21 April 2020

Tuesday · Day 26 of lockdown

South Africa reported 1 055 coronavirus recoveries. Unions linked to South African Airways met with Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, to discuss proposals to reduce job losses and save the airline. Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, came under increasing criticism for his response to the pandemic. He appeared at an anti-lockdown rally, which he attended without a mask, and was seen coughing without covering his mouth. Air Canada suspended flights to the US until 22 May, while Vietnam resumed domestic flights after five days of no new cases. Spain eased regulations to allow children under the age of 14 to accompany their parents to shops. The last major cruise ship to be stuck at sea, the Costa Deliziosa, failed to dock because of bad weather.

Second day of classes. Ran a lot smoother than yesterday, but somehow, I feel even more behind than I ever have despite it only being the second day. I find myself struggling to manage my time. My initial plan was to just follow my normal timetable, but now that I can go at my own pace, I find myself going over the usual 50-minute slot allocated to each class. […] I feel like I am spending obscene amounts of time at my laptop. My total screen time yesterday was ten hours! And this is just the beginning.

In world news: oil prices have reached negative levels. When I first read about it I wasn’t too sure what that meant for us as citizens to be honest. Words and phrases like ‘unprecedented’ and ‘first time in history’ kept being repeated.

* * *

I study the whole day. Sometimes I even forget to eat. Is that even normal? I don’t think so, but I mostly end the day with a smile because I do enjoy spending time with my books. If there was a job that paid you simply for reading a book each day I would take it. Now that learning is back on track, I worry about whether I will have enough data to check what is being uploaded every day.

A friend told me that confidence is key at this time; one has to believe that you will make it. What if one’s mentality is not so strong though? […]

I am tired of all of this. The only view I have of outside is from the window or when I stand near to my gate. I miss walking past the shops and seeing how full they were, I miss not being able to just enjoy walking in nature and getting lost in one’s own thoughts. Perhaps I am starting to understand how people finally become insane.

* * *

Online classes have been going well and I have managed to follow my normal class timetable, but I find that I am much more tired at the end of the day than I normally would be after a day of classes at university. Maybe it is because I have to concentrate a lot harder to understand and absorb the material by myself as opposed to the slightly more passive process of listening to a lecturer explain concepts to me. I prefer grappling with the work by myself at first because it helps concepts to sink in faster. However, I hate the isolation that comes with distance learning. Sitting for hours on end in front of your laptop in the same space can be very demotivating.

* * *

So, today’s my birthday, although it really just feels like any other day. Being in lockdown and having online classes especially makes it feel extra ordinary and by that, I mean more ordinary than usual. My mom brought me breakfast in bed this morning and I received countless birthday messages, but besides all that, it was business as usual. I did as much work as I could, or actually as I felt like, but it was productive. It felt quite weird not having family over. We usually always have some family and friends over on birthdays. Even when there’s not a party, our people just show up. Obviously, they couldn’t do that today and it made me a little sad. It feels like we are breaking tradition. But I know that once this is over, we’ll have a good old family gathering and I can’t wait.

* * *

My second day of classes was less exciting. I spent about seven hours studying and attending online lectures. My brother studies at the University of Pretoria and their classes have not started yet. He spent the whole day watching movies, chilling outside and reading. Even though his day sounds more fun, I realised last week that quarantine feels a lot longer and more boring if you do not have work to do. Classes are difficult and they take a lot of effort and dedication, but they provide the purpose that I need during this quarantine.

* * *

The whole household was excited to hear what the president had to say tonight in his address, but at the end of it we realised that we’d have better spent our time on an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air because the president didn’t even allude to the question that’s on everybody’s mind. Just rip the band aid off already and tell us what the future holds. Despite my frustration, though, I understand that these are important communications.

[…] I’m not adjusting well to these not-so-new conditions. I think I am entering another depressive episode. I’m trying to keep my sleeping patterns healthy, but this seems impossible. I’ll be taking another break from WhatsApp. I haven’t showered in three days.

* * *

Cyril addressed the nation this evening concerning the government’s plans for economic relief. I was wholly surprised by the extent of aid/spending that the government announced. It was much more than I believed we had to spend. My first thought, like most others I’m sure, was, “where will it come from?” Surely we’d have to borrow that money from somewhere. Then I realised we’ve borrowed it from our future. […] The worst part is that even all this spending probably won’t be enough.

* * *

The president spoke to us again today. He announced the details of an economic stimulus package. R500 billion. That is crazy. Billions was every second word. Loans and loans and grants and grants and social services and feeding schemes. I think many people are in trouble. People are looting food trucks. The economy needs to be restarted otherwise starvation will kick in.

* * *

Today is Human Rights Day [in South Africa]. To be honest, I didn’t even remember. My day was interesting. For the first time since coming to Stellenbosch, I went hiking. My friends and I hiked the Coetzenburg Mountain. It was hard. We started around 3:00 pm in the afternoon and it was very hot. I struggled to keep up with the guys (I went with three of my male friends), but it was beautiful seeing Stellenbosch from above.

* * *

A massive decrease has been noted with regard to the demand for oil due to lockdowns and quarantines limiting the movements of people all around the world. As such, the price has steadily declined as the market has produced an excess supply of oil. On Monday, 20 April, an unprecedented event occurred with the price of crude oil falling below zero dollars, into the negative domain. This negative ‘price’ for oil was a result of concerns that there was a lack of space to store incoming crude oil supplies, and investors may have been obligated to accept actual orders of crude oil. Thus, there was a mad scramble to offload this obligation and people were willing to pay for this, resulting in a negative price. This is an incredibly rare and historical event.

In the evening, Ramaphosa addressed the nation again. The nature of his speech was very financial and he detailed an extensive social and economic support package. The president claimed that R500 billion would be spent in order to overcome and alleviate the strain of the virus. R100 billion is to be spent protecting and creating jobs. R40 billion is set aside as an income stipend for unpaid employees. R50 billion is allotted to increases in the social grants system. R20 billion would be immediately spent on health measures. This money was to be sourced from local and foreign sources, including the World Bank and the African Development Bank. He said: “We will follow a phased approach. As we do so, we remain firm in our resolve to contain the virus. We will need to act with flexibility in the weeks and months ahead.”

I believe that the president has taken a strong stance on the large amount of money that is planning to be spent; it will definitely aid the country in the face of the current crisis. However, this could mount to incredibly high levels of debt which would become the burden of the current youth – my generation. It seems that, no matter what our leaders choose, there is always a trade-off that will benefit some and detriment others. I am impressed by Ramaphosa and his level-headedness and prudence in the face of adversity.