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By Jamie Etheridge
has now been nearly two weeks since Kuwait imposed a partial curfew. When this all began in late February, I don't think most of us had any clue how bad or how far reaching it might get. Across the globe, we now have more than one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and likely hundreds of thousands of more asymptomatic and unconfirmed cases.
In the eye of the storm, it may seem calm and quiet - the silence of the streets of Kuwait after the 5 pm curfew starts. But the calm belies the nightmare we are all living and worse, the nightmare scenarios likely yet to come. In Kuwait, the government has handled the situation remarkably well and we have had only one death so far (still unconfirmed as of 8 am yesterday) among a total of 417 confirmed cases as of Friday.
But we also now clearly have community transmission, and as a result, we are likely to see the numbers of infected grow exponentially. Community transmission or spread happens when people become infected with the virus but do not know how they got it. In Kuwait, that means they did not travel abroad recently but have been in contact - unknowingly - with someone who is infected (someone who may even possibly be asymptomatic).
Community transmission is one of the key factors fueling a surge in cases and this is why the government in Kuwait has repeatedly told people to #stayathome and help #flattenthecurve. Our curve is not flattening, and as a result, we are most likely now going to see a major surge in cases and the situation worsen terribly.
The reality that we now face is difficult to digest. Some days I wake up and after reading the news or hearing the latest numbers, feel utterly powerless, filled with frustration and rage and anxiety. To combat the diet of grim facts and data of the daily numbers, I've taken to writing a few short lines each morning, noting something that I feel grateful for or spending a few minutes drawing or sketching something that brings me joy. These small acts of self-care won't stop the spread of the coronavirus and won't slow this pandemic, but they help keep me sane and centered even in the midst of this global chaos.
What at first seemed a blip, a momentary disturbance in our daily way of life, has overtaken the entire globe - our economies, our societies, our communities. It has brought out the best in us - see the numbers of Kuwaiti youth volunteers helping out across the country - and the worst (no need to mention the mass layoffs, people not paid their salaries, onion hoarding and calls to expel all expats).
The net result of this pandemic will reach far into the future and it will likely reshape much of what we believe to be true about the world. Those who survive will look back at this period as a pivotal moment in human history, an apex or a nadir from which we will move forward. By some accounts it took the Europeans nearly 200 years to recover from bubonic plague. This is hardly a comfort to those of us living through the pandemic. But with every act we commit now, we lay a brick in the foundation of our children's future.
Editor's Note: The author has decided to change the name of this column from 'Curfew Diaries' to 'Pandemic Diaries', as the column discusses the local and the broader implications of the pandemic, the curfew in Kuwait being only one small component of it.
