Germany, Munich, Christine, German, 37, Senior PR Manager, Not married/ No kids
General
How is the situation in your city/ country? Is there a 2nd wave yet?
At the moment the infection numbers are increasing again as people are coming back from vacation and are having private parties again. We don´t have a second wave yet, but everybody expects it to come in fall/winter when people are spending more time inside. The restrictions are not that tight anymore and life feels kind of normal – of course with masks and social distance. To this day Germany has 202.735 confirmed cases – 9.092 people died.
How did the atmosphere in your country change within the last months?
Even when we had the first person infected with the Coronavirus in Germany on February 27, people were still relaxed and thought that it´s not worse than just the flu (also politicians and media said that) and nobody would have thought that we would have a lockdown. When the cases got more and more within the next weeks and big events got cancelled, the atmosphere changed slightly.
Around mid March a lot of people were panicing: They bought groceries, noodles, toilet paper, soap, disinfectant (as long as it was still available) and yeast (apparently people were baking like crazy during the lockdown) as there was no tomorrow. People were fighting about who gets the last toilet paper – totally incredible. Then there was a huge insecurity what will come next, but at the same time a high solidarity among the society: People offered older ones to go grocery shopping for them, there were flyers hanging in the corridors of apartment houses in which neigbours offered the help to those who had a high risk of getting sick and people were clapping for doctors and nurses.
But after the lockdown, when the cases went down and lots of restrictions were lifted, a discussion began if the restrictions of the freedom have been too much as we weren´t hit as hard as everybody feared (of course that was because of the measures taken, but some people don´t get that). There are demonstrations in some German cities of people who are against social distance, wearing masks, think the virus doesn´t exist and that all is a worldwide conspiracy and of those who think that our freedom and our rights shouldn´t be restricted. The majority of the people wears masks and keeps social distance, but I feel that the sense of the necessarity and of the actual threat decreases. People get impatient and think that they sacrificied enought during the last months and want their normal life back. Here in Munich you hear of people partying in big gatherings without distances and masks, you see people only cover their mouth and not the nose in the metro and hugging is getting normal again for many people when meeting friends.
How are you and your family?
Thank God me and my family are fine, nobody has been sick so far. But we are all very careful, keep the social distance whenever possible, wear masks, wash and disinfect our hands a lot.
What was the biggest challenge for you within the last months?
I think the biggest challenge for me was to be alone so much during the lockdown as I´m normally a very social person and used to meet my family and friends a lot. I normally like to plan much, but as it was impossible to plan anything within the last months, I had to change that and adapt to just live from one week to another. This uncertainty was really hard for me – not knowing what will come next and how long we have to live like this. I´m a very positive person, besides two days I kept this good spirit during the lockdown, but I was afraid that my family gets sick or even worse that I pass the virus on to them during a visit without knowing.
Measures
When did you realize how serious the situation is?
I think that was at the end of February when the ITB Berlin, the world´s biggest tourism fair in Berlin, was cancelled. At the beginning of March the panic buying started and it was difficult to get toilet paper and soap. The staff of the supermarkets couldn´t restock the shelves as fast as people bought things. I was talking to a manager of a supermarket and he said very exhausted to me: “We are working around the clock within the last week, this takes a lot out of us.” This confession touched me. When I took the train to visit my family in Würzburg the last time before the lockdown, I remember that it was a very strange atmosphere in the train. People were sitting apart from each other, the train was not full as usual and the train conductor was not allowed to touch the tickets. Life began like to feel like in one of those disaster movies…
How did your government react to the crisis? Which measures/restrictions were taken first?
At first big events with more than 1.000 people were forbidden at the beginning of March. At that time there were around 1.139 people infected with the virus and on March 10 the first person in Germany died because of COVID19. Mid of March the numbers were rising dramatically – on March 16, 4.838 people were infected in Germany and on March 24 already 32.991. Then schools, kindergartens, bars, cinemas, hair dressers, gyms, zoos, museums, public swimming pools, etc. had to close and restaurant were only open until 3pm (later they had to close as well and could only offer takeaway or delivery). On March 20 at midnight the German federal state of Bavaria started the lockdown (at first for 14 days which was extended several times) and we were only allowed to leave the house to go to the supermarket, to the doctor, to work (if you couldn´t work from home) or for a walk. We were not allowed to meet anybody else except the people you live with. Bavaria was a bit stricter than other federal states where you were able to meet one other person.
