Wondering how long our lives will be influenced by Corona

Ludwigshafen, Germany, Sebastian, German, 25, Student, Married/Kids: –

General

How is the situation in your city/ country? Is there a 2nd wave yet?
Life had changed a lot, bars, restaurants and many other facilities where closed, sport activities were no longer allowed and most events were cancelled, we had a “nearly” lockdown for a few weeks, the situation is getting better now, but there are still a lot of restrictions to our daily life.

How did the atmosphere in your country change within the last months?
People keeping the distance to each other in public feels cold and even with friends greetings are different. Opinions on the crisis are very different but many people seem to be anxious (about their health, the health of their beloved and food supply).

How are you and your family?
No one is sick, no one lost their job but one of the major topics in our conversations is the crisis etc. and we had to make changes in many plans for 2020.

What was the biggest challenge for you within the last months?
As many things are forbidden it is hard to find an occupancy, on the one hand it is good to have more leisure time, sometimes it is hard, that we are not able to engage in many activities.

One of the major topics in our conversations is the crisis.

Measures

When did you realize how serious the situation is?
When the government started to close a large number of facilities.

How did your government react to the crisis? Which measures/restrictions were taken first?
Large events were cancelled, than smaller events, partys, many leisure activities were not allowed anymore, then schools and universities were closed and employees were forced to work from home, then retail stores and restaurants were closed.

Are you satisfied with the measures of your government? What was good/bad?
Yes, there was a good decision making process between what is needed for our safety and if this is a reasonable intervention in our daily life. Unfortunately the political system with 16 federal states makes it difficult to implement rules that apply to all states, so sometimes it was difficult to know and understand the rules in the different states.

What would you like to say to your government?
Please start to focus more on social aspects of the crisis. Too long we focused on the economic consequences. Many people start to get crazy as they are not able to do certain activites.

Which sentence of a virologist/politician did you memorize the most?

Please start to focus more on social aspects of the crisis.

The Virus

Do you know anybody who was infected with COVID-19 or even died?
I know some peple who got infected, no one of them died.

Have you already done a Coronavirus test or have you been in quarantine?
No.

Are you afraid of getting infected with the Coronavirus?
At the beginning I was, now I am not anymore. I am sure our health care system is well prepared. I know how unlikely it is to get infected and even if I do get infected, it is even more unlikely to show strong symptomps.

I am sure our health care system is well prepared.

The lockdown

How long is/was your lockdown and what was allowed/what wasn´t?
Approximately 4 weeks (not sure). There were many changes in the “lockdown” every week. At the most rigorous point only supermarkets were open and people were allowed to go grocery shopping and go out for sport activites (only with people from the same household).

Sebastian and a friend helped older people and those who were at risk to get infected with doing errands and going to the supermarket.

Did you spend the lockdown time with somebody and what did you do during this time?
I spend it with my family, I went out for walking, jogging, read books, I played board games with my family and met with friends online and we played online board games.

What did you miss the most during the lockdown? What helped you?
Meeting friends. The possibility to meet them online.

We played online board games.

Changes

How did your work situation change within the last months (shorter hours, working from home, etc.)
I wanted to do an internship, which I could not do/ or did not want to do in these extraordinary times.

How did your social life (relationship/friendships/dating) change due to the Corona crisis?
I met less people than before, I was not able to meet new people, I realized how important friends are for my own mental well-being.

What impact has the Corona crisis on your financial situation?
Because I stayed more time at my own place, did not go out as much as before, I had more money to spend than before (notice: no change in income for me).

Social distancing: How does your daily life look like at the moment?
I spend much time at my own place, I try to go out for a walk or other sport activities, I meet friends, at least in a small group of people, no visits to bars etc., I spend my holidays in Germany instead of abroad.

I realized how important friends are for my own mental well-being.

Perception

Who are to your opinion the heroes of this crisis?
The so called system-relevant people (e.g. kindergarten teachers).

What did the crisis show you?
Crises bring the real picture out of people and organisations. In many fields crises are needed in order to undergo a change (e.g. digitalization, bike infrastructure).

What will you appreciate more after the crisis?
Free time/ time for my own well-being.

Which images will you never forget?
The empty toilet paper shelfs 🙂

Which stories/incidents/experiences touched/shattered you the most?
A video of a truck at an italian hospital loaded with coffins.

Crises bring the real picture out of people and organisations.

Perspective

What are you afraid of right now?
The future of Corona or another virus of the Corona family: How long will our lives be influenced by Corona?

What gives you hope?
It exists a bunch of diseases and we are able to handle them.

Are you planning to travel within the next months?
No plans yet, if yes only in Europe.

If they find a vaccine, would you take it?
Yes, if by this point doctors recommend to do so.

What can we all learn from this crisis?
How fragile our globalised world is.

If you could give 2020 a headline, what would it be?
The start of something knew or just an awful year?

How long will our lives be influenced by Corona?