Thanks, health workers
Recently, after coming in contact with someone who displayed symptoms consistent with COVID-19, a Beaconite was officially placed under quarantine. Though the government’s handling of his quarantine seemed disorganised at times — the Beaconite was not contacted by government until five days after his acquaintance fell sick, and there was some initial confusion as to whether he was under quarantine and how he should proceed — he was impressed in the end. The Beaconite’s biggest worry was stocking up on food and water for the two-week curfew, since he wasn’t allowed to leave his home while others in the territory were free to shop and take care of other essential tasks. He was relieved to learn that all he had to do was email his shopping list to a health official and wait for his food to be delivered that night, free of charge. For the next few days, health workers called him thrice daily to make sure he hadn’t developed symptoms. During this same period, a security guard would roll by his apartment repeatedly and ask him to come outside, where he would briefly check in and ask the Beaconite if there was anything he needed. Thankfully, as his quarantine comes to an end, the Beaconite is symptom free, and he is grateful for the health workers who made sure that he was all right and is reassured to know that others with more urgent situations are receiving such a high level of care.
Shopping miracle
With a last name falling into the first category of shoppers last week, a Beaconite was relieved at first to have dibs on grocery stores. What she didn’t expect was lines so long that she would have been waiting almost the entire day to get through. Thankfully, the reporter got a tip to head to Trellis Bay Market, where she filled her cart with gallons of water and got some fresh bread. Once she heard that the government allowed the first group of shoppers to continue their shopping the next day, she waited to see if there was any window of opportunity throughout the day. Around 6 p.m., a friend told her that Road Town Wholesale Cash & Carry had no lines. What a save! The reporter rushed over, grabbed supplies that will last her the rest of the curfew, and got out, all within a half hour — with no waiting at all! It was a small miracle. By the second day of curfew, it seemed that time had slowed down for the reporter. She doesn’t mind. There’s plenty to do, and home isn’t such a terrible place to be.
Be kind, please
Last Thursday, the first day of managed curfew, a Beaconite found herself at Nanny Cay with a dead car battery and a dead phone. With her friends occupied elsewhere, she approached the first person she saw, a man with a dog and child, and asked him if he could offer her a jump, or knew anyone who could. He just stared at her and shrugged. “I don’t know where anyone is,” he replied, flabbergasting the Beaconite, given that of course he knew full well where at least two thirds of his neighbours were: in their houses. Given no advice and no offer of help, the Beaconite stalked off to find a signal, call another friend and await rescue. She thinks this set a terrible example for the man’s child. If he was worrying about violating the law by breaking curfew, he was already doing it by being outside his home, and wouldn’t be violating any additional laws by helping someone in trouble. If he was worrying about the virus, he wouldn’t have had to come within six feet of her to either jump her battery or call someone who could. Among many other things, the virus has harmed society by making people paranoid and suspicious of each other. She calls on residents to be tolerant and kind to each other.