Are you satisfied with the measures of your government? What was good/bad?
Overall I think they did a very good job, the pandemic didn´t hit us as hard as other European countries, the hospitals weren´t overloaded and the food supply was always as good as possible at that time. The politicians to my opinion tried to explain their measures and communicated very openly. I always felt that I could trust – which isn´t self-evident these days- that they are doing everything to secure the health of the people. I´m glad that the German government took this pandemic seriously from the beginning, listened to scientists, put health above the economy and acted in a very calm and thought-out way. Furthermore they tried to avoid that the economy suffers a lot by providing immediate financial aid to companys and supported reduced working hours with a financial increase.
Of course not every action made sense and things had to be corrected – like when even sitting on a bench in a park was prohibited at first. But we have to give the politicians credit for their actions as they never had to deal with such a crisis before and they had to decide things quickly with a huge responsibility to deal with. In general I think masks should have been mandatory earlier (although there was a lack of masks in the beginning), the European states should have worked together more closely and there should have been more unity and consistency among the measures of the different federal states in Germany. Moreover I think it made people more scared when the fire departments were driving through the streets in the first days of the lookdown and announced through the loudspeakers: “Dear citizens, there is a strict lockdown at the moment. You are allowed to go to work, to the doctor or to the supermarkt. Violations will be punished harshly.”
What would you like to say to your government?
“Thanks for taking the pandemic seriously and for doing a good job in these challenging times.”
Which sentence of a virologist/politician did you memorize the most?
Chancellor Angela Merkel: “Die Corona-Krise ist die größte Herausforderung seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg.” (The Corona crisis is the biggest challenge after World War II”) and “Die Lage ist ernst. Nehmen Sie sie auch ernst.” (“The situation is serius, please also take it serious.”). When thinking of 2020 and the pandemic we will of course also never forget “Flatten the curve” and the words “systemrelavent” (“systematically relevant”) and “social distance”.
The Virus
Do you know anybody who was infected with COVID-19 or even died?
Fortunately not.
Have you already done a Coronavirus test or have you been in quarantine?
Not yet.
Are you afraid of getting infected with the Coronavirus?
I fear for my family´s health and I´m afraid of passing the virus to them. As hearing more and more about long term effects of the virus that even young and healthy people are suffering from, I´m getting more and more concerned about it myself.
The lockdown
How long is/was your lockdown and what was allowed/what wasn´t?
It was about 7 weeks in Bavaria – then the lockdown was transformed into contact restrictions. During the lockdown we were only allowed to go to the supermarket, to work, to the doctor or for a walk with the people you are living with. In the 5th week it was allowed to meet one other person except the ones you are living with.
Did you spend the lockdown time with somebody and what did you do during this time?
As I`m living alone, I spent the lockdown alone in my apartment in Munich. I was skyping a lot with my family and friends from all around the world (sometimes with wine, sometimes without ;-)). For example I also joined friends in Australia virtually while they tested craft beers and did trivia. I was reading a lot on my balcony (the weather was quite nice), did some home workouts, watched movies and series, started a Corona journal, cleaned my apartment, sorted things out and made a To Do list with things I always wanted to do, but never had time for before. I tried to go out for a walk or take the bike to a park on a regular basis, but it wasn´t that much fun to walk alone. Highlights of my day were often the walks to the waste glass container. 😉 Moreover I tried to support local shops and ordered online at local bookstores, bakerys and small shops.
What did you miss the most during the lockdown? What helped you?
Although I was skyping with everybody, I missed the personal contact, having people around me and also hugs a lot. I realized how small my apartment actually is. It helped me to stay in contact with everybody on a regular basis.
A very strange day was my 37th birthday which I celebrated alone in my apartment – I think I will always remember that birthday. But in the end it was a much nicer day than I would have expected under these circumstances: I was baking myself a cake, my family skyped with me at midnight, a lot of friends called and texted during the day (also one friend called from Australia), I got flowers delivered from my coworkers and some friends surprised me with a visit – outside and with distance, but that was such an amazing surprise! In the evening I skyped with some friends from Würzburg – I was very busy that day. 😉 Despite being alone on my birthday, I didn´t feel alone at all. 🙂
Changes
How did your work situation change within the last months (shorter hours, working from home, etc.)
