Inga-Lill Bengtsson: Inga-Lill Bengtsson: ”Go out for a walk – take a mental break from corona”
I went into a shop in the more or less deserted town centre. The salesperson said, ”People say they shop locally, but it’s enough if everybody else does it”. The question is how many shops there will be left by the autumn, in many places.
An invisible virus is turning the whole world upside down. From one day to the next hotels were emptied of their guests, tourists fled, staff in several branches were laid off or lost their jobs.
At the same time, the number of heart attacks dropped, and there were very few car accidents in March. Are we less stressed?
Nobody knows how long we must keep at a distance of two metres, stay at home on the slightest suspicion of a cold, and keep away from the over-70s.
””I have to stop myself from rushing up to them and saying, ”Don’t you realise that you’re putting your own mother’s or grandmother’s life at risk by behaving like that?””Inga-Lill Bengtsson
Sweden’s strategy is being met with curiosity and both admiration and abomination all over the world. We haven’t closed everything down, the police don’t threaten you if you go out. We appeal to people to follow the advice given by the authorities.
But it worries me when I see young men kissing one another on the cheek, and when I hear someone say, ”No more people are dying than usual” or ’”I’ll be all right”. A nonchalant way of behaving that can pass on the infection. I have to stop myself from rushing up to them and saying, ”Don’t you realise that you’re putting your own mother’s or grandmother’s life at risk by behaving like that?”
My father, 93 years old, is the kindest person I know. He is very sociable, and lives alone in a flat. I try to convince him of how serious the situation is, that the virus with its new, pretty crown has a nasty way of deceiving us. Nobody knows who will be hit, or how hard.
There are many people who live under overcrowded circumstances in Kristianstad, both those in a risk-group with an underlying medical condition and those who are 70+. According to a survey from Stockholm University 71 people over 70 live too close to other people. They live at Gamlegården, Österäng and Charlottesborg. In Hässleholm municipality there are 51 people in the category.
Kb Mosaik has met Mowlid Aden at Gamlegården, where he lives in a flat along with his wife and three children. He really likes living there. A few years ago he suffered a stroke.
– If you live in a flat, you don’t have much choice, we share the same kitchen and toilet. If one person falls ill, the others must try to keep their distance, it’s a difficult situation.
Read the article on pages 6-8.
In Stockholm one district, hard hit by corona and seriously overcrowded, has introduced a new form of support by means of short-term temporary housing. A good solution.
So what can you do if you have to stay at home? Juggle with all the toilet rolls you’ve squirreled away for an emergency, train your lungs with breathing exercises, stream films from the library (see page 14), read books, talk to your friends and relatives on the phone, go out for a walk, give your brain a rest from corona.
We welcome May with spring songs, and say Ramadan Kareem to our Muslim friends.
