Living the COVID-19 experience across the world |07 April 2020

As of April 6, 2020, almost every country in the world has recorded cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. It has spread across countries, putting millions under lockdown and there are around 1.2 million confirmed cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Seychelles NATION got into contact with various persons in different countries, from journalists to students to IT technicians, to find out what’s going on in their country of residence. Surprisingly, the accounts sound very similar and showcase that no matter who we are, no matter where we are, we are all going through the same experiences.

Richard Abbey, journalist

Nationality: Ghanaian

Location: Accra, Ghana

“So far, Ghana has recorded 214 confirmed cases and five deaths. There is a partial lockdown in the country’s two major regions where cases of the virus have been recorded. Essential services are the only ones allowed to operate. I am working from home and conducting phone interviews or interviews through social media. The general sentiment in Ghana is one of somber mood, everyone is just wishing for all of this to be over soon. Our president, Nana Akufo-Addo, on Sunday announced some relief for health workers and frontline staff. This includes increase in salaries, tax free salary and also scrapping of water bill for the entire country for the next three months.”

Mihir Talsania, graphic designer

Nationality: Tanzanian

Location: Tanzania

“Tanzania currently has a total number of 20 cases wherein we have already got a report of one death, two recoveries and 17 active cases. As soon as Tanzanians heard about the first case in the country, the prices of sanitisers, hand wash and other hygiene products sky-rocketed. People had no choice but to buy the products as per precaution. The country is not yet on lockdown despite seeing the effect the virus has had on our neighbouring countries, although many banks and private shops have shortened their working hours due to this pandemic.”

Sheevani Needhoo, community manager and project coordinator

Nationality: Mauritian

Location: Mauritius

“Personally, I feel that the government was too overconfident regarding this matter. It lagged behind in the preparation of facing such an issue and did not want to go forward with the closure of borders when we still had the time to, unlike other countries, and ignored the views and agitations of the population. And weirdly one day, suddenly around 10am when everyone’s at work, it announced that the boundaries would be closing for 15 days. Imagine the panic of those in the hotel industry. Crisis meetings everywhere (work from home, unpaid leaves...you could hear this everywhere and read fear on every face); the population was not prepared for this. No lockdown was announced yet but some companies had already decided to close their doors for the safety of their employees (mine was among the first and I’m very happy of their decision). Then came the res to lakaz thing asking the population to stay at home. Everybody rushed to supermarkets. A catastrophe! […]To calm the situation and avoid people from getting out, the government then announced that there was going to be a complete lockdown (again very brutal) – no supermarket, no small shops, no bakeries! Nothing was going to open for 15 days. Intelligent move according to them: leaving people with nothing to eat blocked in their homes! Tensions again! Thefts and all. After a week, they realised their mistake, they then decided to open the supermarkets and put in a place a strategy to avoid crowding (alphabetical order to go shopping). It took up to 6 hours to enter the supermarkets.

“Although I am not very happy of the government’s way of doing things, given that this is something which never happened before, they are doing ok I’ll say. They thought of the vulnerable families, delivering food at their place, delivering pensions to the elderly so that they do not go to the bank, doing their max to bring back Mauritians stuck abroad, wage scheme to help entrepreneurs and others, also the COVID communication team communicates on a daily basis with the audience (transparent not so sure, but still they are doing their best to communicate information, sensitise and reassure the public). Such actions are commendable. I also admire all the work being done by front liners (doctors, nurses, every personnel from the health sector, police, supermarket staff, press), the national solidarity of Mauritians (they never fail to help and assist the underprivileged), the work of NGOs and some companies. We are at 227 positive cases, 7 deaths and 7 recoveries. For now, I am working from home. Some of my projects are on hold, but we are working on things we don’t usually have the time to tackle and working in advance for projects due for September and others so that we are ready when we resume.”

Juliette Ernesta, university student

Nationality: Seychellois

Location: Ireland

“At the moment Ireland is on lockdown. I live in Dublin which has the highest number of cases in the country. My experience has been similar to most people in the country we are staying indoors as much as possible. We are allowed to leave to go to the shop and exercise up to 2 kilometres from our home, there are police officers in the area to make sure that people practice social distancing or physical distancing in public areas. High risk individuals are asked to stay inside and not leave their home. As for me I am currently home alone as my housemates have gone home for the duration of the lockdown as it is safer and more comfortable to be with family in this difficult time.
I try as much as possible to stick to a routine mostly waking up making a meal, watching something and interacting with my family and loved ones online and take a daily walk. One thing that I find extremely difficult is leaving my house and going to the store or going outside in general. Ireland has now reached almost 5000 cases, with 158 deaths and 25 patients recovered. It is honestly terrifying to leave the confines of my home to carry out tasks such as buying food or taking a walk. Although I am home alone, I am very grateful for people reaching out and checking on me including my very close friends, my parents, my siblings, my housemates and everyone around me who are aware of the situation in Ireland. At the moment like many other individuals, I have been laid off from work but we are receiving welfare support from the Irish government and I am are not sure of the status of our hotels, many of which have closed with the promise that they would get back to us in the foreseeable future as they are also unsure on the situation. At the moment all pubs, restaurants and all non-essential shops and services are closed. Only pharmacies and supermarkets are open and they operate as per usual, this is excellent for people like me who can go to the store at a time when it is less busy as to avoid as much human contact as possible. I do miss home more and more everyday as I cannot go outside and enjoy the summer and sunshine but my family always makes me feel better with daily video calls.
One thing I would like to say to the people back home is that this is extremely serious. We need to do better, we need to stay home and think about our grandparents, our children, our younger siblings who are more at risk. Going out and socialising is not worth it. Stay home! I am staying home for other people and this isn't even my home. We are lucky enough to have our beaches and nature, keep your physical contact only with people you live with and keep 2 metres away from anyone else. What I always think about is how bad the situation is in Ireland and across the world where they are more equipped and advanced in the medical field and if there is an outbreak in Seychelles just how bad it would get. I am constantly anxious and scared to go outside and I am hopeful that the situation improves but for now we are all in this together and we have to take all the necessary precautions, there is no end in sight at the moment but we can help by staying safe.”

