew back to Hong Kong. My thinking at the time was, if this becomes a thing, I’d rather be in Hong Kong than stuck in China. I’m pretty confident I got that one right. When we got back to Hong Kong just four days after we had left, everyone was wearing a mask. Hong Kong was hit the worst during the SARS outbreak in 2003, and it seems people still remember that. The entire city was out of masks, rice, and toilet paper. Why always toilet paper? Wife’s cousin sent surgical masks to us from Singapore, and eventually we got all the necessities. Soon most people were told to work from home, and there were some ridiculous policies coming out of the Hong Kong government. During the delta wave, I believe, people were told to wear masks even when working out outdoors. I remember running 10 miles wearing a mask in the height of summer. It was not fun. I also “ran” at home, in my 35-square-metre apartment. I mapped out a zigzagging track between the living room and the bedroom measuring at 5.5 metres, which gave me 11 metres per “lap.” And I started running. The longest distance I managed to do was 6KM. Those were the days, weren’t they?
The work-from-home thing started in March or April. One day, I looked out of my tiny bedroom window and saw one of my neighbours working on his terrace with a laptop. And I grabbed my camera and took the photo below. It was the perfect reminder of the early pandemic days.
That’s my rambling. I think there’d be more COVID rants coming. After all, we are living in a world that’s been changed by COVID-19 forever. Thank you for coming along for the ride.