Corona Diaries

Ava

‘’Sleep gets you away from the situation, but the nightmare begins the moment you wake up...’’

Background Information

Female, aged 65-74, Retired, Wales.

March 2020

19th 2020

This is a log of our lives at the moment. We are all living in the threat of the corona virus.

The virus appears to have come from China the exact source is not known but many speculations are flying

around...the market at Wuhan where animals are killed and eaten has disgusted many people and has been

blamed, plus the theory that it was man-made is debated.

The UK, USA, Australia and many more countries are now affected. Italy and Spain are already in lockdown

as they have thousands of cases.

Our lives are changing drastically so far 137 have died due to this terrible virus. We are all very much afraid

and confused we need someone to guide us and give us reassurance. We are not allowed to travel, and

people are urged to fly home from abroad. We will be in lockdown soon as people are not listening to

government advice to stay indoors. Care homes are not allowing any visitors, so I haven’t seen my mother

for a week but I’m sure that this is going to go on for much longer. The schools are closing next week, until

after Easter. Lots of shops are now closed and we are strongly advised to self-isolate for our own safety. We

have never experienced anything like this –we really don’t understand it.... so many people could die we are

all so anxious and worried. People are panicking and stockpiling food and medicines this is adding to the

distress we are all experiencing.

I will try to keep writing everyday- God bless us all from this invisible enemy.

22nd 2020

Things are getting so much worse 281 deaths in UK. Really don’t feel like talking about this I just want to go

to sleep and forget about all that is going on in the world at this time. Sleep gets you away from the situation,

but the nightmare begins the moment you wake up... God bless us all.

30th 2020

We are all on lockdown now and have been for just over a week. I feel sorry for people who live alone as it

must be so lonely and depressing for them. I have Curtis for company, so I am lucky... I have been doing a

few Facebook videos just to keep people optimistic I just talk lots of nonsense, sing a song and tell everyone

to keep going. People seem to enjoy it and give me lovely comments.

I only go out with Spot the dog for a walk around teatime and only for about an hour. I get very anxious and

weepy at time but then I think about all the NHS workers and all other key workers and imagine how hard it

must be for them dealing with terrible things every day and I realise that I have nothing to be m oaning about.

I am not seeing my mother. I am only talking to her on the phone, maybe I will never see her again. I feel

guilty that she is in a care home but I’m sure she would be so much isolated if she was at home as she

wouldn’t see anyone for hours on end, at least in the care home she has company to eat with and they have

singalongs and bingo to occupy them.

I really miss seeing the kids and grandkids... Craig, my son, and Steven, my grandson, came last week and

I spoke to them from the balcony, they didn’t come in. Everyone is the same we are all feeling the strain.

There have been over a thousand deaths in UK now. I pray it will be over soon, but they are saying the worse

is yet to come. Hospitals are being set up in a local rugby field and event centre in preparation for the worse.

Hopefully these will not have to be used. I never imagined life would be like this... I am nearly 65 years old

and have been so fortunate to have had a happy healthy life. I worry about all my family having this horrible

virus and maybe dying... most people I speak to feel the same as me. God bless us all and I pray for this

pandemic to end soon.

April 2020

1st 2020

It seems so strange but sometimes I really don’t feel like writing anything in my diary, I just want to pretend

that there is nothing bad going on in the world – we are just going about our lives as usual.

My bedroom is my safe haven. I don’t go downstairs till after 11am and if I can help it sometimes even later

– the day is just too long. I wake about 8am but have a mug of tea in bed, take my time showering, more

tea, dress slowly put some make-up on. Maybe chat on the phone but generally just fuss about upstairs

doing nothing important.

The death rate has gone up drastically today nearly 600 people.

I find myself thinking about their funerals – only about 10 people can attend, and they cannot embrace each

other as social distancing has to be kept up. This will cause so much psychological pain to family members

left behind and I imagine in years to come this will haunt their lives, if they themselves survive.

I’ve been doing some videos and putting them on Facebook to cheer people up, they are just daft silly

videos but funnily enough they are also cheering me up too, it just makes life a bit happier and funnier.

Many people are really struggling as they are apart from their families. Phones and face time help a lot and

everyone looks forward to their phone calls, but nobody has much to say as there is nothing going on.

