11 ms·

I spent 6 months in lock down in a 1 bedroom apartment in Australia. Working from home. 1hr outdoor/exercise a day. No more than 5km from home. We had pretty st

by matt_j 6y ago

I spent 6 months in lock down in a 1 bedroom apartment in Australia. Working from home. 1hr outdoor/exercise a day. No more than 5km from home. We had pretty strict rules. I went for a walk around the block with my mate once a week and spoke to my family on zoom once a fortnight and that was about the extent of my social contact for a large part of 2020. I managed pretty well. I'm a naturally introverted person, which is perhaps a good trait to have in this situation. I'm already used to spending a lot of time by myself and I have things I like to do. This is key, I think. I spent long hours making DJ mixes in Ableton and playing records on my hi-fi. That's a creative place for me and it was very satisfying to have the time to bury myself in it. I wrote code, not heaps, but I played around with a few things. I dug up some old/remake computer games (Half Life Black Mesa was by far the best)! I watched a bunch of old films I haven't seen in years, and a few bits and pieces on Netflix. I read books. I went for a 1hr walk every day and enjoyed the sight of trees and the sound of birds. I said a sincere thanks and smiled with my eyes at the people who staff the stores I shopped at once/twice a week. They have a hard job and I think it's important to convey gratitude to them. I'd be lying if I said it was all fine, there were definitely days when I was bored stiff, depressed or otherwise not in a great place, but it was helpful to remember that everyone was in the same boat, and my sacrifice, along with everyone else's, are what is going to pull us through. Keep your chins up. Especially you guys in the USA. What a mess you have to fix over there. I hope this year is productive.

