Lockdown. It’s what everyone is talking about. What else do we have to talk about when we haven’t been allowed to leave our homes for the past 7 weeks?
So how has it been? Actually not too bad. I thought I might miss the personal interaction at work. But it turns out a daily Teams meeting is all I need to feel connected to the outside world. I now have regular group Skype/Whatsapp catch ups with friends I haven’t spoken to since I moved to New Zealand, or certainly not all together. It’s not always easy to have a proper conversation when several people are talking over each other. But it’s so nice to see people’s faces, learn how they’re coping with lockdown and generally brighten up each other’s days. Hopefully this is a habit we will carry on once lockdown is a distant memory. Although I must be the only person alive to have got through lockdown without touching Zoom!
My lockdown has been split into two halves. One where I was working and one where I was not. The first half looked remarkably normal. Get up at the same time, do a full day’s work, enjoy my daily walk (via the park instead of the bus stop) and an evening relaxing at home. The second half I tried to maintain a similar routine. Job-hunting and general admin in the morning, walk in the afternoon. Although I do admit to getting up a little later. But why not?!
Like many people I wrote a lockdown list of things to do. Things I have always wanted to achieve but don’t normally have the time to do. I was going to finish editing all my travel photos, refresh my languages, write a book, the list went on. Even after losing my job, I have found myself too busy to tick many items off. If I can’t achieve any whilst unemployed and under lockdown, I have to wonder if I will ever get around to them!
I lost my job during lockdown. One of the many casualties of this horrible virus. But many others have it worse. I am an economic casualty, a social casualty, but thankfully not a physical casualty. Aviation and travel are two of the worst hit industries. They may not recover for another 3-4 years and when they do, travel may look very different if there is still no vaccine. Socially-distant seating meaning prices have to rise, temperature controls at airports, less touch points. But I am taking comfort from the uptake in domestic Chinese traffic, talk of air bridges in Europe, the reopening of some hubs to connecting traffic. And at some point the industry will realise that telling passengers that aircraft have the same air filters as an operating theatre will bring back confidence that travel can still be safe (why this isn’t already a major comms message is a mystery to me!)
It may also potentially bring less business travel. One of the real learnings from this lockdown has been the demonstration to the doubters that working from home is not a skive. With the right equipment (screens etc.), means of communication (Teams, Zoom etc.), people can be equally if not more productive at home. I have been someone who generally only works from home when I need to meet the plumber etc. But I am a complete convert. As someone who really values the split between work & personal time, I worried that the commute between my spare bedroom and the living room would not be enough to switch off after my day. But taking my daily walk after work gave me the headspace to switch between work mode and home mode. I wouldn’t want to work at home every day forever. But like many people I will be looking for more of a balance going forwards. And having demonstrated that it is possible, I expect many businesses to offer more people this flexibility going forwards.
Lockdown has made us appreciate the little things. And question what is really important in life. Do you have a healthy work/life balance? Is a take-out coffee really the highlight of your day?! For me, I have come to appreciate nature more. I am not a natural exerciser but I have been diligently sticking to a daily walk and making sure this takes in some green space. The park by the lake, the wetlands or the beach, having some beauty around is important. I live in a city but even there, nature has come alive. On one of my walks I heard an amazing bird call. I was fascinated. Now I hear the tui every time I open my window. The quietness of the streets and through taking the time to listen, I have discovered this new joy. Nature as mindfulness.
Here in New Zealand, lockdown came hard and fast. The border was closed from 20 March. The following day the government introduced a 4-level system to communicate the risk level and associated restrictions . Within 4 days we had gone from level 2 relative normality to level 4 full lockdown. Under level 4 all businesses except supermarkets and pharmacies closed. We were only allowed out to access these essential services or for a daily walk. That walk had to be from your own front door, no driving except to the supermarket/pharmacy. The roads were deathly quiet. But the pavements were busier as people embraced their walks, saying kia ora as they stepped into the road to maintain 2m distance.
The government’s communications have been outstanding. The ‘bubble’ concept was introduced early and reiterated daily at government briefings. A simple concept that everyone understood. The 4 levels were equally clear. Under level x, you can do this, you can’t do that. Yes, occasionally the government reassessed some elements of what was permitted. But this has been an unprecedented situation that has needed tweaking as the situation became clearer. These adjustments were always scientifically-led and clearly communicated. There have been relatively few breaches because everyone knew exactly what they were or were not allowed to do. And the team of 5 million appreciated that a short period of economic pain would enable life to go back to normal sooner rather than later.
I compare this with the approach back home. Obviously I am an outsider looking in and it is easy to judge from the relative safety of New Zealand. Last week I read that less than 60% of people in the UK are complying with lockdown. Is this because, like Dominic Cummings, they think the rules don’t apply to them? Is it because they judge the risk to themselves as low (ignoring the risk to those vulnerable people they may come into contact with)? Or is it because the communication of what is allowed and what is not has been far from clear? I particularly like the example of a friend of mine who met a couple for some socially distant drinks in his garden. Meeting one person, outside (not in the garden, tut tut, see above), was permitted. His friends were compliant, he was not. No wonder people are confused!
As I write this New Zealand has one remaining active case. One. We are back to the relative normality of level 2 with level 1 real normality potentially from next week. ‘Only’ 22 people have died and at least 2 of these are questionable. Within days, NZ is due to become the first country to eliminate the disease. That is an amazing achievement. Not that it has been easy. I am one of many to have lost their jobs. In a country where 97% of businesses are small businesses, many of whom rely heavily on inbound tourism, the coming months until the borders reopen will continue to be tough. But we are almost there. The team of 5 million have almost won. Lockdown worked.