The NHS is having big problems with the PPE they are putting their lives in great danger due to inadequate

protection. What will happen to us all? Will our lives ever be the same again – I fear our personalities will

change greatly as we will become so unaccustomed to socialising – it will become alien to us. I really hope

this will not be the case but if the isolation goes on for a long-time, humans are bound to find it difficult to

interact face to face again.

I pray this will be over soon without causing too much grief and heartache. God please take care of my

family and if any of us must contract this terrible virus please let it be me not any of them. God bless us all.

7th 2020

The important news today is that Boris Johnson, our prime minister, is in hospital with the corona virus. He

has been ill with it for about 11 days and what we have seen of him on tv he looks dreadful. People are

feeling for him as it is showing us all that anyone can be affected by this terrible illness, we are all in the

same boat.

The light nights are starting to come in now, this is a time of year we all love spending time outdoors, but

we are only allowed to go out for shopping, medical supplies and about 30minutes exercise daily – lots of

younger people do not seem to believe the severity of the virus and think they are immune to catching it.

The government will have no option but to enforce more strict measures as people are not listening.

We are coping okay – we have two very large toy furry lions and Curtis puts them out every day and the

children really enjoy seeing them when they go for their daily exercise with their parents. The children can’t

go to the parks or out to play so it’s nice for them to see the lions – they like them.

I’ve not got the exact figures of deaths from the virus today but it’s over 5000 so things are really bad. I

worry for us all we cannot be with our loved ones if they die this is so heart-breaking, who would ever have

believed this situation just one year ago.

I pray for an end to this terrible disease. God bless us all.

13th 2020

Well Boris Johnson has come through the virus and is now home from hospital. I am so pleased, but some

people are really nasty and posting horrible remarks online – wishing him dead.

The total number of deaths in UK is now 10,612 – such a terrible amount and it is said that the worse is yet

to come.

It is Easter Monday today and we have had a glorious sunny weekend – we have spent lots of time in the

garden –we are so lucky to have an outdoor area to spend time, some people are in flats with just a window

to the outside world, that must be so hard for people with young children. I pray next year we will be looking

back on this horrendous time and it will be just a bad nightmare we lived through.

I phoned my uncle yesterday his son Issac my cousin is in the hospital very ill with the virus. I really hope

he can pull through this – he is 56. My uncle told as I said goodbye that he loved me and had loved me

from the first time he saw me when I was a tiny baby – I felt very sad and cried was he saying a final

goodbye to me??

People seem to be listening to the Stay at Home campaign a bit more but with the weather being so lovely

many are still trying to go to holiday destinations, but the police are checking cars to see where they are

travelling to.

Every Thursday at 8pm people are going outside their homes to clap and show their appreciation for the

NHS and all key workers, it is very touching. I keep on praying that there will soon be an end to this terrible

pandemic.

21st 2020

We are still in lockdown and the government has informed us that it will continue for 3 weeks, I think it will

be for a lot longer.

I have been keeping busy in the house and we walk for a while with the dog, if we have got peelings and

chicken bones we take them down the firing ranges to feed the rabbits and foxes.... It is so peaceful and

lovely down there that I can imagine that the world is back to normal and the virus no longer exists. We are

getting on good, although some people are finding spending time together constantly very difficult.

Josie, Ned and Alex came down last week to go down the beach for a walk, we had to distance ourselves

from each other but it was so nice just to go for a walk together and talk together not just on the phone... It

was better than going on a big holiday to me. I also went up to the care home to see my mother and spoke

to her through the window, which was open slightly, again that was lovely. I have been very worried about

my mother in the home as so many have had cases in them and if the elderly contract it, they probably

won’t survive.

Today’s death count in the UK is 17,337 which is so worrying. I try not to think about it too much or I get

really depressed. I am still doing my silly videos and lots of people are enjoying them, we are all just trying

to keep positive. I really hope that things will get better soon. God bless us all.

28th 2020

We are all keeping well thankfully. The lockdown is still in place, but the government seems to be happy

with the way things are going as the rate of deaths seems to be going down. The hospitals are still

extremely busy with virus cases, but many are worried that the cancer treatment and other life-threatening

illnesses are not being treated as they should be. Many people will be ill in the future years as they are not

going to the doctors or hospitals to be diagnosed for an illness, they probably have symptoms of, they are

so afraid of catching the virus if they attend anywhere medical and to be honest, I can fully understand their

worries.

