2020 is a year full of tests and uncertainty. The year began with a drastic change of life when COVID-19 took place which had caused by a coronavirus. It was first found in China and spread rapidly and affected throughout the world. Its existence has affected the normal life of an individual and community, as well as the economy of every country in the world. The virus is invisible from the naked eyes yet killing millions of people around the world. It has no mercy to the young and old, rich and poor, white or black, religious or atheist. It scared many people and some denials had scared themself and others too. All countries closed their borders to foreigners and cocooned their nation from being exposed to outsiders.
We are lucky being in Vietnam as their local has a high awareness of coronavirus effects and thank you to its single government fast action. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, Vietnam's government has taken immediate action by closing its border, close all schools as early as TET's holidays end in March, and built a quarantine center at few army camps. Vietnam's fast prevention action has contained the spread of the virus and diseases in the country. It has the lowest case so far in South East Asia.
Due to coronavirus and COVID-19, we have yet to enjoy our holiday. We haven't gone back to Malaysia for more than 7 months now. We missed going back to our home country. Before COVID-19 we used to go back to our home country at least once in 4-6 months but now the chances to go back are too slim. Now is summer break, the longest school holiday of each term, and by this time we should have been in Malaysia visiting our parents and parents-in-law, but today after more than a week of summer break holiday, we are still here, in Saigon.
My daughter was on home/ on-line school for more than 3 months starting from March to early May. Schooling for less than a month, she is in summer break holiday and at home again, yet the outbreak of coronavirus seems not to subside in a certain country and Vietnam has gone with zero cases for over 70 days. As the outbreak still continues spreading in certain countries, Vietnam and Malaysia are still closing its border to foreigners. To be safe, we remain to stay in Saigon.
On March 26, the Vietnam government had asked localities across the country to ban the social events, gathering of 10 people and practicing a minimum social distancing of 2 meters between people in public places. Since then I was kept myself at home and had no social gathering with my friends which including my "pengajian" routine. We stocked up groceries as much as possible once we went out shopping, which can last for about 2-3 weeks. Before COVID-19 I used to walk to Taho Dien to An Phu supermarket just to get our Basmati stocks as well as can food that hardly found at the nearest supermarket near to our apartment. But since then, my husband had to do dry groceries shopping at An Phu supermarket as only An Phu supermarket is the nearest supermarket that selling the basmati rice.
I had a new routine whenever I went out of our apartment since COVID-19, which is to put on a face mask, long sleeves and long pants, hand gloves, and glasses. I bring hand sanitizer wherever I go and sanitized my hand whenever I touched any surface or goods. I showered and changed as I entered the home after came back from my outing. Some of these practices continued even after the lockdown period was over.
COVID-19 did change the world, socially, economically, and environmentally. People were not encouraged to shake hands, kiss, hug, and have to keep a social distancing at all the time. The gathering that was a positive gesture to strengthen the family relationship is now not an advisable practice anymore. We are encouraged to be away far from the elderly and babies. Visiting old parents is not a good gesture anymore. A religious gathering like "solat Jumaat" and mass gathering at church or temples is now not a good religious gesture anymore. People are banned to attend to any religious gathering. Somehow, it seems a lesson to us that we should upkeep our hygiene, appreciate the privateness of an individual when we are given to be more contented and focus on our own self-improvement to life and religion, as well as to let the mother earth rest from being bullied by a human with their digging and exploiting the mother earth's resources.
People have a new norm by working at home. That giving more chances to get close with family members at home. It's automatically reducing social gatherings that may include bad and negative aura or gestures from our social networking, hence avoiding us from all negatives habits like talking bad about others, complaining unnecessarily, badmouthing, etc. The period of lockdown can basically teach an individual to find their inner strength, find the meaning of real life, true self- interest and quality and embrace ourselves with a better quality of life self-improvement. Like myself, even though I am a full-time housewife I normally spent many times with my friends at social gatherings and sometimes would bring me to gossiping and talking about unnecessary things. But during COVID-19 we can avoid all those gossips and talk bad about others. I spent more of my time reading the Quran and Tafsir to improve my tajwid and understand the meaning of the Quran at home. I got more time to learn and do "solat sunat" and "doas". I got more time to spend on my writing and painting. It's a worth lockdown period for self-improvement.
In economic wise, many business were stopped. This, include illegal and bad business practices such as overexploiting the resources( e.g destroying the jungle and nature for development). All these bad practices in business were automatically stopped temporarily. Hence, it is such a blessed when the pandemic had reduced bad practices and activities in the economy. Now, the earth can breathe and live free temporarily from air and water pollution caused by human misuse of natural resources, while humans on the other hand living in a not a normal life.
How soon can we go back to normal life? No one has the answer for that, but what for sure to us is we have to pray and do to the Almighty Creator to give us the antidote to this invisible enemy.
How soon can we go back to normal life? No one has the answer for that, but what for sure to us is we have to pray and do to the Almighty Creator to give us the antidote to this invisible enemy.
