coronajournal

What it Means to be Human (in Times of Crisis)

[Laura Mai] Friday, April 3, 2020

I sit at my desk, looking out of the window, listening to birds chirping.

Thoughts racing. Heart beating. Lungs breathing.

In the early hours of the day following BoJo’s announcement of a UK-wide ‘lock-down’, I woke up slightly irritated when my little friends started their singing at dawn. Now, I am used to their song. And it brings me great pleasure (have a listen).

New York: Late March

[Hilary Wolkoff] Friday, April 3, 2020

Here are some images of New York from the end of March:

Decameron

[Simon Archer] Thursday, April 2, 2020

We are all in our own form of isolation from the plague; perhaps this is our Decameron.

Liberalism at rest

[Alexander Somek] Thursday, April 2, 2020

1.

The measures imposed by the Austrian government to protect public health encroach deeply on our fundamental rights. Freedom of association has been all but abolished. For many people, there is no longer any freedom to engage in economic activity. Most businesses have to remain closed.

March Ends.

[Priya Gupta] Wednesday, April 1, 2020

As of April 1, 2020 there are over one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide.

Homes.

Zurich & Lucerne. On March 24, The Washington Post had a story about a hotel in Switzerland offering a luxury “COVID-19 SERVICE”: a personal quarantine in a high-end, serviced apartment. The hotel’s new webpage for the service explains that one can “convert” an apartment into a “private health center” by adding services such as “nursing, food delivery, and personal chef service” and even in-room COVID-19 testing priced around $500. They also tell us that one could convert an apartment to a “home office” by availing services such as “high-speed fiber-quality internet, food delivery, and a staff-free check-in.”

The Journal’s Beginning

[Peer Zumbansen] First entry: Wednesday, April 1 (no joke), 2020

Just listened to this podcast on In Tune Radio App, coming from RRB Kultur. I found it very well done, it was short and, thus, manageable, i.e. doable, and it was very effective in highlighting one or two things of importance with each “entry”. The trick, it seems, of the diary is that you don’t justify your choice of what you want to include or exclude. It just happens, and, tomorrow, it’s yesterday’s news. I sent it out to most of my German-speaking friends and students, and to my older kids. Was sad not to send it to PG, who will join the project, if it ever gets off the ground, but likely and for a wider, transnational audience, we will write in English.