The food shops are open, but we usually must queue to go into the shops... There are markers on the

ground so we do not go too close to the person in front of us and we must keep a safe distance of 2 metres

away from people as we do our shopping which can be quite difficult at times.

Social distancing, unprecedented times, stay at home, clap for the NHS, self isolating are all terms we are

using in our everyday lives.

I did manage to see my granddaughter for an hour yesterday she came down to the beach with her father

to go for a walk and I went down later and sat a safe distance apart while she played for a while on the

beach ... it was lovely to spend some time with her and she enjoyed the change of scenery. We all are

appreciating the little things we can do.

My mother is keeping well in the care home but there has been a lot of talk about the care homes being hit

bad with the virus this causes me worry, I asked if she would be able to come to me to stay until this is over

but apparently the residents are not allowed to come out of the care home until all this has gone.

I pray every night for an end to this terrible virus that has taken over the world and hope my prayers will be

answered.

On a positive note, my cousin who was really ill and on his deathbed is now well on the mend and is home

from hospital we are all so very grateful to the staff at the hospital who took such wonderful care of him and

all the other patients.

May 2020

5th 2020

Well, we are now into May and we are still in lockdown, we may have some news on easing the lockdown

on Friday but lots of people are saying it is far too soon. Total number of deaths in UK is 29,437 so many

people have died, it is so sad. The Nightingale hospital in London is to close next week due to not much

use of it, this is such positive news for us but maybe the peak is yet to come so they are keeping it in case

there is a need for it. Hopefully it will never be needed, and it was prepared but not needed.

We are all good so far thank God, I get really fed up sometimes and have to get out of the house for a walk

or a bike ride. The weather has been so lovely we have been so fortunate to be able to sit outdoors for

most of the day, do some gardening or cleaning up, this makes the day pass quickly because you’re kept

busy. Everyone seems to have lost track of days of the week in fact every day is like a Sunday, very quiet.

I don’t know how long the country can go on paying people 80% of their wages, it is called furloughed, to be

honest I’ve never heard of this before. It must be costing the government so much to be able to pay out all

this money, the children who are off from school and entitled to free dinners are having vouchers to use for

extra food in shops. This is causing problems because the vouchers can be difficult to redeem in the shops.

There have been a lot of food banks set up to provide food for the elderly and vulnerable in the community

and wonderful volunteers are distributing it. Everyone is pulling together; it’s made everyone depend on

each other and be kind.

I hope this will soon be over and we can get back to our lives and building up the country again. The NHS

need to be recognised for all the hard work they have done to save so many lives. God bless us all.

14th 2020

The death rate in the UK at the moment is 33,607, such a lot of people. The worst part of someone passing

away is that they are on their own as no family can be with them... the funeral will have a limit of 10 people

to attend and there will be no hugging or touching, this is heartbreaking as we all need comfort at these

times and always use our funerals to say goodbye to our family and friends, all this has been taken away

from us. Will we ever get our lives back to how we lived before this terrible virus came upon us?

The furlough payment is being extended to October....this is costing the government millions of pounds and

the country will take years to get back to any form of normality financially. So many things have been

affected... things we took so much for granted we can no longer do. Cinema, theatre, restaurants, shopping

and just about everything we enjoy has been stopped. I am getting more accustomed to the lock in. I still go

out on the bike and now and then I go to the shops. If I didn’t go out anywhere, I think my mental health

would be badly affected as so many more people are experiencing mental issues due to the virus. We had

a very bad rate of depression and anxiety in our country before all this happened but now, I’m sure this

problem has got so much worse.

I still cannot go to my mother. I can only speak to her outside the window, which is very difficult. She

sometimes gets so down, and I don’t blame her. She didn’t expect much in her life, just us to visit and go

out a few times a week to have a coffee and cake. Now, all that been stopped, and every day is the same

for her. She does not moan, and she always tells me that she’s not lonely at all... this makes me feel a lot

better as loneliness can be so terrible. We must all keep safe and keep going that is the only way we can

go. I am praying that this will be over soon, and we will all get through it safely.

VE celebrations went ahead last Friday May 8th as it was 75years since World War 2 ended and it was

victory in Europe. Lots of big celebrations were due to be celebrated......the May Day, Bank holiday Monday

was even changed to the Friday so we could all enjoy a long weekend. We had a celebration out the front

garden, but we all stayed a safe distance away and sat on our own, we all enjoyed it was a lovely change.