Christelle Sinon

Nationality: Seychellois

Location: Australia

“We are on lockdown here and most are working from home if they can while those in essential services are still working. They have stricter measures for going to the shops such as lining up a few at a time. All restaurants are closed but some do take-aways. The kids are at home now. My kids video call with their friends and we have a big backyard where they love playing soccer or basketball, ride their bicycles or scooters. Their school works are available online. As for the spiritual aspect, we connect with our church and the other church members online.”

Ashley Mazuri, news anchor

Nationality: Kenyan

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

“Kenya has around 142 cases so far. Most Kenyans have a carefree attitude; there was a curfew implemented but most are having house parties. During the day it’s business as usual for most people, although public transportations and supermarkets have implemented social distancing. I have been going to work as usual because media people don't really have much of a choice. It's scary on one hand because I am exposed and I can see how people are not taking this seriously but I also think this might be the new normal, the world won't be the same after this so it's interesting.”

Zainah Allybokus, journalist/ Instagram influencer

Nationality: Mauritian

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

“It has been 10 days since we are in lockdown here in South Africa. I am living in the Western Cape region of Cape Town and the situation here is really calm. People have been really understanding since day one, there’s barely any movement on the road. People are going to the supermarket only when they need to buy their necessities. My experience here has been great. We are respecting the protocols and waiting for the lockdown to be lifted to find out when we will be able to catch a flight back home.”

Tania Jeremie, university student

Nationality: Seychellois

Location: Selangor, Malaysia

“Basically we haven’t left the house since they applied the movement control order on March 18. We barely go out for groceries because we live in apartments and even touching lift buttons have become dangerous. Malaysia was a bit careless, they were still having religious gatherings at the beginning of the outbreak and up until now contact tracing is still going on; they could have contained it. Numbers are still rising by 100-150 cases every day, pending tests are also quite high and the only hope is that recoveries are not bad. Most universities are considering online classes so we were ready to come home but unfortunately Seychelles has restricted flights into the country; we know it’s out of their control and they are doing what is best for the country. We just hope that something else can be done.”

Keshia Deeyanam Raghaven , university student

Nationality: Mauritian

Location: Savignac-Les-Eglises, France

« I am here at Savignac as an exchange student from Taylors University Malaysia for a duration of four months to pursue an exchange study program for my Bachelor of International Hospitality Management. At the beginning of this issue, everything seemed as usual but however the current situation is deteriorating day by day since a scarcity of essential consumable products has been observed in the supermarkets. Moreover, some major laws have been implemented following the outbreak and we ought to follow […]For example, only one person is allowed to go out shopping for groceries but nevertheless it’s not convenient for us since the latter needs to buy everything for everyone. Moreover, each time someone goes out it is essential that that person has all important identity documents in his possession. In addition to this, the French government has extended the lockdown up to the end of April since the crisis has not yet been stabilised. Regarding the situation in our current location, we can clearly say that it is considerably calm and the chaos caused by this outbreak is not felt like in Paris.

“From my personal point of view, we are living on the edge each day without knowing for certain whether or not we will get to see the future or not. It is a scary and dangerous world out there and for me it is like living a nightmare since I am away from my country and my parents without any way of returning at the moment.”

Geoffrey Mutegeki, journalist

Nationality: Ugandan

Location: Kampala, Uganda

“As of April 6, Uganda had registered 52 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no deaths according to the Ministry of Health. The people in Uganda are aware of the pandemic though a bit lax and not respecting the guidelines issued by government like staying home and social distancing. Uganda is currently under lockdown with markets, schools, churches, mosques, shops, arcades and several other businesses closed. Only the supermarkets, pharmacies, veterinary shops and food stores are operating. Also, only essential staff, who include media, medical personnel, utilities like electricity, water, and gas are allowed to move. Since April 1 government instituted a curfew from 7pm to 6.30am.

The majority of the cases that have been confirmed are imported with few community transmissions so far. Personally, it’s been a challenging time to adjust to working from home and not being able to move freely. At the beginning of the lockdown, I was very anxious and worried of how I will survive. I spent like three sleepless nights wondering how life will be without bars, church, and travel but I managed to counsel myself and accepted really and focused on preventing myself from the virus. I still go to the office, but with public transport and public cars banned I have to walk or wait to be picked. I sometimes walk, which helps me to exercise and kill the boredom. I miss my mother who I was supposed to visit this month.”

Kirtikahan Dey, IT technician

Nationality: Indian

Location: Kolkata, India

“The most affected area in India is Maharashtra, the state in which Mumbai is located. Here in Kolkata, the cases are increasing at a gradual rate but not drastically. We are on complete lockdown however which means no school, no restaurants, no office. We are encouraged to work at home and shops are open to buy essential items.”

Compiled by Elsie Pointe