Coronavirus

Wednesday, March 4

There are currently 23 cases of Covid19 in the Netherlands. We went from zero to 23 in one week. The Dutch government has issued a statement saying they are “preparing” for a mass outbreak in the Netherlands, but they have not instituted any preventive measures. There are no school or event cancelations, and the advice they are giving is to avoid travel to affected areas, yet they sent 900 students to the known infected part of Italy this week, and those students are returning on Sunday and there are no plans for organized quarantine of those students when they return.

https://nltimes.nl/2020/03/04/netherlands-preparing-mass-covid-19-outbreak-drastic-measures-yet-pm-says

The advice is to wash your hands frequently and use gel hand sanitizer if immediate washing isn’t possible (getting off a tram, etc) but all sanitizing products are sold out. There is nothing left but soap.

JW has a trip to Spain with his Spanish class next week that has not been canceled. I don’t expect the school will cancel it as they are acting on the advice of the Dutch government and RIVM. I’m going to a meeting about it today and then James and I will decide if we will allow him to go but it’s highly unlikely we will allow him to travel without us with the threat of a global pandemic looking increasingly likely.

I’ll keep updating this blog as things evolve.

Update: 15 more cases now for a total of 38.

Thursday, March 5

The number of cases has more than doubled to 82. The government is still not advising basic cancelations or quarantines. I went to the meeting about the school Spanish trip which is still planned for Monday. The school basically said the risks are high and unknown and they don’t have specific contingencies in place should there be a major outbreak in Spain or here and said there’s a possibility kids could be quarantined there, not allowed back to the country or even evacuated to England and yet they “feel confident” in the travel company organizing the trip to manage these things on the fly. I do not feel confident sending my kid to another country during a global pandemic. We’ve decided not to let him go, which was of course really disappointing for him. The situation here is too fluid and changing too fast and I’m not confident the RIVM or government are doing enough to get in front of this. There are major concerns about medical supply shortages. https://nltimes.nl/2020/03/05/coronavirus-cases-doubles-82-mps-concerned-medical-supply-shortages

Friday, March 6

Up to 128 cases and first death today. While most of the cases are people who were in or around people from Northern Italy, there are now cases of unknown origin. I’m worried JW’s school is not taking this seriously enough. Aside from not canceling the Spain trip (which JW is not going on) I overheard the principal tell the Spanish teacher that he believes the situation “seems stable” and that he believes it will “all be over soon”. This is definitely not what the doctors and scientists are predicting. I wrote the school to find out what the protocol will be if we decide to self quarantine and they said it would be authorized and JW could get his lessons online. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and make any decisions we need to for our family.

Saturday, March 7

188 cases today. Still zero direction from RIVM or the government to limit the spread. My school still refusing to cancel events like Quiz Night — a social evening where over 100 people will sit in close contact at tables and eat and drink. They have stated they are following RIVM and don’t wish to cause panic by canceling events that are voluntary.

Sunday, March 8

Up to 264 cases and 2 more deaths and now a confirmed case at JW’s school. The school is now closed for two days (at least) for the school to clean and work with RIVM to track the case. We likely won’t be allowing him back until this is all over. We have supplies, we’re ready to hunker down.

Tuesday, March 10

Up to 321 cases. JW’s school is reopening on Wednesday. The confirmed case of Covid is a parent with two children at the school and the family is in home quarantine and the GGD (health authority) isn’t testing the family. So this makes me think the numbers of cases is higher than what’s being reported as not everyone is being tested. RIVM advise is that you only need to call your doctor if your symptoms worsen and you’ve been in or exposed to someone in a high risk area (still only designated as China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Singapore, South Korea, Iran and the northern Italian provinces of Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino-South Tyrol, Friuli-Julian-Venice, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria.) They are still talking about people who have been in high risk areas yet our numbers of confirmed cases are increasing and there are cases of unknown origin. My feeling is that RIVM, GGD, Dutch government are only taking half measures to contain this and it’s not going to work. Yesterday during a press conference the Dutch PM advised that there should be no more hand shaking and then he turned to the person next to him and shook his hand.

Wednesday, March 11

Big jump up to 503 cases and another death today. WHO officially declared a pandemic and said they are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. I believe they are looking right at the Netherlands. We have to decide if we’re going to pull JW out of school. We got a big delivery of pantry items, etc today. James is working from home and I’m only leaving the house to walk Brian in the park at night.

Thursday, March 12

Up to 614 cases today (111 additional cases overnight). There was a press conference with the Prime Minister who instituted some new guidelines. He banned gatherings of 100 people or more, urged people to work from home, said not to take public transpo, and to stay home if they are having any symptoms. He did not close schools.

Friday, March 13

Up to 804 cases and 10 deaths. School is officially closed.

