Ben there, Done that
Coronavirus up-close
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By now, the chances that you haven’t heard about the COVID-19 virus are nearly zero. This new strain of coronavirus emerged from Wuhan, China, and has now reached many of the countries around the world, including Europe. Being in Switzerland, not far from northern Italy where the virus entered the continent, it has been an interesting experience, to say the least.
Even in my relatively short lifetime, I vividly remember the panic and hysteria surrounding other health crises like Swine Flu, Ebola and Zika; however, this is the first time I have ever been in an affected area during the crisis. It has been fascinating to watch how things are handled and managed as the virus continues to spread around the continent.
For the first week, when the virus was in Italy, there was very little in the way of major concern. In Switzerland, the first response to this actually came from major employers, not the government or a health organization. These companies told their workers if any of them went to Italy, they would have to stay home from work once returning for two weeks without pay. At first, I was a bit surprised when I heard this was happening and though it was a bit strict but, in hindsight, it was good.
The place I work at here placed a similar travel ban on Italy. I had a trip to Venice planned for the beginning of April but realized traveling was not a good option and canceled it. What a bizarre feeling to have plans impacted by a virus outbreak. How could you plan or anticipate this happening? However, as the next two weeks came and went, I was glad the trip was canceled.
The number of cases in Milan and Venice skyrocketed, and the virus made its way into Switzerland. The Italian government quarantined Venice, Milan, and the surrounding area. Trains going into Italy from Switzerland were stopped, quarantines were set up at Swiss airports, and the government of Switzerland took unprecedented action by placing a countrywide ban on all events over 1,000 people. Then the United States closed their borders. The virus’s shadow became more and more imposing.
Bringing things closer to home, a patient died in the local hospital here from the virus and there have been scattered cases in the immediate area around Lausanne. At one point, my colleagues and I were going to the nearby town of Yverdon. The night before we were planning to go, our contact informed us that a construction worker at the location we were going to visit had tested positive for COVID-19. This promptly brought an end to our trip.
The Swiss government had a press conference at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 16, which was effective the following morning at 6 a.m., limiting groups of people to a maximum of 10. All stores with the exception of those selling essentials like food and medicine were to close, all schools were closing or moving online, and people were urged to limit going anywhere and stay home. This has dramatically impacted life here in so many ways. Most people only go out for shopping trips and stay home otherwise. It is almost spooky how quiet things have become. Streets once bustling with activity now resemble a ghost town.
Personally, I am not too worried about the virus. The mortality rate for infected adults between 18-39 years old is 0.2 percent or 1 in 500. It will be interesting to see how this plays out further as time goes on. So, what now? As I said before, having already observed several health crises in my lifetime there is a part of me that feels like this whole thing has gotten a bit blown out of proportion. I do recognize that the virus is not something to be taken lightly, but it isn’t going to bring about the apocalypse. In the meantime, I’ll have an opportunity to witness this pandemic up-close.
If you have any questions about the virus or what things are like in Europe, feel free to send me an email, ben@valleyjournal.net. I will write about your question in my next column.
