Australia, Melbourne, Claudia, German and Australian, 53, Journalist/Founder & Editor in Chief of the online publication “Germans in Melbourne”, 3 sons (15, 18, 21)
General
How is the situation in your city/ country? Is there a 2nd wave yet?
We are in the middle of a second wave that has been much worse than the first one. After having coped “relatively” well with the first wave of COVID-19 cases, flattening the curve and driving the numbers down during our first lockdown, numbers began to raise in June-July in Victoria, in particular in Melbourne.
Here in Melbourne, we started watching the numbers again daily and knew a second lockdown was looming. It was indeed announced, however, this time for Metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire in the north of the city. The rest of the state of Victoria could carry on with life according to general COVID-19 restriction including social distancing, limited number of gatherings, etc. On July 19, wearing of masks was also made compulsory in the area of the lockdown that initially was planned for six weeks.
Several times we thought we had reached the peak with new daily COVID-19 cases being over 600 and 700 for an area of around 6.5 million people. However, when the statistics showed no downward trend, on Aug 2 the Victorian Government declared a ‘state of disaster’ and a Stage 4 lockdown. Amongst other restrictions we are now only allowed 1 hour of exercise outside our home and shopping within a radius of 5 km as well as having a curfew in place that requires us to stay at home from 8 pm to 5 am at night. Furthermore, only essential shops are allowed to open and, just as an example, weddings are not allowed except on compassionate grounds.
How did the atmosphere in your country change within the last months?
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How are you and your family?
In general, we are fine. I feel sorry for my youngest son who has been learning remotely for months now. He prefers being in a physical classroom and being taught in person. For many students it is simply easier to ask questions or participate actively in class. He also misses catching up with them after school and play some casual sports with them.
My middle son had just started Uni when Australia was hit by COVID-19. He was able to attend an introduction meeting for new students at Melbourne Uni. However, this was the only opportunity for him to meet his peers since the week everything was switched to online studying. So he did not really have a “proper” uni experience and most likely won’t have one until 2021. Thinking back on my first two semesters at Uni and how exciting the time was, I find that a bit sad.
My oldest son is studying too and also he was already used to doing online classes partly, he is missing studying on campus and very much missing up in person with his friends and simply going out with them, catching up in a pub or at someone else’s house.
Apart from studying my two older boys have part time jobs in an industry that is considered as essential. With the stricter lockdown rules, however, they do not have direct contact with customers anymore who are only allowed to pick up products contactless. I think we are all glad about that since very often customers “forgot” to social distance, so this risk is now very much reduced.
As for me, I certainly miss travelling, even little day tours or outings on the weekend. I am lucky, I live close to the beach and am really blessed being able to see a limitless ocean each and every day. The view compensates the travel limitations and restrictions. I also miss catching up with friends, going swimming – it’s too cold for having a swim in the ocean – and moving around for work. Being the editor-in-chief of “Deutsche in Melbourne” (Germans in Melbourne), I hear from a lot of Expats – people living away from the country they were born – that they suffer from being unable to fly back to their families and missing big events like weddings, christenings, birthdays but also sad events like family members being sick or slowly passing away with them being unable to be there for them. Some live by themselves which is hard now that we all have to work from home.
What was the biggest challenge for you within the last months?
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Measures
When did you realize how serious the situation is?
I guess here in Melbourne we all realized how impactful COVID-19 was, when the Formula was cancelled in March. It is a major sporting event attracting thousands of visitors and tourists. We all realised that cancelling an event like that which had massive consequences from refunding tickets to hotel room bookings, etc. would not have been decided lightly. I guess that was a kind of wake up call for everyone.
How did your government react to the crisis? Which measures/restrictions were taken first?
Quite frankly, being in the third lockdown now with so many things changing and having been changed over the past months nearly on a daily basis, it is rather difficult to remember first measures that were taken. I remember that quite quickly prominent figures in Australia like actors, TV personalities from popular TV shows or news were all reinforcing the government’s message of thorough personal hygiene like washing hands and social distancing in little ads on TV. Also the message “We are all in it together”. With the lockdown starting, the government was pretty quick in rolling out a Job Keeper and Job Seeker. They were aimed to enable Business owners to retain staff basically reimbursing them for a flat rate payment to their staff during the lockdown time and beyond saving staff from being unemployed. However, it turned out that the system had flaws and also that many, many people, in particular, sole traders missed out for example, since they did not pay themselves an official salary, did not have the business or the same job for more than 12 months, were working as casual contractors, etc. At the moment there is a kind of second round of these payments with a new round of applications that can be launched.
Are you satisfied with the measures of your government? What was good/bad?
Well, I guess I have to use a word that has been used by far too much for the last months. However, these are unprecedented times. No government has experienced a situation like that before and I am convinced that the Victorian respectively the Australian government has done the best they could at the very time any decisions they had to make were made.
It is always easy to critise and with hindsight you always know better. A great measure was to put every returning traveler into quarantine which definitely helped Victoria to drive numbers down and prevent much higher numbers.
However, there are three points that I was surprised by:
Apparently one reason for the second wave is that staff that handled hotel quarantine was not properly trained and adhered to the rules. That is sad and an inquiry into it is launched. Same applies to some aged care centres where there are now large clusters.
Schools stayed open for a long time whereas in other countries this was not the case and eventually Victoria turned to remote learning too. Many parents were confused and many parents and staff were happier when the announcement was made.
