Lockdown Diaries

Ever since the lockdown started, there was only one wish and that was to go out. And one day came when I finally went outside my house to buy grocery. That was the very first day after almost a month of staying inside.

This is something I wrote after coming back:

Today is the day I finally went to town after this lockdown started. And it felt, to be honest, I want to stay at home now!!! Isn’t that weird?

Everything is getting back to normal or it seems normal now. Roads are less crowded but not empty. Before this, I only went outside a few meters from my house to a bakery once. This is how the road looked then. Completely empty. A few people were on the road in the evening mostly after work.

Today was different. There are many shops that are still closed. But, a lot of them open and doing business as usual, or at least it seems so from my quick errand. There are hand sanitizers kept in front of most shops.

Everyone has masks on them. I wore it for the first time for this long. It was too hot and I gained massive respect for the health professionals who are inside those PPE dresses. That’s highly uncomfortable to be inside for a few minutes and they use it almost the complete day.

There was one thing, particularly that was selling in most streets. It was the face masks. I have never seen masks being sold like this before. They were mainly of cloth and after my only a few hours of staying outside in this green mask, I completely get the need to get a cloth mask instead. It is more comfortable, breathable, and less sweaty I assume.

If this is how it is going to be from now on, I don’t see myself going out that much. I mean it is a lot of work and uncomfortable.

Yes, I hated going outside with this mask on. Its just so uncomfortable. Wearing the masks is not something new to me but it was never like this. That day I decided not to go anywhere again untill this situation changes. But, I couldn’t see anything changing and life goes on.

The next time was to shop from some nurseries, grocery shopping and to the agricultural university. Streets were not empty as before.

I know it sounds silly. But, today I went through the thermometer test for temperature for the first time during the pandemic. I mean, you see it on news and reports and wonder how it all goes.

I have to tell you if this is going to be like this, waiting in the queue for such a long time to get done with all the procedures, then I am going to buy everything online and never going outside again! It is such a waste of a lot of time in the queues.

Meanwhile, this is where we went. Someone was having a good time without the noisy humans around but still chained.

There are a strict rules for social distancing in the places that are open for the public. Like in the nursery, only 5 people are allowed to go in at the same time. Same for the billing of the products and so on. This meant long queues.

There’s police almost everywhere to check on things. There is a good fine for those who try to wander in these times or catch going out unnecessarily or without masks. Now, it has become a crime not to wear masks.

By the end of May, the rules have become more relaxed. More shops are open and more people are on the street. To make things a little better it has started to rain some times. I was out again to visit my sister.

Celebrations are all cancelled these days. So, we keep things with less people. Getting cakes were a bit difficult before that. Now, it has become easier. Bakeries and shops open till 6 or 7. There is no dine in options. Only takeaways.

Out of everyone who gets bored and frustated during the lockdown, the ones most affected seems to be children. It is their summer holidays that is coming to an end and they are forced to stay inside. My nephew was one of them.

They have a small pond near their house and he has his bike now. We went near the pond for him to ride the bike. It was these small things that made him happy now. He gets to play in the evenings but that is also with much limitations.

Markets and shopping centers are getting open now. Every shop has sanitizers on the desks. Clothing stores doesn’t have the trial options. And, public markets have these tanks of water and taps installed at the enterance. There is police too to check the crowd.

Taps, tanks and soaps were installed much before the lockdown started. Now, most of them are less used than before. We were nearing the end of the lockdown by the end of May. The scehduled lockdown was till May 31st.

Then things changed. More number of cases and it kept increasing. Even with all the treatments and everything, now we have many cases of COVID 19. So, no, the lockdown didn’t end on May 31st. it got extended to a different phase.

Schools have started classes online. My nephew hates going to school or writing. He literally cries if asked to write the alphabets. I wonder how I was when I was that young. I have heard I liked going to school. Seeing him cry makes me wonder why kids hate school! I always loved it, mostly for my friends and activities.

It feels like going outside most of the time. But, when I look at the mask it all changes very quickly and I keep myself inside the house. Rooftop is the limit most of the time and sunsets the happy times!