Sunday, March 15

1135 cases and 20 deaths here. The Dutch government facing increased pressure to close schools, restaurants, etc (our school made the independent decision to close on Friday, as they are not part of the Dutch system). We aren’t going out at all except to take Brian out early and late when there aren’t other people out. Today we printed out a list of emergency contact numbers including the US Consulate so James Wilson has them in case he needs them. It’s terrifying to think of the possibility that James and I could both get sick at the same time leaving James Wilson alone. This is real, and scary and we are doing the best we can to cope.

UPDATE: PM just announced all schools, restaurants, cafes, etc will be closed nationwide.

Monday, March 16

Huge jump up to 1,413 cases and 24 deaths today. Everything is much quieter now that it’s all on lockdown. I’m worried about the supply chain for food but we’re okay for a while. James Wilson started lessons online today and it was good for him to wake up and take a shower and get his assignments and have some structure and a feeling of normalcy. He was supposed to go to the orthodontist tomorrow but I have no idea when he’ll be able to go again. I slept through the night until 6am without waking up for several hours in the middle of the night — first time in weeks. The Netherlands was two weeks too slow to react to this. The US is making the same mistake and it’s horrible to watch. People have a crystal ball — you can see how it has unfolded here in Europe and know the US is on the same path and probably in a worse position due to lack of testing.

Tuesday, March 17

1,705 cases and 43 people have died. Half the people in ICU are under 50 years old. We’re doing okay right now. James Wilson is doing a good job with his online studies and James is working and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing but I guess I’m mostly reviewing our food situation, planning and cooking meals, washing dishes and laundry and explaining to Brian that we’re not going to the Vondelpark.

8:00pm Everyone in Amsterdam just went out on their balconies and rooftops and clapped for the doctors and nurses. It made me cry.

Wednesday, March 18

2,051 confirmed cases and a total of 58 deaths in the Netherlands. 485 of the confirmed cases are people who work in healthcare. The thing I think about that scares me the most is the lack of enough ventilators.

Thursday, March 19

2,460 cases and 76 people have died.

Friday, March 20

2,994 cases and 106 deaths. Two days ago, the Minister of Health charged with handling the cornoavirus crisis collapsed in the middle of a press conference and he resigned yesterday. My feeling is that the Dutch government is completely overwhelmed, the hospitals are getting creamed and we are on our own in dealing with this. James and I have decided to stay in and avoid all contact with people. We have a freezer being delivered today — a friend with a car drove me to Hanos, which is a warehouse type store and I bought a lot of groceries and supplies so we are okay and now we just need to do everything in our power to stay safe and not get this disease. My anxiety is back up from going out yesterday and because we have a delivery coming. Any contact is a risk.

Sunday, March 22

4,204 cases and 179 deaths. There are definitely more cases than that number reflects as only people who are sick enough to need hospital care are getting tested now, and an article today said old people are being encouraged to die at home rather than in the ICU (which seems pretty Dutch — they are big fans of home births here, too). The Dutch aren’t following the guidelines for keeping social distance. The playground across from our house is constantly full of kids and parents. An emergency broadcast alert went out to all phones today with a message to stay 1.5 meters apart, but overall Dutch people aren’t following it or taking precautions and the government has said stricter measures may be needed but I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m still pretty worried about my trip to Hanos (worried about the exposure, hoping I’m not going to get sick). Otherwise we’re staying inside. James Wilson used a DIY pattern to sew face masks for us.

Wednesday, March 24

6,412 cases and 356 deaths. On Monday new restrictions were put in place limiting social interaction. Groups of more than 3 are banned, more nonessential businesses were ordered to close and the Dutch government announced anyone not 1.5 meters apart or in groups of more than 3 will be fined. It all came about because the weather is nice (finally) and too many people were in the parks and beaches. An alert went out on everyone’s phone on Sunday that scared the shit out of everyone, telling everyone to stay 1.5 meters apart. The numbers are showing signs that the social distancing may be starting to have an effect. The percentage of cases has grown but not exponentially in the last two days. We’re doing okay for the most part. James and JW have been getting up early to go running in the Vondelpark and I’ve gone out twice for walks — once late at night with James and Brian and once today by myself to get some sun and air. I didn’t take Brian so I could really focus on staying away from everyone. Brian’s miserable.