We played music, danced, joked and generally had some good fun. Hopefully we can tell our stories about

these times to our children and grandchildren in years to come just like our elders tell us the stories of their

lives during World War 2.

27th 2020

The total deaths of the coronarvirus as of today is 36,646. We are still in a lockdown situation, but many

people are getting really fed-up, and they are going out more often... I am finding it really hard to stay in, I

go to get shopping and any messages needed doing. Mentally this is having a bad effect on so many

people, there seems to be nothing to get up for everyday the days are all the same, we don’t seem to know

what day or date it is... everything is so strange. Life is strange when we chat to each other, we are keeping

our distance automatically... will we ever go back to hugging each other ever again? It will be a long time

before we do.

The weather has been really lovely, and this has helped deal with the situation a bit better...we have to

queue to go into shops and if the weather was cold and wet it would make things so much harder for us all.

I really miss seeing my mother she would love to be taken to Joe’s ice-cream to get an ice cream, not much

to ask for when you’re 87 but she can’t go, and I doubt things will ease up in the near future.

I really hope we will be able to socialise soon this is going on for too long now and taking its toll on so many

people. I pray we will all get through this, the country is going to take a long, long time to pull out of this

recession. God bless us all.

June 2020

7th 2020

Life is very slowly starting to get back to a bit of normally, we are now allowed to visit our families, but we

must keep a safe distance. I am still not able to see my mother as she is considered to be vulnerable, it is

very hard, and I hope that they can arrange an appointment system to visit the home. It has been close on

3 months since we have not been able to visit as the care homes were one of the first things to be put on

lock down.

It has been great to see the grandchildren again even if just to chat we are not able to hug each other. I felt

so sorry for a friend of mine who I saw last week she had lost her mother last month aged 59yrs, she felt so

much regret for not going to see her mother due to the virus, her mother was self-isolating due to her chest

problems, so the family had been cautious to keep her safe even though it was breaking their hearts. Her

mother had a bad turn on a Sunday afternoon and passed away very quickly. This had nothing to do with

the virus and my friend felt so sorry and regretted not spending time with her mother during her last few

weeks of life. I tried to tell her that it was done to protect her mother, but I think she will take a long time to

come to terms with her loss. Not being able to comfort each other at the meagre funeral didn’t help the

family.

Total deaths from the virus up to date is 40,542, there is nothing I can say about this, it so extremely sad. It

is very depressing to go to the shops with having to queue outside to go in and everyone keeping a safe

distance, it is not a nice experience. I’m really hoping that we will soon be able to have more leeway to do

our normal everyday things. I miss my old life so much even though it was just ordinary – nothing exciting,

just ordinary. Will we ever visit Spain again? We were meant to be going to the Costa del Sol on the 30th of

June but all holidays are cancelled. The travel industry is in a bad way as is most of the companies and

firms in the country. I watch the Martin Lewis programme every week and he has given us so much advice

during the lockdown especially about furlough and grants and loans available to firms which will help them

survive during these times.

21st 2020

At long last we are easing the restrictions and things are slowly getting back to normal. Shops for non-

essential goods are opening tomorrow. Things will not be the same but at least we will be able to shop, we

will have to distance by 2 metres and probably queue to go into the shops, but we are all used to doing this

now as we have been doing it for over 3 months and queuing has become normal to us.

My mother is coming to live with us tomorrow, the lockdown has really been getting to her and she has

become so miserable not being able to see us and not going out anywhere. She was quite happy there for

the past 2years, but she just keeps telling me that she doesn’t want to die in there with none of us around,

so she is so looking forward to coming...I really hope things will work out for us all.

It is my daughter’s birthday today we bought a birthday cake, lit candles, and we all sang Happy Birthday.

We have got used to not going out to restaurants for a meal to celebrate any occasion, we have to make

our own celebrations in our homes or in close family members' homes. It’s so strange how we get used to

living this way... we have no contact when we go to shops or even just walking along the roads. Some

people are very strict on these measures and turn their backs on you as you go past. The total number of

deaths in UK up to today is 42,632. I hope this virus will soon be eliminated from the world there seems to

be a lot of talk about a cure let’s pray this is the end of a life changing time in our lives.