watervole: (Default)
Judith Proctor ([personal profile] watervole) wrote2020-03-21 09:47 am

life with coronovirus around

 Had a phone call from my daughter yesterday. As I had expected, she's been classed as a key worker - she delivers the mail and parcels.  This means that in the UK, she's entitled to keep Oswin at school so she can continue working. (though there won't be any formal education, just supervised play and other activities)

We had a very  rushed phone call, as she had to get back to them very quickly.  

It was calculated that grandad and I have enough energy to look after her and teach her for three full days a week, but she'll go into school for the other two days. This will also give her the benefit of contact with other children, which I feel is really important.

The school sent all the children home with an envelope of exercises in a range of subjects.  They look like an interesting set of worksheets and they'll give us a good idea what is expected.  We know we can take her beyond these in many subjects (because she's full of 'satiable curiosity - go read https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/79/just-so-stories/1299/the-elephants-child/ if you don't get the reference - it was one of my favourite stories as a little girl when my dad read it to me, and now Oswin loves me reading it to her), but we'll work through the sheets first and then build on that foundation.

They've also arranged for the all the children to have a log on for an educational web site.

the local library has closed due to the virus, but they're going to be looking into ways of getting books to children who are now at home.  This is important, as they have some really great books on things like castles, Ancient Egyptians, etc.

I was hoping they'd keep the gyms open, but they're now closed.  Yes, they're a source of infection, but for a lot of older people, they're also their main source of exercise.  I think keeping fit is a useful defence against the virus. It's very clear now that the virus is homing in on those with existing health conditions, and exercise tends to help with almost all of them.

My main plan to deal with this is to get outdoors every day for a long walk, and to try to do some jogging as well. If I don't do some running or dancing, all the work I've done to get my legs back in order (or mostly in order) will be wasted.  Quite apart from the benefit to my asthma.

coth: (Default)

[personal profile] coth 2020-03-21 11:11 am (UTC)(link)
I got to Pilates on Thursday, and I'm glad I did. But I've been working to towards bodily health for 2 years now, haven't got there yet, and I've now lost PT, Pilates and Sports Massage. I can still walk, and am making it a priority, but next week finding cover activities for these lost activities becomes very important to me.
vera_j: (Default)

[personal profile] vera_j 2020-03-21 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I am afraid you will have to put up with these and other restrictions as the rate of infected people raises.
I believe that the worst problem is the children. They are cut from their everyday life, no cinema or any cultural or sport facility. Many of them would like to go back to school.
Again, living in a village allows us much more freedom than people in towns have. As the families still can visit (inside the family), I am looking forward to having our Valča with her parents here. I have to ask if I am supposed to make lunch - which I would do with pleasure.

Again: don´t underestimate the masks. They won´t protect you against the virus but you can influence spreading it. I hope you will not experience such a crisis we do...
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[personal profile] igenlode 2020-03-21 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
It was calculated that grandad and I have enough energy to look after her and teach her for three full days a week, but she'll go into school for the other two days.

That sounds like a potentially bad idea from *your* point of view - I thought the whole idea of sending the children home was so that they wouldn't pick the virus up from the others at school and then transmit it to their families, especially grandparents? :-(
If Oswin keeps going into school and then going to you then you are being repeatedly exposed afresh -- I know one elderly lady who has been told (by her daughter) that she will have to wait two weeks after the grand-daughter's last day at childcare before she will be allowed to start providing the childcare herself, in order to make sure the little girl doesn't infect her with anything.
conuly: (Default)

[personal profile] conuly 2020-03-21 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Agreed/
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[personal profile] espresso_addict 2020-03-21 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Indeed -- I was going to write the same thing. While the UK government has been emphasising over-70s, the data I've been obsessively checking reading suggests that mortality in every age group 40+ is noticeably elevated.
elisi: Living in interesting times is not worth it (Default)

[personal profile] elisi 2020-03-21 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
That sounds like a potentially bad idea from *your* point of view - I thought the whole idea of sending the children home was so that they wouldn't pick the virus up from the others at school and then transmit it to their families, especially grandparents? :-(
This. Which sucks, but better safe than sorry... :(