Tuesday, March 31

12,595 cases and 1,039 deaths. Testing is still limited so there are more cases than this. Hospitals are nearly at full capacity and there aren’t enough ventilators or medical staff. The Dutch PM is holding a press conference this afternoon to announce what will likely be an extension of the closures and social distancing directives that are already in place. We’re doing okay. Still healthy and that’s what counts. We changed the clocks this past weekend so it’s light out late here now. Such a big change from even a few weeks ago. The rains have stopped and it’s sunny and bright and fully spring like, although still really cold. We spent the weekend working on the patio to get it shaped up. Cut back the vines and hydrangeas and got it all set up out there but it’s still too cold to use it. It looks really pretty though. The tulip poplar is blooming and it’s beautiful. James and JW go running in the park every other morning. Brian gets walks twice a day but not to the park — it’s too hard to manage him there. He doesn’t get social distancing and he’s a pain in the ass. Yesterday James and I walked over to our canal and started Shrimpy for the first time this season. Took a while to get the engine to start but it worked. We’re doing fine with our food supply and are in the queue for a delivery from Albert Heijn in about two weeks. You have to wait until midnight to get a delivery spot to open up, and it’s a two week wait now. There are limits to amounts you can buy, but most stuff is still available. Shortage of flour and some other things but overall still fine.

Monday, April 13

25,587 positive cases and 2,737 deaths. Testing has ramped up some but still not widely available so there are likely more cases than the official RIVM total. Also, people who die at home, untested, aren’t included in the Covid death tally. I haven’t felt like updating my blog lately, but overall things are the same. James Wilson has been on spring break this past week and this week so no online learning. We miss the structure and stimulation his online school was providing him, though he seems to be okay. He’s spending a lot of time creating a world in Animal Crossing and he’s working on a long term video project for his English class. We are inside almost 100 percent of the time. We are getting groceries delivered as needed and we are fully stocked and grateful for all we have. We signed up for a direct from farm veg delivery and a support locals food delivery and both have been awesome. James and JW go running every other morning early before there are people out. James walks Brian early in the morning or late at night. I go sometimes but not often. We did take the Shrimp Whisker out one morning last week, which was a total luxury and really nice. We just stayed on our canal and turned around on the Amstel River to come back. The canals in Center area all closed but our canal is further out and not narrow or crowded. We still have a half a tank of gas left in our gas can so we may go out again later in spring, depending on how things are going. We enjoyed our 200 tulips this week. We had them delivered from one of the Dutch flower growing greenhouses — that industry is really suffering. The Netherlands is the biggest flower exporter in the world and the trade is totally shut down so millions of flowers are being destroyed and the farmers are all struggling. There are multiple greenhouses offering delivery at almost no cost just to keep the flowers from being destroyed. We ordered another batch (paid the full price, which is still really cheap) and they will come in a few days. The Dutch government is saying that opening schools is the top priority, which makes me nervous. They haven’t put any restrictions on children playing together and we live across from a playground it’s like Lord of the Flies out there. Everyone sends their kids there and it’s packed with screaming, wild kids. Then the parents start venturing out and bring their wine and as the day wears on and their wine kicks in they get very relaxed about keeping 6.5 meters apart and then they all move the party into their back yards. It sucks. It’s dangerous and I’m worried about this casual attitude. One of my neighbors, whom I had to work very hard to avoid and she kept moving closer to me to talk when I was giving Brian an outside pee break, said she was happy because “it’s like the Coronavirus isn’t happening here” and that really sums the problem up because the Coronavirus IS happening here. Very much so. So this blithe attitude is not safe at all.

Tuesday, April 14

I’m sick. I was feeling a little off on Sunday and got worse on Monday. Symptoms are fever (up to 101.9 last night), chills, sweating, headache, fatigue and runny nose. I’m isolating in the bedroom and not having any contact with James or James Wilson. My biggest worry is that James will get sick too and JW will be left alone.

Wednesday, April 15

I’m improving. The fever is gone now. I’ve been mostly sleeping the past two days. It’s in my chest now but it’s not severe. It mostly feels heavy, tight and I’m coughing but not a lot. Hopefully I’ll keep improving and will be fine soon.

Friday, April 17

I’m doing about the same. Still have pressure, tightness, burning in my chest but it’s fairly mild. Still isolated in the bedroom. Had a consult with my house doctor earlier in the week who confirmed my symptoms are consistent with Covid, but without a test I won’t know for sure. He gave me the info on what to look for in terms of serious respiratory problems, which on average appear 6.5 days after initial symptoms. It’s unlikely I’ll have those but I have the after hours emergency contact number in case I need it.

Saturday, April 18

I feel good today. Seems like I’m recovered and fine. I’m staying self isolated for another 24 hours and if all is fine tomorrow I’ll come out of the bedroom but I’ll still maintain home quarantine for a full 14 days, not that I’ll plan to go anywhere after that…..

Wednesday, April 22

I’m fully recovered from whatever I had and feeling fine. James and JW also are fine. It has been nice being out of seclusion in the bedroom. I’m staying inside for the full two weeks, not that I’ll go out much after that. Sitting in the garden in the late afternoon or on the terrace in the morning for the sun have been nice.