Quarantine Diaries, Day 27

(Posted 12 Apr 2020, 23:39)

12:15 I didn’t check today, but two weeks ago, our local Saturday market was still operating. While the majority of stalls there sell food, you can find stalls selling pretty much anything from flowers, to clothes, to incense, to mobile phone covers and used books. Most of those stalls weren’t there any longer. The ones left had ample space between them.

Saturday market in the time of a pandemicSaturday market in the time of a pandemic

The stall from where we buy our supply of nuts had used cardboard boxes to create partitions for people to stand in - usually we’d be all huddled together vying for an attendant’s attention while dipping into free samples placed on the counter. Now the attendants stood behind a thick screen of transparent plastic that had slits for you to pay and collect your purchases through. It’s a popular stall and people lined on either side of it. With the mandated 1.5m distance, it didn’t take many people for the queues to stretch far. While the arrangement was vastly space-inefficient, it wasn’t any less time-efficient than normal days. And alas, no free samples.

Saturday market in the time of a pandemicSaturday market in the time of a pandemic

10:00 We seem to have a love-hate relationship with flights these days. This repatriation flight from Malaysia to the Netherlands is getting flak for running too full. Others are using rather creative means to recreate the feel of being on a plane.

09:00 Since all deaths in the Netherlands have to be registered with the local municipalities, over time it’s becoming possible to get a sense of the real toll of Coronavirus. The current estimate is that it might be as high as two times the count officially attributed to Coronavirus. Comparisons to hongerwinter are being made already.


Date
April 11, 2020