To help support the community at this time, The Tokyo Life has reached out to friends to get COVID-19 stories from around the world. In these updates, we hope to bring our readers the raw experiences of people in different countries and share how their communities are handling the abrupt changes to daily life.
*Check out last week’s submissions here.
Walk On By – Tia (Canada)
People get so offended sometimes with keeping distance; like my wanting to be safe is screwing with their sense of self. I had an interaction with a person coming up to me and trying to flirt in a store. They didn’t have a mask on (masks are mandatory) and when I said “Please keep your distance,” they scoffed and responded like I had personally scarred them. They asked if I “subscribed” to this whole “idea” of COVID. When I told them I subscribed to not being infected by random strangers, they defensively asked, “If you want to be safe, why are you even outside?” That’s when I told them the reason we have a mandatory mask rule is so that everyone can be safe, and right now they were making me very uncomfortable—in more ways than just the mask problem. In which case they dejectedly grumbled, “Whatever, it’s fine,” as they walked off.
But to be honest, it’s not fine. No one should have to feel unsafe because of your personal feelings. If I ask someone to not be in my personal space (COVID or no COVID), that should be respected. And to be quite honest, I am getting a little tired of these baby tantrums people are throwing because of that fact. Masks are a tool to keep safe and if you don’t want to wear them, that’s your prerogative; however, know that whatever choice you make in life comes with a consequence, and if you are willing to live with the consequence that, due to your petulance, someone might have long-lasting health problems, then I don’t want to even socialize with you let alone date you. So save your pick-up lines for the next person, because I’m not interested.
Test Results – Shannon McCarron (United States)
After a few days, I got my test results back showing that I had tested negative for COVID-19 and COVID-19 antibodies. Even though we were tested the same day and time, for some reason my wife’s results did not come back until over a week later. Unsurprisingly, her results were the same. Of course, we’re both relieved not to have tested positive, though it might have been nice to know that we had already had COVID-19 without any serious symptoms. I’m also happy that we haven’t had it and haven’t passed it onto any others. Just in case, we have been and will continue to be extremely careful.
Overall, thinking of how bad things were going in New York at the start of the summer, I feel really lucky that only one person out of my large extended family has been seriously ill due to COVID-19- and recovered. One of my coworkers lost three relatives and a best friend in early April and I’ve heard many other devastating stories and horrific experiences since then. I hope that by this time next year, we’ll be able to look back and think about how crazy this time has been and be glad we made it through.
Daily Records in Victoria – T.H. (Australia)
As I write this update, I’ve just seen on the news that South Australia has recorded two new cases of coronavirus today. This is our 3rd case for the week. From what I understand, these are locals returning from across the border in Victoria back into South Australia. Let’s hope we can keep infections in our state to a minimum as Victoria has had another shocking week with a high increase of new cases recorded.
Victoria has yet again seen new daily records of the virus. Last week, there were over 700 new cases and 13 deaths in one day alone. Today we will see Victoria set even tougher restrictions for residents, which will more than likely be the reclosure of all indoor venues where the public gathers, such as pubs, clubs, gyms, cinemas, etc. This won’t just be limited to those areas where the outbreaks have been linked, but rather the majority of the entire state.
New South Wales has also seen a steady growth of new cases this week, as has Queensland. Hopefully, they can avoid a repeat of what Victoria is currently going through.
Midsummer Nights – Meagan McCarron (France)
Like many Frenchies on chômage partiel a.k.a. partial unemployment, I’m joining other furloughed employees in soaking up as much summer as I can while between jobs. Picnics at the park, runs along the wharf, trips to tourist hot spots, and even the open-air cinema.
The open-air cinema was something I was really looking forward to before COVID, so I was relieved when I found out it was still taking place. I was able to reserve a seat and check out how the event had been modified for social distancing. In addition to restricting the number of attendees by time reservations, the cinema area itself was sectioned off from the rest of the park, and visitors were asked to wear masks as they passed security and inside the cinema area. However, pretty much everyone ignored the latter half of that rule and removed their masks immediately after passing security. Seeing so many people make poor decisions like this is exactly why France still has a small spike in cases. We’ve got to be more vigilant if we want our numbers to go back down.
Freedom – Christopher Temporelli (South Korea)
As domestic cases have remained mostly level, the COVID situation feels quite secure to me in Korea at this moment. South Korea has had relatively good success dealing with the situation and one could almost feel that we are moving into clear waters. Still, as I walk around and go about my life, I see almost everyone—including myself—using a mask. It’s ubiquitous. It’s just been taken up by the culture as a norm. With so few cases being reported in Korea, I was wondering to myself, is this mask usage to a point of overdoing it?
The thing is, whatever has been done as a total package for precaution in Korea has worked. Koreans did not question the idea of wearing masks, and it seems that we would all rather deal with small inconveniences, such as masks, that offer the hope of more freedom of movement and long-term gain. It might be overdoing it at this point, but all in all, the system has worked—whatever the ingredients of success may be. I for one, with the freedom to be at a coffee shop writing this, am willing to have worn a mask to have gotten here, though I look forward to the practice easing as the situation continues to stabilize.
Christopher Temporelli is a musician, educator, host, business entrepreneur, media personality, and master life coach. www.christophertemporelli.com www.apollonatur.com
Masking Mekelle – Yoko Furusaki (Ethiopia)
Covid-19 continues to spread in Ethiopia. As of August 2nd, the total number of cases is at 18,706, with a death toll of 310. Although most of the cases are still from the capital, community transmission in Mekelle where I live continues as well.
As people in Mekelle started to accept that community transmission is happening, wearing masks finally started to become common. Wearing masks has been mandatory in all places outside of the home since May 27th, and I hear it has been the norm in the capital to wear one since then. But in Mekelle, it has been rare to see even a police officer with a mask. However, in these past 2 weeks, I think the mask-wearing rate went up to around 60–70%. Further improvement is needed, but I appreciate the trend. Locally manufactured, cheap cloth masks are sold in the streets and in numerous small shops, while surgical masks are widely available in pharmacies. Some people are also using eyemasks from airlines or traditional scarves to cover their mouths and noses.
However, there is a problem. I also started to notice discarded masks on the streets! It is the rainy season, and muddy discarded masks on the streets are not only ugly but I think they pose hygienic risks, especially to children who may pick them up. I sincerely hope a higher mask-wearing rate does not mean more masks on the ground!
What’s the situation like in your home? Have you checked on your friends and family lately? Share your experiences with us down in the comments below!
Featured image by Graham Ruttan on Unsplash
