Me, Canberra, and COVID-19
Hey folks. It’s been a long time since I’ve updated the blog. Things have been pretty crazy. All because of COVID-19.
As you may know, this novel coronavirus has sent the whole world into a frenzy. The problems caused by the virus have been changing so fast, much faster than governments and ordinary people can react. When COVID-19 first started making headlines, I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. All I could do was watch the news. I’m currently in Australia, but half my mind is in Depok, where my family lives, especially my mother who is 70++. All I can do is offer prayers and support for my sibling who helps take care of our mother’s needs.
At my campus, all teaching has now been instructed to go online, following the Prime Minister’s order to ban indoor gatherings. As a tutor for ECON3101 (microeconomics 3), I’ve been affected too. I need to prepare online content for the tutorials I’ll be running. All seminars and thesis supervisor consultations also have to be done online. It’s a bit of a hassle because I have to learn how to use Zoom for recording tutorials and hosting/joining meetings. Thankfully, it’s not too difficult.
The public is panicking and engaging in panic buying, as you may have seen on social media. Toilet paper has been completely out of stock for a week now. Fortunately, as users of the traditional water scoop and bucket, we don’t really care. But other commodities like antiseptics are also sold out. Last we checked, food supplies are still okay. Hopefully they stay that way. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has condemned hoarding and assured that Australia’s logistics system will remain capable of maintaining the supply of essential goods.
Yesterday morning, Scott Morrison held a press conference about what Australia would do. All international flights will be banned (except for returning Australian citizens) to close off imported transmission. This allows the government to focus on preventing domestic transmission. Schools will remain open, and a lockdown is unlikely. Gatherings are regulated by size. Indoors, 100 people or more are banned. Outdoors, 500. He also stated that the special task force, the federal government, and state governments are all on the same page and supporting each other in facing COVID-19. Social distancing is recommended, and if you can work from home, then work from home.
All these rules (gathering bans, international travel ban, social distancing, etc.) are anticipated to be the norm for at least 6 months.
Six. Months.
My campus reacted immediately. Emails flooded my inbox. Various advisories about working from home, collecting data, setting up remote work, and instructions on how to create online tutorials all came pouring in. Campus management must be incredibly busy. As a good employee, all I can do is follow all advisories and work from home as much as possible.
My current activities involve intensive coordination for online teaching with lecturers, learning to create content, and making sure my wife and I have enough contingency plans to prepare for the worst. We’re anti-hoarding, so hopefully this principle won’t lead to us starving. I have reasonable faith in the Australian government.
The slightly annoying thing is that I now have to follow COVID-19 developments intensively in two countries. I have to watch both Scott Morrison’s and Jokowi’s speeches. Haha.
Stay safe people. Stay healthy. Wash your hands frequently. Cut back on going out. Hopefully we can all get through this.
