Of Coffee With Social Distancing

If you were having coffee with me, I would thank you for visiting, social distancing has become the new buzzword but here you are always welcome. Make yourself comfortable, tell me what’s been happening?

I have been finding it somewhat funny that my regular everyday life, short of a few routine changes could be classified as social distancing. I am an introvert with a literary bound alter-ego, who hardly goes anywhere, mostly on my laptop plotting the bestseller I promised myself. Remote work? I’ve been doing that, I am a freelance content creator, social media manager, community manager, regular bookworm and beta reader; with a laptop and internet connection I am at home anywhere in the world. (Also, if you need any such services…. Slide into my communications)

If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that the situation in Italy is heartbreaking and makes me worry a lot about what would happen in my country, with a health sector that’s been in need of resuscitation since way back. I wonder if the senior government officials who used to travel abroad for medical tourism are feeling that maybe they should have cut down on travel and spend more money on the local health sector…. but then again maybe not.

Recently the minister of finance came back from a trip abroad where he was photographed shaking hands with delegates and still he is not currently in isolation and even went on to tour reconstruction projects of areas devastated by Cyclone Idai, I worry about us.

Meanwhile, two cases of the virus have been confirmed and health officials are tracking down people who were in contact for testing.

If you were having coffee with me I would tell you that Zim Stats released the year on year inflation figures for February 2019 and its at 540,16% publication of inflation figures had be halted after the currency shift and the last recorded year on year inflation figure is 176 %as at June 2019.

Some economists say the real inflation figures could actually be higher, but hey we have enough problems to worry about without having an economic abyss looming especially if a lockdown and non-essential business shutdown happens.

If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that I had to deviate from my regular schedule and make time for an essential road-trip.  First thing first we cleaned the car and wiped down door handles and surfaces because safety first before heading on a six hour trip to a boarder town east of the country.

I watched the horizon and took in the fresh air and sights because who knows when one will get the chance, with lockdowns looming…

When we arrived, it was hilarious, as I battled my inner conflict with drilled in convention, where you have to greet your elders by shaking their hands and asking “makadii” the Shona equivalent of How are you and wondered if a fist bump would not be considered rude or a downright insult to culture. My aunt came to my rescue by declaring how they knew of “the Corona” too and even did an elaborate rendition of the elbow bump which would best be described as a chicken wing dance to show how happy she was to see I had come visiting; after of course a very pointed interrogation to see if we had travelled to any high risk areas or been in contact with infected people after all; safety first.

My aunt who keeps chickens said when one of the chickens got sickly she took it to the veterinary services to have it checked that it was not coronavirus, one can never be too careful; the vet assured her it was not the dreaded corona.

If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that we miscalculated our bearings and travel time and ended driving back into the sun set; it was a slow blinding journey into the night.

Also I really think some sort of driving regulation should be done to stop slow moving haulage trucks from travelling in packs, they cause a slow moving traffic jam and then people end up undertaking dangerous overtaking maneuvers.

If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that I have just learnt of the first corona-related death in the country, a young man 30 years old, there goes that myth that age will save you.

What I worry about the most is how the minister of health had initially been evasive about the identity of second the coronavirus case dismissing as fake news people enquiring if it was true that the son of a prominent local business man had been tested for the virus later a confirmation statement was issued by the ministry, confirming the death and identity of the patient.

People already do not trust the government when they behave like they have something to hide it and departments do not seem to be giving a united news front, leaving a gap which is filled with fake news and conspiracies that cause panic.

Why do governments seem to want to manage people’s panic? Are we so vulnerable that we cant handle truth, it wont take financial wizard to tell the economy is a mess but the minister of finance will tell you its being handled and things will stabilize soon, we worry about the pandemic and the minister of health tells us they are prepared to deal with it…

If you were having coffee with me I would tell you to stay safe and ask whats going on in your neck of the woods

~B

PS