Argentina: The one about living through a global pandemic
We are healthy, we are sane, and we are staying calm and patient in the face of all things unknown right now. Today is the 16th consecutive day that I have not ventured beyond our home's street entrance. Emi has only gone out to retrieve an order of groceries and to buy food items at the corner store down the block.
A nationwide quarantine in Argentina was declared on March 20th with an original end date of March 31st. On March 30th, it was extended until April 12th. In a culture where people are used to getting together ALL the time, I was worried that this quarantine mandate was not going to be taken very well. That was evident in the number of arrests reported in the first week of quarantine. More people have been arrested and fined for breaking quarantine rules (i.e. being in public for no apparent reason) than those who actually have COVID-19. We are only allowed to leave home to buy food, medicine, or cleaning supplies, or go to work if you are considered essential (i.e. you sell food or pharmaceuticals or work in the medical field).
To date, the crisis has been handled well here by authorities and leaders. In defense of the measures taken, the president has said that a suffering economy will recover, but a life that was lost will not. If the number of cases does not rise, well that was exactly the point of telling everyone to stay home. The big mystery this week was if people were going to be paid or not for their work done in March. Emi received half of his normal monthly paycheck. There are no predictions here of government bailouts beyond a 10,000 peso deposit given to those who are self-employed. The banks were allowed to open yesterday and retirees showed up in the thousands to withdraw their monthly retirement allowance, so hopefully that doesn't lead to a rise in confirmed cases in the coming days.
Since I do all my work online, the quarantine has not changed my routine in that regard. Emi's job cannot be done remotely. So, when my daily work finishes we have been passing the time watching all the movies I had never seen before but should have. So far, we have watched Episodes 1-9 of Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Toy Story 4, Aladdin (2019), Frozen, Thor Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II, and season 4 of La Casa de Papel (Yes, we watched the entire season in one day. No, we are not ashamed). We have not watched any of Tiger King, but it's apparently all the rage with the U.S. folk.
Though it has caused many of us to rearrange our lives in many ways for the time being, this too shall pass. Stay healthy, everyone!
A nationwide quarantine in Argentina was declared on March 20th with an original end date of March 31st. On March 30th, it was extended until April 12th. In a culture where people are used to getting together ALL the time, I was worried that this quarantine mandate was not going to be taken very well. That was evident in the number of arrests reported in the first week of quarantine. More people have been arrested and fined for breaking quarantine rules (i.e. being in public for no apparent reason) than those who actually have COVID-19. We are only allowed to leave home to buy food, medicine, or cleaning supplies, or go to work if you are considered essential (i.e. you sell food or pharmaceuticals or work in the medical field).
To date, the crisis has been handled well here by authorities and leaders. In defense of the measures taken, the president has said that a suffering economy will recover, but a life that was lost will not. If the number of cases does not rise, well that was exactly the point of telling everyone to stay home. The big mystery this week was if people were going to be paid or not for their work done in March. Emi received half of his normal monthly paycheck. There are no predictions here of government bailouts beyond a 10,000 peso deposit given to those who are self-employed. The banks were allowed to open yesterday and retirees showed up in the thousands to withdraw their monthly retirement allowance, so hopefully that doesn't lead to a rise in confirmed cases in the coming days.
Since I do all my work online, the quarantine has not changed my routine in that regard. Emi's job cannot be done remotely. So, when my daily work finishes we have been passing the time watching all the movies I had never seen before but should have. So far, we have watched Episodes 1-9 of Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Toy Story 4, Aladdin (2019), Frozen, Thor Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II, and season 4 of La Casa de Papel (Yes, we watched the entire season in one day. No, we are not ashamed). We have not watched any of Tiger King, but it's apparently all the rage with the U.S. folk.
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| We have also been sitting outside in the yard watching Bianca test her climbing skills. |
Though it has caused many of us to rearrange our lives in many ways for the time being, this too shall pass. Stay healthy, everyone!
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