Compulsory mask wearing was equally introduced at a very late stage. Having read great results of a research done on Jena, the German city that introduced masks at an incredibly early stage of COVID-19, it makes you wonder why no one paid attention to that earlier in the process of flattening curves and driving numbers down.
What I find absolutely positive is that here in Victoria, for over 40 days in a row now, Premier Daniel Andrews speaks at a daily media conference that is live streamed, to keep information flowing which is incredibly important in a crisis.
By now, I think the Victorian government has also learnt a lot. When announcing new restrictions these restrictions might change slightly after feedback from experts and the public is taken into consideration and validated.
Also a large amount of financial resources has just been released for institutions and helplines assisting with Mental Health Programs, since this is certainly one of the main issues that will result from the crisis. This is definitely a good move.
What would you like to say to your government?
This is probably more on a personal level to individuals who are working extremely hard and overtime to beat the virus. This is work that is appreciated so much and the pressure they must be under is acknowledge.
Which sentence of a virologist/politician did you memorize the most?
For me as a Coummunications Professional it is more the way people communicate and in this case I really admire and respect the whole communications team behind the Victorian Premier and Medical Chief Officer as well as the Premier and the MCO themselves. The message they send are very clear and simple and in their daily press conferences they handle every question in a very professional manner – even the ones that are clearly targeted to trigger them on a personal level. Otherwise sentences like: “I will see you through this crisis”.
The Virus
Do you know anybody who was infected with COVID-19 or even died?
Yes, I do.
Have you already done a Coronavirus test or have you been in quarantine?
No
Are you afraid of getting infected with the Coronavirus?
By now yes. Like 83% of Victorians I welcomed the new stricter restrictions.
The lockdown
How long is/was your lockdown and what was allowed/what wasn´t?
See above.
Did you spend the lockdown time with somebody and what did you do during this time?
My youngest son. Using time to develop and launch a new website for my publication. Upskilling. Develop new programs and workshops. Focusing more on the business. Reading more. Watching “Dark” in German on Netflix with my son every night. Making sure I continued with exercises and running. Meditation daily.
What did you miss the most during the lockdown? What helped you?
See above. Running, meditating, keeping in contact with friends via digital devices. Focusing how I can help my community with webinars, articles, etc. An accountability call every Monday morning with my community of female entrepreneurs.
Changes
How did your work situation change within the last months (shorter hours, working from home, etc.)
I am working from home and have to conduct all interviews via Zoom which is not the same as in person but I got used to it. Working from home is great, however, I am someone who needs to move around and cannot sit at one desk in one place all the time to keep being creative. The space is now limited compared to the huge workspace I was working from but I can still move from one room to another. Topics for Deutsche in Melbourne have changed. I can write less about places I have visited, but reach a broader audience since workshops for Expats regarding how to find work, improve LinkedIn profiles, coping with homesickness are all online now.
How did your social life (relationship/friendships/dating) change due to the Corona crisis?
See above.
What impact has the Corona crisis on your financial situation?
Definitely cuts in income.
Social distancing: How does your daily life look like at the moment?
One hour of exercise – running and exercise with dog – in the morning. Big weekly or bi-weekly shopping by click and collect or delivered. Small shopping for fresh veggies and fruits, milk, bread every 3 to 4 days. No visitors allowed in house. Walk with another person allowed but with social distancing. Not allowed outside after 8 pm. So lots of reading, movies, sleep …
Perception
Who are to your opinion the heroes of this crisis?
Frontline workers, nurses and doctors that keep on working and the ones who get infected, police officers doing their jobs, staff in supermarkets, post offices, etc. serving customers, politicians.
What did the crisis show you?
People in general do not like change, however, we are all capable of it. Also, there are things we cannot control, however, there are many things we can. We just have to take responsibility and motivate ourselves for a change like I cannot go to a gym anymore where my trainer would push me. So now I have to do it myself.
What will you appreciate more after the crisis?
Time in a café, the ability to travel and see new places, the company of others, visiting cinemas, theatres, concerts. My local swimming pool.
Which images will you never forget?
My birthday photo with my boys all wearing masks. It was the day compulsory mask wearing was introduced in Melbourne.
Which stories/incidents/experiences touched/shattered you the most?
A video by a Victorian nurse who is currently in hotel quarantine since he attracted COVID-19. He is in his 20ies and volunteered to work in an aged care facilities when medical staff employed by public hospitals were sent into aged care facilities to replace staff there. Talking about his patients who passed away, his fear of getting infected and now being infected was tough to watch.
Perspective
What are you afraid of right now?
Apart from being not very comfortable being out because of the risk of getting the virus, I am worried about the economy in particular in Victoria and the consequences for Australians.
What gives you hope?
People and the government have realised that e.g. there must be more resources available for mental health and to deal with the increasing issue of homelessness and domestic violence – the impact of COVID-19 has amplified and highlighted these areas, so hopefully they will be dealt with better.
Are you planning to travel within the next months?
It won’t be possible for a while to leave Australia respectively coming back easily. Hotel quarantine is not free anymore. I intend however to travel within Australia once Victorians are allowed into other states again, but can’t see that happen before 2021.
If they find a vaccine, would you take it?
If it has been tested enough, yes, like the flu shots.
What can we all learn from this crisis?
Life is a flow. Nothing can be planned, best to be flexible always and enjoy every moment and what you have got. Looking after others always, not only in a crisis.
If you could give 2020 a headline, what would it be?
The year to focus on what really matters.