We had heard of a virus that was parked in China. It seemed that the Chinese had controlled it, but I was not one hundred percent sure. My imaginative, sci-fi mind was always throwing out various possibilities. I think my logical side said that the arrival of the virus in Italy would have been unlikely, but I was not prepared to accept that it was unreal. Maybe four or five scenarios came to mind, and then there were plans A, B and C, in case the pandemic that is so talked about hits. I was possibly becoming OCD, a potentially useful acronym during 2020!
Unsurprisingly, many of my students and coworkers shrugged at the idea. We believed that doctors and scientists had all the answers. Well, I didn’t trust that they had ‘all’ the answers; however, it seemed that the smart people in China would have everything under control. So this topic became popular in English classes. All weighed in on every possibility, while most only considered the inconsequential arrival of the virus, which was expected to be more like a minor flu. I was wondering if I should have been talking about it during my lessons. Perhaps, I thought, this topic would not be so relevant to the lives of students. Maybe they needed to study English for business, holidays, cooking, art and lighter things.
All around me, it seemed that people were sick. One of my students came to class for three weeks with a dry cough, body aches, and a general ill appearance. She said that she also had to go to work and take her exams, because she had to take care of her husband and a small child. When a student coughed at me several times from across the table, I tried to get out of the way for fear that she might be Corona, just a natural reaction I guess! Even one of my coworkers was under the weather. In such small cubicles filled with students and people working while sick, it was likely that respiratory illnesses could spread. He would be armed, no doubt, with a bottle of liquid soap and hand sanitizer!
I couldn’t believe how many sick people were everywhere and I hoped I wasn’t in their shoes. It seemed irresponsible to come to a lesson or take a test when you were sick. Thank goodness I had at least gotten a flu shot a few months earlier! Could it be that the vaccine would have protected me from whatever infection was circulating in Italy? It surely wasn’t the dreaded Corona Virus, it must have been the cold mixed with the flu. That didn’t stop me from suggesting we take protective measures.
I asked everyone why we don’t encourage sick people to stay home. However, I knew that management did not care what I thought because I was a foreigner visiting a nation that had a constant wave of xenophobia. He had previously written emails giving recommendations on how educators should have met with management to devise collaborative teaching strategies. Of course, people who were not interested in teamwork rejected my ideas. I took the possibility of getting sick seriously, so I couldn’t let this go. I wrote to management: ‘Why don’t we ask people to stay home or let them cancel a lesson if they have the flu or a similar illness?’ I did not receive a response to this email.
Not long after, around February 21, 2020, I learned of rampant diseases in the Lombardy region. Milan was only a thirty minute train ride away. Lots of people traveled back and forth to Milan every day. I suspected many people were carrying the Corona virus and for all I knew I might have been exposed to it. For about three days, my muscles felt tired. Although I usually went to sleep after midnight, I was tired for three days and fell asleep at 10 pm. At this point, I’m not so sure I’ve been hit by the virus; it is more than likely that he did not have it.
The number of cases was increasing. According to the news, conditions in the Lombardy region were moving in our direction. I would have to stop taking the train. Although officials had put emergency plans in place to stamp out swine flu in 2009, this time, officials didn’t seem to act fast enough. Some Italian virologists downplayed the Corona Virus. The Chinese seemed to have controlled it. Some Europeans and Russians claimed it was not a danger to young people, and President Trump claimed it was some kind of hoax. Hospitals reported that people over the age of 65 were dying. At that time, there were not enough supplies; I heard that doctors were going to have to make life and death decisions, giving preference to those who had fewer pre-existing conditions.
It seemed as if a wave was rapidly sweeping across the globe. Several, but not all, politicians continued to downplay the threat. I understood that they were trying to save their savings. I questioned what was happening in Russia because it gave the impression that the Russian people, in particular, were not preparing for the corona wave that would eventually hit. The same goes for the Americans who joked about his arrival. In Germany, some people had Corona parties to celebrate. It wouldn’t be long before I found out it was hitting New York City. How would such a metropolitan cope on such a colossal scale, with impending job losses and the need to go into quarantine? With so many workers at home, the economy could be plunged into chaos!
Half of the people around the world are now hiding from the horrible Corona virus, which has affected people of all ages and backgrounds, without discerning between rich and poor (April 2, 2020). I’m sorry to see my imagination come true and I hope this monstrous virus will dissipate soon. If lessons are to be learned, they might be learning from literature (both fiction and nonfiction), being well prepared, and helping each other. Undoubtedly, collaboration will be needed to defeat this pandemic.
