PM Jacinda Ardern demonstrates the East Coast wave as an alternative to handshakes.
COMMENT I'm a naturally anxious person.
I'm always worrying about the what-ifs. I constantly worry about my children and other people's feelings, always mindful of my actions and words and how they might affect others.
Covid-19 is not something I initially felt worried about, however, the escalation of this pandemic overthe past week has sent my heart racing.
I think my greatest fear, like many others, is the fear of human response through panic. Fight or flight. Everyone fighting for themselves. Fighting to survive.
I'm in the camp of trusting authorities. I trust academics, people with experience in these kinds of situations - although, this is a new one.
I may not agree with all their policies in day-to-day life, but I trust our Government. Why? Because I need to. I have to. To stay calm and informed.
I'm continuing to work, my children are continuing to attend school and we are still involved in our sport and extra-curricular activities.
We have made small changes in our household. Buying the odd extra supply when doing normal grocery shopping, without panic buying. It's a weird feeling being in the supermarket and worrying about people judging your shopping trolley or being completely unaware that you are judging someone else's choice of goods.
I've decided to buy these few extras in case of isolation. If my whānau and I are stuck at home for two weeks, do we have enough basics? I'm not stressed. I understand that Wi-Fi still works, friends and family can still drop off deliveries - but it feels better to be a little more prepared. Without going overboard, I guess it makes sense to be prepared for any type of emergency.
I haven't stocked up on ridiculous amounts of toilet paper or sanitiser, just being prepared.
Hand sanitiser can help keep your hands clean. Photo / Andrew Warner
So what are we doing in our household in the wake of this pandemic?
Firstly I'm making sure I am careful about what we talk about in front of my children and what they watch on the news. My children are still so young and they are already talking and hearing about coronavirus without having to see frightening images or hear scary information every five minutes.
We are constantly reminding our boys to wash their hands for a decent amount of time with soap and to dry them thoroughly. We have hand sanitiser in school bags and in my handbag. With the shortage of this product in stores, I am going to start to make my own, it feels useful and I guess it's a way to feel control over something that will help my family.
I realised yesterday just how much of a hugger and kisser I am when I great people. It's the way I have grown up with meeting friends and even acquaintances and I'll have to work hard to remember not to for a while.
I can't control my children's actions or the actions of other children, but we keep constantly reminding the boys to cough and sneeze into their elbows, not to high-five or hug and kiss friends. It's so crazy. I coach two touch teams and we've made changes for now about not shaking hands or high-fiving each other or the other teams we play. I make no apologies for this, we need to protect our children especially those with more at-risk immune systems or underlying health issues. There will be no elbow bumps round here, remembering that these are the same elbows we are telling them to cough and sneeze into!
We've made changes to our exercise activities, sent and received emails from every aspect of our interconnected lives about how to deal, treat and respond to this threat of Covid-19. I'm pleased that at least all of the information coming out is consistent across all areas we are involved in.
I see others dragging the media down for the hype around such a global threat, but I take my hat off to the way we are kept up to date and informed through trusted media sources.
People are cancelling overseas trips. Small businesses, especially those in the travel, tourism and entertainment sectors, will be among so many others that will feel the pinch in these uncertain times.
We don't know how long we will be fighting against Covid-19. But we do know that unless as a community, as a nation, as a worldwide human race, we don't stick together, try to keep calm and support each other to contain this virus, then it could all get a lot worse.
We are now living in a preventative world. It is a very important time to do what we are told to protect others more at risk. I will do my part to help contain it. I want to protect my children, my family and especially our older generation who seem more susceptible to the ill effects of this virus.
Let's support our Government, medical officials and science research teams. It is not the time to rebel or do things that go against what we are being advised to do. Don't panic. But don't be complacent.
Once things settle down we can explore our own backyards for a while. We don't need to travel overseas at the moment, however, much we want to. Take time to be informed, spend time with your loved ones, be prepared and support others.
Everyone is scared and nervous. It is normal to feel this way. The fear of the unknown adds high levels of anxiety and stress into our lives.