jaimex2 6y ago
Also in Victoria. It bothered me how compliant everyone was with the draconian lockdown. While I was happy to go along with the initial response, when the government started the 2nd wave through incompetence I outright refused to follow any of their directions. There was no enforcement on the 5km rule or the "ring of steel" btw. Consequently I'm one of the few people in my company not burnt out. So far the only state that seems to know how to competently handle covid without stripping freedoms is NSW. They take the bulk of international flights and manage outbreaks very well. All every other state in Australia seems to know how to do is knee jerk to closing borders and stripping freedom of movement at the first sign of a new case.
- NomDePlum 6y ago
  Are you able to elaborate on the differences between NSW and other states? Also, when not complying with what was requested you don't appear to consider personal responsibility and just object. Is that a fair interpretation?
  - flukus 6y ago
    NSW had effective contact tracing from the beginning and Vic's was lacking. This let them keep going at 5-30ish cases a day without things getting out of control and hope it eventually fizzles out, as it has multiple times. It's somewhat of a double edged sword though, some restrictions are kept for longer, state borders are closed and there is always the threat of a large outbreak. Lockdowns are harsh but can be short and sharp if their early, as we've seen in other states and across the world. It's kind of a moot point now though because the last Christmas outbreak in NSW was controlled with a lockdown of a huge chunk of Sydney along with the contact tracing. Meanwhile the cases that leaked over the border into Victoria were stamped out with effective contact tracing and (probably) our mask mandate. It's very situational, but lockdowns have been used as both a first and last line of defense. In the early stages they help the contact tracing and testing get on top of things and in later stages they're the only thing that can bring numbers down (before vaccines). The main factors that made a difference in Australia are lockdowns, contact tracing, testing, masks and limiting travel, both internally and externally.
- barbs 6y ago
  NSW are still dealing with an outbreak that started a month ago, whereas Victoria got on top of theirs relatively quickly (2 weeks I think?). There are lots of factors but I think still having masks indoors in public areas and on public transport helped. That said, I probably agree with you that Victoria's lockdown was a bit too harsh. I live in Melbourne and had to sit through it too, and I broke the curfew, 5km radius and 1 hour exercise rules frequently. I do wish that the response was consistent across all states. I also am pretty grateful that we've come out of the whole thing as well as we did.
- matt_j 6y ago
  You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm not arguing that the lockdown wasn't extremely strict or that the hotel quarantine debacle wasn't negligent on the part of the government (they should have put a much better security infrastructure in place) ... BUT, when the damage is already done, we still have a virus to contain and I think the measures that were taken were appropriate and very effective. Protesting by not wearing a mask, or breaking the distancing rules, isn't doing you or anyone else any good. The science on how not to spread a respiratory virus is grade school level.
King-Aaron 6y ago
Here in Western Australia it got pretty hectic for a few weeks at the start of 2020 as a general wave of panic set it, and the public started panic buying before the lockdowns. We only endured a short 'official' lockdown time, however ended up working on home for the most of the rest of the year. Our hard border policy certainly helped ease the stress fairly early in the piece however, and we all had a (comparatively) easy time after that. Personally I had some additional stress while working at home - we had a kid at the start of March so it was an interesting time - but luckily for the most part our state was quite insulated from the social impacts of the covid period.
- qmmmur 6y ago
  Hello fellow sand groper! I watched from afar (UK) as the panic buying set in around the same time. Amazing to see the difference in handling of the cases between where the two island nations...
listless 6y ago
USA here. Thank you for the well wishes. That means a lot to me.
- drstewart 6y ago
  USA here, it means nothing to me.
  - chrshawkes 6y ago
    You're getting down voted but I feel it's unfair. You made me spit my coffee in a meeting. That is the true American spirit! The pandemic is affecting us all for sure.
- iancmceachern 6y ago
  USA here. Second this, thank you for the well wishes and pulling for us. We're trying to turn it around!
fxleach 6y ago
I read the first paragraph and thought you were making a tongue-in-cheek joke about being in prison. Sadly, you were not.
sershe 6y ago
It seems like media around the world is really preoccupied with the USA and the mess we have over here with COVID. At the same time, your situation sounds like an actual nightmare to me (also being an introverted person), and the accounts of others in Europe and Russia sound even worse. Whereas we in the USA were, relatively speaking, having a great time in 2020, travelling all around the country (flying is so much better - cheap tickets on short notice and no middle seats), enjoying the mountains and parks; most of the year, dining in restaurants, going to gyms, etc. The only thing I do miss are board-game meetups, well and travelling to Russia to see family (and I guess now that we have a re-entry test requirement, I'll also miss other international travel, there are enough sensible countries to have made it possible before that). In proportion to the risk, I am taking 10-20x of the precautions I take with flu before I get a shot... instead of almost none, barely any :) I am happy you are doing well with the situation but do wish you guys luck in sorting the lockdown mess ;)
- nicbou 6y ago
  Europe had a few months of relaxed restrictions in the summer. The lockdown period was in the spring and resumed around November.
  - sershe 6y ago
    The lockdowns in the USA were generally lighter/shorter in most states; I am pretty sure in some states indoor dining never stopped. In all the states that I'm aware of, the enforcement was non-existent for individuals. For example, you could drive to a state park 50 miles away from home that you were supposed to stay-at, that was officially completely closed, and there'd be 100 cars parked along the road next to a closed trailhead. I was assuming the enforcement/lockdowns are like that because they wouldn't stand in court, but then did a little bit of research and found out general-purpose freedom of movement in public spaces does not actually appear to be a well-codified (or often argued in court?) right in the USA, so I guess it's just the culture of liberty, and the politicians being afraid of the reaction if there was enforcement. It made me very proud and happy to be an American by choice ;)
- rkuykendall-com 6y ago
oliv__ 6y ago
"my sacrifice, along with everyone else's, are what is going to pull us through" Well, I've been looking at the case curves and they only seem to go up, even with lockdowns, masks, curfews and whatever comes next. So if you're implying it's a worthy sacrifice, I can't say I share that view.
- flukus 6y ago
  I suggest you like at our case curves (https://chrisbillington.net/COVID_VIC.html https://chrisbillington.net/COVID_VIC.html) where these strict rules were in place and enforced. Then look at our relative freedom, lives saved and economic prosperity in the months since.

by matt_j 6y ago

jaimex2 6y ago

Also in Victoria. It bothered me how compliant everyone was with the draconian lockdown. While I was happy to go along with the initial response, when the government started the 2nd wave through incompetence I outright refused to follow any of their directions. There was no enforcement on the 5km rule or the "ring of steel" btw. Consequently I'm one of the few people in my company not burnt out. So far the only state that seems to know how to competently handle covid without stripping freedoms is NSW. They take the bulk of international flights and manage outbreaks very well. All every other state in Australia seems to know how to do is knee jerk to closing borders and stripping freedom of movement at the first sign of a new case.

