Knock down lockdown?

It has been eight months since Coronavirus has had its visa stamped in Holland. And it certainly looks like the people have warmed up to it with the country spewing about 8500 cases a day now.

Back in February when the coronavirus was still ‘novel’, the Dutch went about their business like it was no one’s business. When other countries were putting up borders and burning bridges to minimize damage, the Dutch simply shrugged and made comments about how the world needs to grow up. When things started to snowball and the government called out for some responsible behavior, my law-abiding Dutch neighbor and his friends finally stopped going to discotheques and clubs. But then, they started hosting smoke-up parties.

In less than a month when such responsible behavior wasn’t helping, the President finally started ‘imposing’ rules, like requesting everyone to keep their public interactions to the minimum, keep their distance and wash their hands frequently. Meanwhile, India was in firm lockdown that was curfew-esque even when the virus hadn’t made its landfall yet. Singapore was locking up families by the dozen enforcing forced quarantines and fumigating the city every few hours.

On one hand when third world countries equipped themselves with temperature guns, no-touch sanitizer dispensers and UV lamps, the advice people here received was to cough and sneeze into their elbows even as shops put up hastily printed copies of “NO PEOPLE WITH FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS ALLOWED”. Even before the first wave abated, people were clamoring to shut down the lockdown. There was a nation-wide grumbling of how we were giving special privilege to a flu. And truth be told, it was completely un-Dutch-like to care about a virus because most of my visits to the doctor with a range of complaints always fetch me the same medicine – Paracetamol. “Often the best way to treat illness is to not treat it at all”, seems to be most doctors' motto.

In South East Asia, facemask has become like underwear, most people don’t step out without it. In fact, it has become a fashionable accessory with an advantage of hiding problematic skin without the need to ‘mask’ it with makeup. India has of course embraced the concept, even churning out designer facemasks studded with gold and all things bold, to match the big, fat Indian weddings. I also hear that it is fast becoming a social indicator of sorts, also very Indian indeed.

In Holland, non-medical facemasks are still a raging argument, arguments ensuing to such lengths that the arguers often lose track of what they are arguing over. The government itself torn between both sides, imposed half-hearted face covering rules, making it mandatory on public transport which the people follow less keenly by covering not even half their faces. For some misdirected reason, facemasks are called mouth masks in Dutch and so many treat it as such leaving their noses free to exhale clouds of germs

                                   

But what really surprises me is the way senior citizens handle the pandemic. Netherlands is home to senior citizens and many-a-time their parent/s as well. Oldies in India have been under house arrest for almost half year now, but here the older people go about lives with a vigour that almost matches their pre-corona levels. They are more careful than most about taking precautions and accepting help. I say the latter because I witnessed a fellow countryman being snubbed by an old lady for offering to hold her bag of shopping. Apparently, she didn’t need the extra germ load.

On a crisp Autumn day when a private garden opened in honor of Neighbor’s Day, I found it being manned by people easily over 70 years old. They wore superior grins and no protective gear. I was awed by their enthusiasm for gardening. No amount of rain, slugs or even viruses seemed to throw a dampener on it. But when I asked an almost 7 feet tall septuagenarian about risks of Covid, he genially laughed and said,” I am in the twilight of my life and I don’t want to stay indoors through it all. I want to go out and see the stars.” 

That my friends, summed up his personality in a sentence and gave me a new perspective. There is a pandemic raging, nature changing course and an existential crisis, but the Sun continues to rise. And the one thing we rise to do together is to hoard toilet paper at the face of eminent danger...without facemasks.