Sadly, the ongoing coronavirus crisis is impacting all humans on a global scale, leading to mass panic and frankly, some pretty unkind behaviour. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen people resort to violence, racism and panic buying of household goods like toilet paper.
However, it’s not all bad. Coronavirus has forced many of us into isolation and social distancing which, ironically, has brought us closer together.
Listen to us break it all down on It’s Been A Big Day For… below:
Despite a national lockdown, Italian residents have been venturing out onto their balconies to sing and play instruments in solidarity. According to The Guardian, it’s not just the southern cities of Salerno and Naples who are taking part in the singalongs. Residents in other parts of Europe including Spain and Sweden have also been offering DJ sets and creating a beat with pots and pans from their apartment buildings and tower blocks.
In the Spanish city of Seville, one workout instructor ran a class from the rooftop of his apartment building. Another quarantined block held a huge game of bingo between units, and some even emerged on their balconies just to applaud the country’s healthcare workers.
All over the world, we’ve also seen members of the public step up and kindly offer a helping hand to those in need. Social media posts show strangers offering to do grocery shopping or even give a friendly phone call to those who are currently quarantined due to coronavirus.
Big businesses are also trying to treat society with kindness. Woolworths will be offering dedicated shopping hours for the elderly and those with disabilities, so they don’t have to compete with the panic buying masses. And across the pond, Bulgaria is raising the salaries of medics working directly with those affected by coronavirus.
Italian psychologist Francesco Morelli had a rather awe-inspiring take on the coronavirus crisis. He said, “In a social phase in which thinking about oneself has become the norm, this virus sends us a clear message…to re-emerge in us the feeling of helping others, of belonging to a collective, to be part of something bigger to be responsible for and that in turn be responsible to us.”
“Let’s stop looking for culprits or wonder why this has happened, and start thinking about what we can learn from all this. We all have a lot to reflect on and strive for. With the universe and its laws it seems that humanity is already quite indebted and that this epidemic is coming to explain it to us, at an expensive price.”
They’re wise words, and something we should all try to remember as we continue to take care of ourselves and treat others with kindness during the coronavirus crisis. If all else fails, just watch this video of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his mini ponies:
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