On Sunday 15 March 2020, the Netherlands closed down nearly everything in the country:
“Schools, cafes, restaurants, sex clubs cannabis cafes, saunas and sports clubs will all close their doors at 6pm on Sunday for three weeks” https://nos.nl/artikel/2327194-alle-scholen-cafes-en-restaurants-tot-en-met-6-april-dicht-om-coronavirus.html
Since Monday 16th of March 2020 I have been working at home, along with my entire office here in Amsterdam and other people across Europe and other parts around the world. Skype, Teams and IT networks in general are definitely stress tested in the biggest unplanned experiment that anyone can imagine.
I ventured out for some groceries and it was pretty decent in my neck of the woods, no spectacular supermarket fights and it was pretty well stocked, although there were more holes on the shelves than normal. In the afternoon I ventured out and was surprised to see quite a few people out and about in the park.
I decided not to go home for a visit at this time, as it would cause unnecessary health risk for me and my loved ones. I hope that sometime soon I will be able to visit without the fear of quarantine or disease.
In the air there is a general air of strangeness, even mild notes of panic. But on another level, far from the human factor of panic and disease, nature is slowly breaking into spring. Days are getting longer, the sun is coming to grace us with its presence, and the trees are slowly breaking into bloom.
mcharlottesmith 