After 3 weeks, "How do you think we are doing in working to "flatten the curve?"

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“COVID 19 was a concern in my workplace since January. The library was an information source for the community. As the impact increased, procedures were put in place for cleaning, sanitizing common areas, care was taken with staff who were ill with colds etc. My branch is located next to a hospital;The community centre public access/ link to the hospital was closed.” (Thornhill, Canada)

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“At first I didn't think it was that big of a deal but with my mom being a public health worker she's been finding lots of information on the outbreak so I have also become more worried about it than I was before.”  (Brampton, Canada)

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“I suppose it is becoming more normal, whereas in the early days i was thinking about it all the time and very anxious not knowing what this meant or how it would affect things. now that we've been in it for a while, it is becoming more normal.”

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“My attitude is worsening actually. My country is doing an exceptionally bad job as they don't acknowledge that most people, especially more low income low education populations don't seem to believe in the virus or take enough precautions. The government isn't doing enough to make them stay home. People still go to work everyday and there isn't much they can do about it because people with no savings or big families have to work to stay alive. These are mostly factory or manual jobs, so people go to work together in a company carpool and/or work in closed conditions all day. Its not safe for them. And then there are others who simply don't stay at home and continue with their social lives. People over 65 (I think) can use public transport for free, so we tend to have all these grannies and grampas who take the bus somewhere just to take the bus because they can. It was fine in normal life but during Covid its incredibly high risk! There are people who have weddings in public parks and not small ones either. Proper weddings with dancing and physical contact and closeness. And the numbers are beginning to reflect these attitudes. I don't believe the government tells us the true numbers every day, not with what I'm seeing with my own eyes. But even so, we are 3 weeks out from when it first appeared in Turkey and as of 7 April there are 34,000 cases. In just 21 days! This doesn't seem to be a community that is doing all it can and actively social distancing... Unfortunately I'm very pessimistic about the situation here. It seems it can only get worse and worse before we start to even begin to get better.” (Istanbul, Turkey)

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“Some people including me should be taking Covid-19 more seriously and be more cautious.”

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“My outlook didn’t change much, I just didn’t think I’d find so many things to do while in isolation. I still thinks it’s important to stay at home so that the virus won’t spread on to more people.”

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“There are strange moments here and there where I forget that we are in this mess. There have also been a couple of times where I have watched a movie or TV show and have gotten annoyed that the characters are not social distancing and I have to remind myself that it is "pre-pandemic" There are days when I don't trust the Gov and there are days when I believe that they are doing the best that they can. It is kind of all over the map.” (Calgary, Alberta)

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“My outlook has not really changed. I have had a very full life. And in these times I can only say I am once again blessed. My family and I have more than our basic needs being met at a time when people are in extreme distress. This ranges from financially pressures, stress and family members being sick or dying from this terrible virus. My family and extended family is only expected to isolate, this is difficult. But with technology we are in contact. We express our love more readily. In the end I can only hope we realize the importance of our family and those around us. There are so many precious stories and thoughts be delivered in our media, which indicate most of us realize in our country we have strength to move through these rough times. We can see a previously hidden love.” (McDougall, Canada)

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“We have prevented the covid 19 as much as possible, I think closing the school is a good method.” (Toronto, Canada)

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"I didn't take this serious[ly] at the start because there was a really low chance that I would experience heavy symptoms and even caught (sic) the disease. I went out for a couple times arbitrarily. But as days went by, I figured how serious was this. I stopped going out completely and took precautions. My biggest fear was to accidentally infect my grandmother. If something like that happened, I couldn't live with myself. So I became so much more cautious.” (Istanbul, Turkey)

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“We really need to work hard to keep it from spreading because when we didn't at the beginning it avalanches onto us very quickly.” (Ontario, Canada)

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“At first I didn't take the pandemic as seriously as I should, and I am now working to view and take more precautions.”  (Toronto, Canada)

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“I think that in the beginning I was frustrated at the fact that we had to stay home and I couldn't see my friends and I couldn't play on sports teams I really wanted to be on at school and in my own life. But I think that as this has gone on I've realized that how I thought in the beginning was selfish and in order to beat this virus this is what we need to do. I think that the government made the right choice and that even though it's hard because I'm losing my school year, I can't see my friends, and I'm losing things that were important to me in the long run I think it's more beneficial to do this then to deal with the consequences we would have to face if we didn't.” (Brampton, Canada)

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“At the start, when Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, many including me weren't taking it seriously. Everyone was talking why is it declared a pandemic. But now as the cases have drastically increased along with massive death tolls, I've now become very thoughtful and I follow all the guidelines given by the government." (Istanbul, Turkey)

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“My own attitude hasn't really changed, since I have been taking this seriously since the beginning. I remember, back in January spending a day transiting through Istanbul, watching flights coming in and out of China and being aware of how easily diseases could be spread. I have, however, found myself contemplating how this ends more frequently. I am interested to see what happens with the countries that are ahead of us in the timeline - Wuhan is now starting to open again, Italy and Spain are seeing the numbers beginning to drop. They are my future, so I am watching them closely. I don't see how we will escape from this cycle - while I am home and protected, wrapped in cotton wool, the virus is out there, changing, waiting. I will probably get it eventually, we all will. For how long can we prolong the inevitable.” (Istanbul, Turkey)

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“I feel like it's not taken serious enough.” (Bond Head, Canada)

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“At first I was convinced that it wasn't as big of a deal as others were making it but now when i look at it i can see the severity that this pandemic is and how it is truly affecting everyone. Now i am always more aware of what i am doing to try and help stop the spread with things like stoical distancing and washing my hands. (Woodbridge, Canada)

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"I think I was scared before but now I have become complacent with "the way that it is". I'm not sure if this is a good thing.” (Woodbridge, Canada)

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“I'm more accepting what is and surrendering. In Costa Rica we don't have so many cases yet, but we are suffering from lack of tourism. But i see it as a necessary change for the planet and try to spread uplifting news to my community.” (Montezuma, Costa Rica)

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“I take it a lot more seriously now. Before, Canada kind of felt untouchable.” (Schomberg, Canada)

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“I have come to terms that this virus is really really bad. At first I thought they were blowing it out of proportion, but now I see the horrible impact it has had on people and I do see that they are definitely not blowing it out of proportion.” (Ontario, Canada)

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“I've realised more how serious this pandemic is and how it could turn really fast if we don't try to flatten the curve.” (Holland Landing, Canada)

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“I always felt that this was going to be a world-wide situation but I never thought allies would turn on each other for supply demands.” (Vaughan, Canada)

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“At first, I thought of it as something that wouldn't progress far as long as we practiced daily hygiene effectively. Now, I think of it as a serious issue to our society, to which we have taken extensive precautionary measures to flatten the curve.” (Toronto, Canada)

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“I am still optimistic and still hoping that we can flatten the curve before it gets too high.” (Toronto, Canada)

 

“We were in Florida, left two weeks early and got home on the 15th. My wife was more concerned than I was the week before we left but now I am totally on board with staying home and social distancing.” (Markham, ON) 

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“I don't know when this will end. I go between moments of optimism to pessimism.” (Toronto, Canada)