Quarantine Easing

MOSCOW CAUTIOUSLY EASES QUARANTINE TWO WEEK EXPERIMENT

By Stephen Wilson

 

 

            (MOSCOW) -- 'Rain, rain go away, come back another day' goes an old nursery rhyme my grandmother loved to sing whenever it rained. It was supposed to be a kind of spell chanted to conjure away the heavy rain. For it has almost been raining relentlessly in Moscow for the past three days. The sky continues to be gray, grim and overcast. Just drifting mist which obscures any view. You can't see

the sun, the moon or the sky as on previously occasions. At times the sky could become so transparent and crystal clear blue you could spot the constellation of Orion the hunter by his three star belt. When there was a pause from the rain,

yesterday, people poured out on the streets of my locality and began walking around, meeting each other. It seemed to have become another Sunday afternoon. It was as if the quarantine rules and regulations had already been either forgotten or suspended by fatigue, frustration and anger.

 

            A WONDERFUL WALK

 

            The new notices which had been posted on the door entrances to each block of flats had disappeared, been deliberately torn down or blown away by a fierce wind. The  

notice informed residents of new regulations and rules which have to be observed during the quarantine from the 1st to the 14th June. For instance, people can go out for exercise and do sport from 5 to 9 o clock in the morning but they can only go out for walks three times a week at scheduled times listed on the notice board. For example, the residents in my block are allowed to go for a walk on the 2nd, 4th and 7th of June, but then the following week: the 10th, 12th and 13th June. People who go out have to wear masks and gloves everywhere outside their flats as well as observe social distancing. People are forbidden from sitting on park benches or gathering in crowds. In addition, practically all the shops are being opened, though restaurants, cafes and swimming pools will remain closed. The Mayor of Moscow Sobyanin, apologized for the complexity of the rules but said he did not want a scenario where enthusiastic and euphoric people gathered in the streets as if it was a May the first demonstration. This is an experiment which will last two weeks, and if it does not work, then a full scale quarantine will be reintroduced.

 

            When I heard the news that I would be allowed to resume my long walks I felt great joy. I confess that on the eve of 1st of June, I felt as excited as a schoolboy before Christmas. I could hardly sleep. And at 5 a.m. I began my long walk around Moscow. The sky was still overcast, but it had stopped raining or rather, there was only light drizzle. Just outside my flat I came across a young man who looked as if he had been jogging. There was hardly a soul in sight. As I was making my way to Telman Square in the Aeroport district I noticed a rowdy almost drunken group of youths and one boy shouted at me: "What are you looking at, grandfather?"

            I soon crossed the square and made my way to Chapayevsky Park where I noticed one young man doing press-ups on bars and another couple jogging together.

            All along the great Leningradsky Shosse or Highway, huge billboards loomed up carrying photos of members of medical teams treating the sick. Each billboard was titled 'Heroes Among Us', carrying a photo of a named doctor or nurse while in the background a line of medical staff stood. In my locality you saw photos of Natalie Chugunova, a doctor, Denis Romanov, a surgeon, and Yekaterina Zakharenkova,

who is a junior nurse.

 

            Other  prominent billboards appealed for volunteers saying: 'Volunteer Now! You can help! 'with photos of volunteers handing over bags of food to a fragile old woman. There were not many joggers or people doing sport. Instead, trolley buses often driven by women would rumble past me with either one solitary passenger or were empty. I walked on and on past Sokol and to Voikovskaya, until my back began to ache. I wondered where had all the homeless people gone? Had they been driven out beyond 101 kilometres or detained? But I soon met two of them.

            A poor man who had a cheerful disposition with a gaunt wrinkled and red complexion was begging for a cigarette from two drivers. Perhaps they did not smoke but they found him amusing and ignored him. He then turned to me and asked for a cigarette.

            Since I didn't smoke he had more bad luck. So he asked for change which I at least had. Then I met another homeless person who politely asked me for change. I wanted to interview him and although he gave me his name I felt I was being too intrusive. When I asked him how he was coping with the crisis he seemed reticent.

            For well found reasons many homeless have learnt to be weary at meeting strangers. They might be either beaten up or robbed by people who at first appeared pleasant.

