Coronavirus 1.0

My fridge freezer has never been so full. Really, it’s incredible. It’s made me feel like an organised, fully-functioning adult.

That’s the silver lining of being one of the few remaining expats left in Jordan who chose not to make a run for it before all flights were suspended – being able to score a whole bunch of free stuff. Predominantly food. And free food always tastes so much better because it’s freeeee!

I’ve also inherited skincare products, makeup, a coat, some shoes and a vacuum cleaner. Although, considering we’re all supposed to be self-isolating from today, I’m not sure the coat and shoes are going to get much use for a while. Still, hours of fun using the vacuum cleaner lie ahead of me.

In the lead up to what is now not quite compulsory confinement, the Jordanian government has gradually been implementing more measures to try and combat the spread of this blinkin’ coronavirus. One approach was to stop people attending prayers at mosques, which is a huge deal. A particularly amusing observation from the other day though was one mosque’s revised ‘call to prayer’ which emanates from the loudspeakers mounted onto the minarets of hundreds of mosques across the city. Rather than the adhan (the guy who’s voice is delivering the directive) changing his script from the usual “come to mosque” to instead “pray at home” – due to what I can only assume is some sort of unrelenting protocol – the adhan repeated several times in quick succession “do not come to mosque, stay at home” ahead of the traditional dialogue still instructing everyone to come to the mosque. Somewhat confusing, no?

Yesterday I had to take the doggo to the vets. I get on well with the vet and we often have a good chinwag. Yesterday’s topic was obviously coronavirus in which he expressed his opinion that Covid-19 is just influenza and this is a big lie by governments the world over. Unsure how to respond, I asked how he’d come to that conclusion, to which he replied (quite enthusiastically): “Well you’re a journalist…” with a look suggesting we had some sort of shared understanding. At which point I felt it was time to leave.

And finally; the official number of people in Jordan infected with coronavirus has shot up to 40 thanks in large part to a Jordanian father and daughter with coronavirus who flew back to the country from Spain for the daughter’s wedding a few days ago. Obviously they felt self-isolation wasn’t plausible (and likely were unaware they had it) and have transmitted the virus not only to guests but also to the bride’s new husband!