Spain, Maspalomas, Jennifer and Dani, German/Brazilian, 34, Cabin Crew, Married/Kids: Yes
General
How is the situation in your city/ country? Is there a 2nd wave yet?
We were in Gran Canaria, there wasn’t many cases compared to the big cities in Spain such as Madrid and Barcelona. Yes you can talk about the start of a second wave on the island as there is news that state there are more cases now then there was throughout the entire pandemic.
How did the atmosphere in your country change within the last months?
In Gran Canaria, it went from complete panic into a “nothing ever happened here“ attitude. People were quite scared in the beginning, but mainly complied with the lockdown regulations. After the lockdown, it seemed they went back to normal life and felt quite safe as there was hardly cases in the island, but lately there has been an increase in cases as per the news. Many are also worried about their businesses and financial survival, so you can say they prioritize this over precautions related to COVID.
How are you and your family?
We are ok. One family member is part of the risk group because of her age and weaker immune system due to a serious illness, so our family was extremely careful and still is. She only leaves the house to go to the doctor, supermarket, pharmacy, bank and to go for a walk at the beach at sundown.
What was the biggest challenge for you within the last months?
It was a combination of many factors, but mainly the fear to put her health in danger, the uncertainty related to our jobs and the fact that your freedom is severely compromised. We are used to spend most of our time outside the house and at the beach and this was not possible for a long time. The lack of fresh air and sun does play a big part in your immune system, health and mood/emotional health.
Measures
When did you realize how serious the situation is?
Probably when we started seing everyone with masks on the street. But mostly when the government declared the state of alert and forbid people to leave their houses.
How did your government react to the crisis? Which measures/restrictions were taken first?
They did a horrible job. They reacted late and declared the state of alert and the lockdown.The situation was escalating in Italy and other countries and the government said it is just a flu and encouraged demonstrations that would benefit them.
Are you satisfied with the measures of your government? What was good/bad?
Not satisfied. It seems to me they purposely let the situation escalate and get really bad so they could declare the state of alert and with it gain the power to change certain things in our constitution to gain more control. They tried to use the chaos to hide what they were doing behind the scenes. More and more people are starting to think that this COVID situation is being used as a tool by the government more than treated as it should to manage the populations health in an effective way.
What would you like to say to your government?
Look at other countries and look at us… No further words necessary, except for maybe that they are a bunch of evil manipulating liers that only care about power and money and not about their peoples health, wellbeing nor prosperity.
Which sentence of a virologist/politician did you memorize the most?
Estamos todos juntos (we are all together). Quedate en casa (stay at home). Esta todo bajo control (We have everything under control)
The Virus
Do you know anybody who was infected with COVID-19 or even died?
Yes, infected but not that died.
Have you already done a Coronavirus test or have you been in quarantine?
Yes, we did the test, we were both negative but in the UAE (were we live and work) we needed to stay in preventive quarantine before we resumed our work. We stayed 3 months in Spain during the beginning of the Corona crisis, as we had gone on holidays to visit our family and got stuck there.
Are you afraid of getting infected with the Coronavirus?
Yes, a little, but mostly because of the possible long term effects that people are talking about.
The lockdown
How long is/was your lockdown and what was allowed/what wasn´t?
48 days. Only supermarket, doctos and pharmacy. People who worked at essential service providing establishments were allowed to go to work too. Nobody was allowed to go for a walk, run, go to the beach, … you had to stay at home at all times. When the lockdown ceased this was done gradually. However on the planes from GC to MAD our plane was fully booked and no social distancing applied.
Did you spend the lockdown time with somebody and what did you do during this time?
Yes, with mother and husband/wife. Exercise, read, movies, cooking, baking, skype, study,…
What did you miss the most during the lockdown? What helped you?
The beach and fresh air. The company of our family and gratitude for our situation as we had relativeley good health compared to other people suffering in hospitals alone and also financially we were lucky to not loose our jobs.
Changes
How did your work situation change within the last months (shorter hours, working from home, etc.)
We are hardly flying so our salary is much lower. Our basic salary has also been cut by 50% so that decreases our income also substancially. Thousands of people working for our company have lost their jobs, so we are lucky to still be employed.
How did your social life (relationship/friendships/dating) change due to the Corona crisis?
We minimized social interaction with people and avoid big gatherings. Now that we are back at work we have relaxed a bit more and are seeing friends again, but not in big groups.
What impact has the Corona crisis on your financial situation?
Salary considerably reduced.
Social distancing: How does your daily life look like at the moment?
We do our normal life using face mask, keeping distance to people and washing our hands often. We are used to hug and kiss people when we meet them, this is someting that comes automatic to us due to our culture, but we have stopped doing this with peple that we are not really that close with.
Perception
Who are to your opinion the heroes of this crisis?
Medical staff, supermarket staff, airline industry staff,… the ones that were out there and exposed during the worst times with the most uncertainty and specially in Spain unprotected or not propperly protected due to the lack of equipment (masks, …).
What did the crisis show you?
We can not control everything. But we can make an effort to deal with any situation the best possible way. If you have a family that loves and supports you, you have won the lottery in life.
What will you appreciate more after the crisis?
Our family, our health, our freedom, our friends and nature.
Which images will you never forget?
Everyone on the street with masks. Masks on the beach and on the street.
Which stories/incidents/experiences touched/shattered you the most?
People dying alone and away from their families in hospitals and nursing homes during this pandemic.
Perspective
What are you afraid of right now?
How long will this situation continue? Will we regain some kind of stability soon? Will we ever be as free as we were before? How is this going to affect the environment? What is next? Was this really a naturaly occuring virus or was it manmade? What are the long term effects of this virus on people that got it but had no symptoms? If a vaccine is made, will it be compulsory? What long term effects will this vaccine have on our health? ….
What gives you hope?
Family and friends.
Are you planning to travel within the next months?
Probably not. Just for work. If so only to come home.
If they find a vaccine, would you take it?
Not in the beginning.
What can we all learn from this crisis?
We are resilient. We need less material things to be happy than we think. Important things in life are health, family, friends, freedom and nature.
If you could give 2020 a headline, what would it be?
Nothing is exactly as it seems, look at the bigger picture.