June 2020 - Pandemic!

August 2021: I just found this blog post in my folder. Realising that I’d written it soon after landing back in Melbourne, but had not posted it on Destination Global, I’m now adding it, 18 months after arriving back from my last trip outside Victoria.

Having landed back in Melbourne from Vietnam on Tuesday 10 March 2020, I had no idea what we were about to experience, how our lives would change, our communities would shift and how the impact of politicians’ decisions would impact everyone across the world, including for Australia.

While I was in Vietnam, we’d heard about Aussies hoarding toilet paper – much to the amusement of my US friends! Fortunately, Liza and Ari, who live in NYC, took this to heart and asked a family member to get some for them – it was waiting for them when they arrived home.

On my way back, I had a layover in Singapore for a few hours before my overnight flight to Melbourne. The Singapore Airlines lounge is very comfortable, and the tea is delicious and hot – very much appreciated that evening. It was certainly very crowded, with travellers heading to their homes across the globe.

I usually sit near the windows that overlook the airport’s busy shops. Nearby there was a group of 7 people chatting about their travels and the virus – a mix of Aussie and English accents. They sounded like doctors or researchers, or a mix of both, and were unperturbed by the closeness of all of us to them and to each other. I could only pick up snippets such as: “it all seemed ok there.”

With an hour to spare, I headed downstairs to find the gate – it’s often a long way off, and it was that evening, but I had plenty of time. Through the security check at the gate lounge, lots of seats were free, and I found one close to the boarding gate. A young Asian woman wearing a mask walked past me and sat on one of the seats behind me. There’s nothing particularly notable about that, except that over her clothing, she was wearing yellow-plastic covering all her clothing. She sat behind me, took out a bunch of alcohol swabs and started cleaning everything in her carryon.

Having snuck a couple of photos, I texted them to the friends I’d just left in Vietnam, with comments such as “a little over the top” and “perhaps a clean freak.” I wondered if she had come from China – even so, at that time it seemed excessive.

Little did I know!

The flight was uneventful – all flight attendants were wearing masks, and because their voices were muffled, they had to come very close to me to be heard. At the time I wondered how many germs were being blown off their masks onto me! I didn’t have masks with me then, and they weren’t being offered.

Once I was home, showered and unpacked, it was time to get back into work-mode. The Grand Prix track looked fantastic, and I was looking forward to hearing the F1 cars that would start practice the following day. I’d cancelled the annual GP lunch while I was away, and was looking forward to seeing Ant & the boys over the weekend for the race. Of course I had to pick-up the chocolate F1 cars that I’d ordered and paid for (btw, they’re still sitting on a shelf wrapped in plastic & foil, waiting to be eaten)!

And then the world shifted. On Thursday morning, we woke to hear that the WHO had declared a pandemic. By Friday the GP had been cancelled, and the cars disappeared into their crates for shipping to somewhere out of Australia.

On 16 March, our Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, took decisive action and declared a state of emergency until 13 April. On 20 March, the Australian Government closed our borders to non-residents. We all know about the Ruby Princess, and that debacle, and the people who returned to Australia from the Diamond Princess – many bringing the virus with them.

In Victoria we rapidly went from relatively normal life, to being allowed out only for essentials such as grocery shopping, medical appointments and so on. My hairdresser remained open, and I managed to get a hair-cut before the shutdown – phew!

Looking back at the numbers, and their rise, it’s fascinating to see that by 15 March, Australia had 300 confirmed cases; by 2nd April, just in Victoria we had more than 1,000 cases, and 3 days later, Australia had recorded 5,687 cases. We all understand the multiplier effects that occur during a pandemic – we watch with horror as the numbers around the world continue to increase.

We also watch with hope and fascination that scientists around the world are working together to develop one or more vaccines that will knock this nasty virus back. How quickly can they do this and have these into the market and across the world?