New Covid-19 Outbreak, My First Story
By Rosa Martinez
HAVANA TIMES – For a while now we’ve been seeing the damage caused by the new Coronavirus in my family.
Especially in our meals; in our snacks that slowly disappeared; in the smell of clothes that are no longer washed with softener, etc; in uncombed hair that is curlier; in our exhaustion because we have to walk long distances as there is no public transport; in my character that no longer receives fine quality coffee, or even poor-quality coffee… in short, these losses can be seen in every aspect of our lives.
However, while extreme shortages aren’t fun for anyone, much less those of us who have had to endure so much, we have slowly been tightening screws here, adapting a bit there and I’ve managed to get used to shortages of lots of things I didn’t think I could live without.
Months passed like this: working from home, trying to survive a little, looking after my family as best I could, prioritizing the essential, reinventing my grandmother’s recipes, trying to enjoy time with my daughters, reading a little more, drinking herbal teas so as not to go crazy…
That’s when the worst outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 hit the country, in my Guantanamo too. News of daily deaths in the province and surroundings, as well as alarming infection rates, made us understand the real weight of this pandemic, for the first time.
My neighbors and friends began to look after each other a little better. I thought that with people around us adopting a new attitude we would now be safe, but that wasn’t the case.
It took too long for people to understand the risk. When people began to lock themselves in their homes and stop unnecessary visits, it was too late. The virus infiltrated three homes, made 7 people sick, including two children, and took its first victim on our block.
To be continued…
All those daily statistics provided by Dr. Duran, but who was getting tested? where? How many of those who became sick actually received medical attention? Were all deaths from Covid, recorded as such? The number of unanswered questions is very substantial, but who dare question?