Covid-19: how do they experience confinement?

Sylvia, 43, employee in a supermarket

I work for a large supermarket chain. It’s calmer since Emmanuel Macron’s announcement, but before his speech I worked overtime. Even if I try to respect my working hours, it depends on the workload given the circumstances. There is apprehension, because we still see a lot of people despite the travel restrictions. Even though I wear a mask and gloves, I’m still afraid of catching the coronavirus. In addition, I have two children: my 15-year-old son is in high school and receives his lessons by email, he is independent, but I sometimes help him. This is not obvious. I find that the containment measures are not strict enough, there is a big risk for us. A lot of people are unaware: some only come to buy one or two products, and not basic necessities. Me, as soon as I finish my work, I do some shopping on the spot if necessary and I go home directly. Plexiglas has been placed in front of the checkouts to limit contact with customers. A security guard has been filtering entries since last week: he prevents groups from entering, there is one person per cadis. Sometimes there is a queue in the parking lot, but people are patient. We have adapted the opening and closing hours of the store, overall there are few customers at the same time on the shelves and we disinfect the boxes and door handles well.

Billel, 32, confined entrepreneur with 2 children

I am the head of a transport company. We have stopped all activity for 10 days. My accountant is taking the necessary steps to benefit from what the president has announced for entrepreneurs, but it’s not easy. For the moment the money is no longer coming in, we have to live on our savings. I worry about the future. If we were confined for 45 days, we would be unable to pay the bills. The situation is worrying. For shopping, I organize myself, I make lists and I ask my neighbors if they need anything. I put on gloves and a mask, I try to be quick once there, avoiding any contact. I am separated and have three children. The time of confinement, we alternate the guards. The school is well organized, homework takes us 15/20 minutes a day per child. The rest of the time I try to keep them busy, we play games, draw pictures, cook, dance. This week I found alternatives, but I don’t know how the second week will go. They would already like to go back to school. Fortunately, I have an outdoor courtyard in front of the house, which allows us to get some fresh air and do physical activities. Children need to be active.

Lisa, 56, journalist, confined alone

I am alone at home, I telecommute and see no one. Contrary to what one might think, I saw it well. Better than if I had been with someone 24 hours a day. I go running every day around my house with a certificate, I do sports at home thanks to live classes on Facebook, I do yoga and like many, I cook. Of course it’s hard not to see my family and friends, I feel a bit cut off from the world, but we all have that feeling. Strangely, we are closer to each other when we do not see each other. We take news every day, we care about each other. This confinement invites us to get back to basics: not to waste the food we have at home, to pay attention to the people we love, to get away from the stress of work and/or public transport. And as Emmanuel Macron said: “We are at war”, so let’s take stock of the problem and stay at home. That’s the only thing to do. On the other hand, I am very worried about my parents who have fragile health. I FaceTime them several times a day.

Ludovic, 30 years old, works supervisor confined as a couple

I am a work supervisor and have been on partial unemployment since Thursday. I went shopping as soon as the confinement was announced and I no longer go out. I’m confined to my girlfriend’s house, we get along well, we watch series, we do sports, yoga, we cook… in short, we keep busy, like everyone else. We have aperitifs in FaceTime with our friends. There are currently no tensions between us. The hardest thing is really not to go out, but I think confinement is essential to stop the epidemic. It is still necessary that the measures are respected by all. Of course, if the confinement lasted 3 months, I might hold another speech. It’s still difficult not to see your loved ones anymore. My parents and my sister are confined to their homes. I call them every day, I also hear from my friends, fortunately none are infected at the moment. These exceptional circumstances push us to care more about others, to worry about their well-being.

Nadia, 65, retired confined with her husband

It’s also psychological: we want to go out because we’re forbidden to, when we can finally do it, we want to stay at home (laughs). For me, it is the ban on going out that is difficult to accept, even if it is necessary for our health of course. I’m afraid of running out: food, hygiene products, cigarettes. I think Emmanuel Macron’s “we are at war” made us panic. So we stay at home with my husband, my daughter calls us between 4 and 7 times a day. We go out every day to do things in the garden, I sometimes do a bit of an exercise bike to get moving. What we noticed was the friendliness of the neighbors who brought us two masks and offered to do our shopping. My husband had bronchitis, so we opted for the teleconsultation with our attending physician, so as not to expose ourselves and not to monopolize it. The days are long, we miss not going out for a walk. All of our non-urgent appointments have been cancelled, we are living in slow motion, but that’s normal, we have to follow the rules to limit the spread of the virus. It is a collective responsibility.

Mounira, 31, telecommutes and takes care of her children

I telecommute and look after my two children, my husband runs a restaurant and continues to deliver. Being confined within 60m² without outdoor space with children of 6 and 2 years old is very complicated. I divide my time between my job and my eldest’s homework, but it’s hard to remain professional when I call the parents of my students with my youngest who requires a lot of attention. Last week I called 60 parents, my little one was crying at times. It forces me to put them to bed at 8 p.m. and finish my work afterwards, sometimes until midnight. This is the disadvantage of teleworking, we no longer have schedules, I receive emails and messages in the evening and on weekends. What is hard for me is to be alone in managing everything. Sometimes the dad comes home between lunchtime and evening services, but either he goes shopping for the restaurant, or I take advantage of his presence to go do a lot of shopping for the house. In fact, we see each other very little, it is undoubtedly an advantage for our couple. If we had been confined together, the atmosphere would have been tense and the time very long. I find that confinement is an essential measure for our health, even if I am indignant to see so many young people outside in my neighborhood. I see them walking in bands, playing football, I think the state should tighten the containment measures so that we get out of this and that this situation lasts as little as possible.

Jean-Paul, 37, confined alone

Oh it’s long, very very long. I am a supervisor in a college so even if I work from home to send lessons to students, I find the time long. At first, I took the opportunity to clean up thoroughly. I’m a magician, I also review tricks, I study a new show, but it’s long. I am separated, I have a child who lives near Crépy-en-Valois, in the Oise. As there have been cases of coronavirus among my colleagues, we said with his mother that it was better to keep the distance. However, I worry about him, especially since the first death in the Oise was his half-brother’s techno teacher. I tried to get into video games to play online with him and keep in touch, I help him with his homework sometimes. I do video sports sessions with my nephews. We try to keep busy as best we can (laughs). I was still surprised to hear from some people I hadn’t seen for several years. This is one of the positive points of this situation: it calls into question a lot of things, it can be a great period of reconciliation for many. Staying indoors also makes me hear my neighbors more. I hear their discussions, their music, I feel their presence, I hear them shouting at 8 p.m. for the nursing staff. What irritates me however, is to see that there are so many people outside.

Renaud, 71, retired and confined alone

I go out for a walk in the park of my residence every day. I can’t stay locked up, even if I approve of the containment measures. My daughter is very worried about me, she drops my groceries and my medication at the bottom of the building. I have been diabetic for several years, so I am what they call “at risk person”. I know that if I get sick, I will not be a priority for the doctors. So I pay attention. But the days are long, I live alone, my wife is dead. I’ve been collecting stamps all my life, so that keeps me busy. I have plenty to sort and classify. I’m lucky my kids and grandkids don’t call me anymore. They ask me how I’m doing, insist that I don’t go out… As if I were crazy! (laughs) As the telephone is all we have to talk to each other, I have to talk more often with my grandchildren, I get to know them better. This is paradoxical. You know, I didn’t go out much anymore, so what weighs me the most is not being able to receive my children. But we have to wait, because we follow the same evolution as Italy, it’s serious. The most important thing is to protect yourself.