How it looks like to live with Coronavirus in Barcelona?
According to what Harari in his book Homo Deus says, today humanity no longer dies on pandemics, epidemics or other contagious diseases. I don’t mean we do not die. I mean- we don’t die in large numbers like it was in the XX and XIX century
- more people die of obesity-related diseases than because of hunger
- more people die of old age than infectious diseases
- more people commit suicide than are victims of violence, mafia and terrorists
- and as you probably expect, more people will die of cancer or tuberculosis than coronavirus
But still …. at first China, then the whole world. Coronavirus spread in less than a month and what at first seemed like a small harmless virus in China, killed 6,000 people today. Maybe not much but for a “small harmless virus” it is quite a lot
Technology is developing, medicine also, and it would seem that epidemics are already problems of the past and that humanity nowadays will deal with them quickly. But will humanity really rise to the challenge? Will coronavirus disappear as soon as it appeared?
Today schools, universities, shops, bars, restaurants and gyms are closed. Concerts, events, cultural events and meetings of a larger group of people are canceled
Whole cities, entire regions, countries are closed. People have to obey orders and do not leave their homes because there is a high risk that they can get infected of coronavirus
The stock exchange lost over 20% of its value. Even the cryptocurrency that is known as decentralized, not subject to any system, reduces its value
I don’t know what the situation looks like in Poland because I don’t live there but I can tell you how it looks in Spain and exactly in Barcelona
Empty streets, people in queues to the pharmacy who are more than 1 meter away. Some open cafes selling only take-out coffee. And if the contact can be avoided, the better
Supermarkets open but only up to 3. Half full. Half empty. People bought a lot of food for fear of running out
Pakistani stores, of course, open all day! A good way to earn some more money. “I will put the mask on and maybe I won’t get sick” Money more important than health
Closed hairdressers, closed cosmetologists, gyms closed. But why should I go to the hairdresser if I don’t even leave my house? But does that mean I’m looking good for others? And what is the value of beauty in times of crisis?
Doctors on Facebook beg people not to leave the house, not to move or ride the subway. It is not even about the infection itself but about the fact that hospitals are not able to receive such a big number of sick people at once and soon there will be no beds, masks and respirators
It is not because of a lack of investment but mainly because of the large cuts in public health during the recent crisis in Spain
The police is ready, patrolling the streets and looking for those who went for longer walks. First warn, then there will be a fine, and then maybe even a prison
“Stay home” – this is the most common sentence that is repeated on FB or Instagram any any other social media
Only those who go to work, somehow cannot comply with the above sentence. Full metro at 8am is probably not the best way to deal with a pandemic, isn’t it?
For now there is 3 day of the alarm state and it seems like the week has already passed. Bored children, bored people, home imprisonment do not affect in the positive way our well-being. Some people watch movie after movie on Netflix, others train with 8L bottles at home, and others suddenly become chefs. Everybody copes with this situation, which is not known how long it will last. Ah, I would forget. Everybody washes their hands.
Maybe I will be the next person to report to the hospital with symptoms? 196,178 person who can get the sticker – confirmed case.
The system is falling, millions of people are already suffering this disruption, and a few are making a high economic return and consolidating the obtaining of a factual power
If someone looks from the side, it may seem that we watch the American thiller about an epidemic. Some virus has just hit humanity and soon the Americans will come and fight the cruel plague.
However, no. This is not another American film. It is rather a global crisis that we were given to watch and live through the next days, weeks … maybe months?
But as liberal capitalism says, crises are possibilities. The only question is – who will use this possibility?
Or maybe this crisis will not be possibility. Maybe it will be a challenge that all humanity has to deal with. A challenge that leads to major changes in politics, economics and ecology. Only time will show.
I invite you to see my other blog posts.
