Yesterday began like any other Sunday in a state that’s had no community transmission of COVID-19 for 10 months.
I went to a fitness class. I visited my aunt and uncle. I went home and had lunch. I started browsing Disney+. My phone was at my fingertips. And then I saw the news on my socials that Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan was holding an emergency press conference at noon. (It ended up being around 12.45pm, with the rumour mill swirling on the Facebook Live video comments as we waited.)
The Premier emerged wearing a black face mask, and I knew right then we were going into lockdown. By 6pm, the sporting venue I’d been at hours earlier was closed for at least the next few days, and casually visiting my aunt and uncle was no longer permitted.
It’s only a five-day lockdown at this stage, though that didn’t stop the panic buying. Ugh.
My workplace sprung into action on Sunday afternoon, closing our building for the week and directing us to work remotely. If the lockdown ends up being extended… we’ll deal with that when the time comes.
I worked remotely for three months last year, so I knew it could be done. This time around, the decision was more sudden, so I couldn’t go in and grab all my stuff from the office for the perfect teleworking setup. But hey, it’s a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.
I’ve since finished my first 24+ hours of lockdown and, despite feeling a little unsettled, it’s been fine. I may have had too much coffee and tea now that the kitchen is a breath away from my workstation, but I managed to avoid the caffeine-induced anxiety I sometimes get, so all good. (It’s a fine line between alertness and anxiety. 😛 )
I don’t know if or when life will go back to something resembling a pre-COVID normal. But I’m trying to focus on the here and now.
So, day one down. Four more (hopefully) to go. Let’s do this. 🙂
Lee-Ann Khoh 
One thought on “Day one of lockdown…”