Since April I´m working shorter hours and I was working from home for 3 months. At the moment we are back in the office and I´m working from home two days a week.
How did your social life (relationship/friendships/dating) change due to the Corona crisis?
Although I couldn´t see my friends during the lockdown, I was skyping with somebody every night. With some friends I talked more often than before because everybody was at home and it was easier to coordinate a call across the time zones then. At first we could only meet one by one and after a while with more people. I think that was resonable and I respected that. But I´m happy that we now can meet without restrictions.
What impact has the Corona crisis on your financial situation?
Due to working shorter hours, I have less money than before the crisis.
Social distancing: How does your daily life look like at the moment?
At the moment my life looks kind of normal – I go to work, to the gym, visit my family and meet with friends. But of course we have to wear masks in the supermarkets, the metros, the restaurants and in the shops. I try to avoid croweded places and keep the social distance to others as possible. If that´s not possible, I realize that I feel uncomfortable (like in metros) so that I try to ride the bike more often than before. I´m not huging my friends, only my family which still feels strange as it has always been normal when meeting somebody. I´m still washing and disinfecting my hands and things like my cellphone a lot.
Perception
Who are to your opinion the heroes of this crisis?
Everybody who risked and risks their life and was in danger of getting infected like doctors, nurses, people working in eldery homes, policemen, firefighter, delivery guys, supermarket staff, etc. are heroes to my opinion. And also politicians as they had to deal with this unique and challenging situation and had to make decisions in a very short amount of time and had a huge responsibility.
What did the crisis show you?
The crisis showed me that we should not take time with our family and friends as well as our health for granted. Life can change so quickly and we should enjoy the small moments. It also showed me how connected we are in a good and a bad way in a globalized world.
What will you appreciate more after the crisis?
I will appreciate time with my family and friends and things that were normal before more like going to the movies, meeting for a drink and travelling to other countries. Especially seeing very bad examples in other countries, I appreciate a government that acts reasonable and responsibly, our good social system as well as our good health system even more now.
Which images will you never forget?
There are so many images I´ll never forget from the last months like doctors and nurses posing with signs saying “We are staying for you in the hospitals, please stay at home”, an old men playing an instrument in front of the eldery home where his wife lives as he wasn´t allowed to visit her anymore, the photos of empty cities and sights that are normally very croweded, police cars driving through parks to see whether people are keeping the distances, a sign of a protester from a Corona demonstration saying “Finally tell us the truth”, the empty shelves in the supermarkets, videos of exhausted nurses after their shifts in hospitals, mass graves in other countries and of course the military transports in Bergamo/Italy at night where they brought the dead bodies to other cities as they didn´t have space at the cemeteries anymore.
So many shocking and sad photos that I´ll never forget. Right before the lockdown I was doing some errands and walking through the shops with signs “Keep the distance”, glass walls between the customers and the staff and everybody preparing for the lockdown felt so unreal and weird. And then an old guy stood next to me at the pharmacy and whispered “Do you have masks?”.
Which stories/incidents/experiences touched/shattered you the most?
There were a lot of stories that touched me: People who couldn´t say goodbye to their loved ones, doctors who had to decide which person to save as they didn´t have enough ventilators, nurses who couldn´t see their children in weeks as they were afraid of passing the virus on to them and a baker who made a Youtube video in which he told with tears that he doesn´t know how to save the jobs of his staff if the restrictions continue.
It shattered me that trucks delivering masks had to be protected (what does that say about our society?!). Somebody also told me that his grandma said “Even war was better than this crisis, at least then we had each other.” – that touched me a lot.
Perspective
What are you afraid of right now?
I´m afraid that people don´t take the situation serious enough anymore so that we will have a second lockdown. I fear that we will have to live like that for several years or even worse – never return to the life before the crisis again.
What gives you hope?
It gives me hope that so many intelligent people around the world are searching for a vaccine and that the whole world “sits in the same boat” right now.
Are you planning to travel within the next months?
Only within Germany at the moment.
If they find a vaccine, would you take it?
Yes as I trust the German government and the European Union that they would only approve it if it is safe (of course longterm side effects are hard to see then).
What can we all learn from this crisis?
We can learn to appreciate and enjoy every moment with our loved ones as well as not to complain about small things.
If you could give 2020 a headline, what would it be?
Together with distance 😉
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