LIFE ON LOCK DOWN: DAY 6

When boredom finally sets in for any length of time, there’s an urge to sleep more. I try to fight it, if only to attempt to keep my sleep patterns somewhat normal. But there’s no denying that I also fight it to keep depression at bay. With very little work, which translates to very little income right now, I constantly worry about how I will pay my rent and other bills at the beginning of April.

Everyone that I’ve spoken with this week agrees that we all expect this lock down to be extended. Most of us think it will last at least one month. New confirmed cases of the coronavirus are reported daily in the news. Spain has not yet reached a flattening of the curve. The government has taken over the huge convention space in Madrid and made it an army style hospital with 5,500 beds, though I haven’t heard of any patients entering it yet. When people pass each other on the sidewalk, they move to opposite sides. Neighbors no longer share elevators. It’s as if everyone suspects that you have leprosy.

The weather here hasn’t improved anyone’s mood. We were enjoying beautiful spring days last week, but on Monday when the lock down went into effect, the weather turned cold, gloomy and rainy. I stood in line again today to get into the grocery store on the big plaza near my apartment, but at least the line had formed in the covered gallery along one side of the plaza. A security guard for the grocery store saw me on crutches and actually pulled me out of line to let me enter the store ahead of others and the people in line were okay with it.

Yesterday the government announced that it had placed road blocks on all major roads leading in and out of Madrid, mostly to keep people from leaving the city to go to their second homes in small villages in the mountains and countryside outside of Madrid. I think some people probably think it would be better to be locked down in a place with fewer residents, but it could also mean there’s a possibility of spreading the virus in places that are further from hospitals.

I read in the news today that Ferrari has started making ventilators for hospitals, while the beauty brands Nivea and L’Oreal announced that they will start manufacturing hand sanitizer. It’s the same as happened in World War II, only this time it’s a war for the health of humanity.

The President of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, and the Second Vice President, Pablo Iglesias, both have partners who have tested positive for the virus. Both men announced that they would remain in self-isolation, but both have since left isolation twice since making those announcements, so people continue to wonder if all of us really have to follow the rules.

Again tonight at 8 pm, the neighbors came to their windows and balconies to clap. There’s an old Spanish song that speaks of resistance and usually someone starts playing it loudly from a stereo or another neighbor breaks out singing it while everyone claps along with the beat. It has become our anthem that we will survive these days. Tonight my next door neighbor, who has been learning to play saxophone, came to the window to play it. Everyone cheered and even the police patrolling down our street joined in the cheers with the loudspeaker on their patrol car. It is the first time today that I’ve smiled. For a brief time in the monotony of the day, I feel happy and connected to others.