            I had a distinct feeling I 'd meet him again. As the hours went by I noticed that streams of people were now descending upon the metro and the rush hour was beginning. For the first time in two months the city had woken up from her half slumber.

 

            DENYING THE CRISIS

 

            There is a distinct feeling of unreality here. On the surface, everything seems safely normal. You can observe many people on the streets not wearing masks, gloves or believing that this is even a crisis. Doctors and nurses who return home exhausted after working in hospitals with patients are shocked at seeing how laid back and reckless people are walking about the streets without masks and gathering in groups. I notice the same. A recent survey by the Higher School of Economics found that on 26th May, almost a quarter of Russians, 23%, thought that the coronavirus was an invention conceived by some vested interests. The number of people who don't believe this virus is real has grown rather than decreased over the past few months. Some still claim the impact of this virus is exaggerated if not fabricated. All kinds of absurd conspiracy theories abound blaming Bill Gates.

            While on 5th April only 10.4% of people believed it was an invention, by the 12th May this skeptical minority had grown to 20.7%. This may well be due to the influence of

articles on social networks.  You have to bury your head in the sand to ignore the harsh reality of this emergency. More ambulances speed by and arrive outside homes. One of my students who is very healthy never imagined in a million years he would catch it. But he came down with it telling me "It is the worst medical problem which I have ever experienced in my life. I tried to get good quality medicine from the chemists in Russian, but they have all run out of it. If you are lucky to find this medicine it now costs far more. It has risen in price from 100 to 400 rubles. I prefer to take medicine made in Germany, but the kind I want is not available," stated Yevgeni, a manager of a thriving international firm.

 

            STATISTICS QUESTIONED

 

            The Russian government is attempting to assure the situation is under control. When critics claimed that officials had under counted the number of deaths from the virus, the figures were eventually revised and it was acknowledged that as many as 60% of coronavirus patient deaths were not counted in total. So someone could have been said to have died from a heart attack or pneumonia which of course is an affect of the virus. So the virus is said to be indirectly though not directly the primary cause.

            Anastasiya Rakova, deputy mayor, is astonished at claims by foreign journalists that the state has been underestimating the level of deaths from the virus. She states

"By the way, according to the Brit Office for National Statistics, in Britain the Summer numbers may be two or even three times more. Perhaps British publishers, which

write about concealing information about the deaths in Russia simply should change the subject." Rakova claims that even if the mortality figures are revised they are a lot

lower than in London or New York. In New York, there have been 16,410 deaths and in London, just more than 5000. This is far larger than the rate of death in Moscow which on a maximum count might reach well beyond a thousand. But since the response of the British and American governments have been so abysmal, criticizing the Russian reaction seems like the kettle calling the pot black! It says more about

Cold War conflict than what is the underlying reality. There is no doubt that officials either can't count or manipulate statistics, but this is hardly confined to Russia.

 

            A DEVASTATING  TOLL

 

            The economic impact of this virus on the well-being of people has been devastating.

            As in American and Britain, thousands of people have either lost their jobs or had their income cut. Migrants in Moscow who have been laid off are on the streets and can't return home have been begging for food. If you don't work here, you don't eat.

            There exists no welfare state comparable to Germany or Britain. A person who is unemployed is entitled to between 1000 to 4500 rubles a month. And 4500 rubles amounts to a meager 56 dollars! We are witnessing a soaring rise in mass poverty and unemployment which nobody can conceal or disguise. As the writer Maxim Gorky once put in a play, "The Truth is beyond consolation".

 

            One week ago I spoke to my brother from Scotland about the Covid-19 crisis. He told me, This is like a war zone. It has hit Scotland terribly. My friend , Jan, who you met at a party many years ago, died and was only 48. Mother liked him and thought he was so polite and pleasant. Then I had to take over the work of someone who had died from this virus. Twelve people down the road in the old people's home died from this outbreak. This is a horrible disease that can attack all the organs of a person's body and he or she has no defense."  I recall, my brother Peter had been shaken by the death of his friend Jan and had to go out into the garden to cry. Jan's sister sent a letter expressing the hope that Jan would not just be another statistic.

            Peter promised, "Jan, you don't deserve to be another statistic and I 'll do all best to make sure this does not happen". In deed, nobody deserves to become just another statistic! We have to hold up a candle to those who died.