NomDePlum 6y ago
Are you able to elaborate on the differences between NSW and other states? Also, when not complying with what was requested you don't appear to consider personal responsibility and just object. Is that a fair interpretation?
- flukus 6y ago
  NSW had effective contact tracing from the beginning and Vic's was lacking. This let them keep going at 5-30ish cases a day without things getting out of control and hope it eventually fizzles out, as it has multiple times. It's somewhat of a double edged sword though, some restrictions are kept for longer, state borders are closed and there is always the threat of a large outbreak. Lockdowns are harsh but can be short and sharp if their early, as we've seen in other states and across the world. It's kind of a moot point now though because the last Christmas outbreak in NSW was controlled with a lockdown of a huge chunk of Sydney along with the contact tracing. Meanwhile the cases that leaked over the border into Victoria were stamped out with effective contact tracing and (probably) our mask mandate. It's very situational, but lockdowns have been used as both a first and last line of defense. In the early stages they help the contact tracing and testing get on top of things and in later stages they're the only thing that can bring numbers down (before vaccines). The main factors that made a difference in Australia are lockdowns, contact tracing, testing, masks and limiting travel, both internally and externally.
barbs 6y ago
NSW are still dealing with an outbreak that started a month ago, whereas Victoria got on top of theirs relatively quickly (2 weeks I think?). There are lots of factors but I think still having masks indoors in public areas and on public transport helped. That said, I probably agree with you that Victoria's lockdown was a bit too harsh. I live in Melbourne and had to sit through it too, and I broke the curfew, 5km radius and 1 hour exercise rules frequently. I do wish that the response was consistent across all states. I also am pretty grateful that we've come out of the whole thing as well as we did.
matt_j 6y ago
You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm not arguing that the lockdown wasn't extremely strict or that the hotel quarantine debacle wasn't negligent on the part of the government (they should have put a much better security infrastructure in place) ... BUT, when the damage is already done, we still have a virus to contain and I think the measures that were taken were appropriate and very effective. Protesting by not wearing a mask, or breaking the distancing rules, isn't doing you or anyone else any good. The science on how not to spread a respiratory virus is grade school level.

King-Aaron 6y ago

Here in Western Australia it got pretty hectic for a few weeks at the start of 2020 as a general wave of panic set it, and the public started panic buying before the lockdowns. We only endured a short 'official' lockdown time, however ended up working on home for the most of the rest of the year. Our hard border policy certainly helped ease the stress fairly early in the piece however, and we all had a (comparatively) easy time after that. Personally I had some additional stress while working at home - we had a kid at the start of March so it was an interesting time - but luckily for the most part our state was quite insulated from the social impacts of the covid period.

qmmmur 6y ago
Hello fellow sand groper! I watched from afar (UK) as the panic buying set in around the same time. Amazing to see the difference in handling of the cases between where the two island nations...

listless 6y ago

USA here. Thank you for the well wishes. That means a lot to me.

drstewart 6y ago
USA here, it means nothing to me.
- chrshawkes 6y ago
  You're getting down voted but I feel it's unfair. You made me spit my coffee in a meeting. That is the true American spirit! The pandemic is affecting us all for sure.
iancmceachern 6y ago
USA here. Second this, thank you for the well wishes and pulling for us. We're trying to turn it around!

fxleach 6y ago

I read the first paragraph and thought you were making a tongue-in-cheek joke about being in prison. Sadly, you were not.

sershe 6y ago

It seems like media around the world is really preoccupied with the USA and the mess we have over here with COVID. At the same time, your situation sounds like an actual nightmare to me (also being an introverted person), and the accounts of others in Europe and Russia sound even worse. Whereas we in the USA were, relatively speaking, having a great time in 2020, travelling all around the country (flying is so much better - cheap tickets on short notice and no middle seats), enjoying the mountains and parks; most of the year, dining in restaurants, going to gyms, etc. The only thing I do miss are board-game meetups, well and travelling to Russia to see family (and I guess now that we have a re-entry test requirement, I'll also miss other international travel, there are enough sensible countries to have made it possible before that). In proportion to the risk, I am taking 10-20x of the precautions I take with flu before I get a shot... instead of almost none, barely any :) I am happy you are doing well with the situation but do wish you guys luck in sorting the lockdown mess ;)

nicbou 6y ago
Europe had a few months of relaxed restrictions in the summer. The lockdown period was in the spring and resumed around November.
- sershe 6y ago
  The lockdowns in the USA were generally lighter/shorter in most states; I am pretty sure in some states indoor dining never stopped. In all the states that I'm aware of, the enforcement was non-existent for individuals. For example, you could drive to a state park 50 miles away from home that you were supposed to stay-at, that was officially completely closed, and there'd be 100 cars parked along the road next to a closed trailhead. I was assuming the enforcement/lockdowns are like that because they wouldn't stand in court, but then did a little bit of research and found out general-purpose freedom of movement in public spaces does not actually appear to be a well-codified (or often argued in court?) right in the USA, so I guess it's just the culture of liberty, and the politicians being afraid of the reaction if there was enforcement. It made me very proud and happy to be an American by choice ;)
rkuykendall-com 6y ago

oliv__ 6y ago

"my sacrifice, along with everyone else's, are what is going to pull us through" Well, I've been looking at the case curves and they only seem to go up, even with lockdowns, masks, curfews and whatever comes next. So if you're implying it's a worthy sacrifice, I can't say I share that view.

flukus 6y ago
I suggest you like at our case curves (https://chrisbillington.net/COVID_VIC.html https://chrisbillington.net/COVID_VIC.html) where these strict rules were in place and enforced. Then look at our relative freedom, lives saved and economic prosperity in the months since.