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As the Covid-19 is taking over the biggest part of the world, the most effective precaution we can all take this far is to stay home and safe, therefore helping altogether in minimizing the spread of this pandemic.
The impact of the self-imposed isolation
Under such circumstances where there is not much we can do, the most important calls to action remain to self-isolate, smart work and keep the social distance.
At the beginning this might have felt easily bearable as it wasn’t clear for how long everyone would be constrained to follow the rules and take these important measures. But here we are and there are still no clear guidelines about how the situation with the pandemic will continue to be and which will be the guidelines to follow depending on various scenarios.
Considering this situation, have you been wondering how social distancing and self-imposed quarantine are impacting our lives?!
As everyone had to put themselves in isolation and employees were urged to avoid the workplaces as much as possible, more and more people are starting to feel more alone than ever. While for some this might seem as the ideal moment to discover the cozy domesticity, the extroverts out there are getting less and less excited about this.
However, the human beings were meant to socialize right from creation. This largely unprecedented situation is impacting all of us and the isolation might cause anxiety, given that the news that we are provided with every day sometimes communicate the facts differently.
These impacts are manifested in our emotional and physical wellbeing as we might experience changes in the sleep, changes to the immune, endocrine and neurocognitive systems and alternations to the metabolism.
On the other hand, it must be said that this might be the one and only moment of our lives when we can focus all of our energies in taking care about ourselves. Observing cautiously our habits and lifestyle might help to improve these important aspects about ourselves.
During this health crisis we are fundamentally changing our relationship to the world and each other. Internet became overnight not just a powerful resource for information and entertainment, but rather a vital tool to keep in touch with family and friends. The socialization has been reconfigured.
We want to share with you the most downloaded and used apps during the self-imposed quarantine, as well as offer solutions for you to spend more quality times in the following weeks.
Although, in distance from each other, people have found alternative ways to stay close to each other.
The Zoom conferences have brought families and friends closer. New York Times has stated that in the last month, there have been more than 600,000 downloads within one day.
Have you already used Netflix Party?! This solution provided by Netflix has widely been used during the isolation to schedule and organize movie nights between friends.
Eventbrite has shifted from an offline events hub to an online one communicating all the important events you can follow in live stream.
Measures to spend more quality time
And there are endless other ways to entertain yourself during this isolation period.
Applications such as Nike Training and Freeletics would come to your help to exercise and keep fit, while Down Dog, the famous Yoga App, allows you to subscribe for free until the end of May to benefit everyone who cannot follow their classes or would like to discover this passion for Yoga in the weeks to come.
This could be a good moment to go back to or try for the very first time the audiobooks through Amazon Audible or discover the power of podcasts. You might want to create your own in Spotify and share it with your friends and family. There might be plenty of things you have always wanted to try but never found the time to do so. So, why not now?!
Against Covid-19 algorithmic solutions
Another important matter that is being widely talked about involves the measures and solutions that various governments are offering to take control over the pandemic spread. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?!
In one of the most impacted countries by Covid-19, Italy, has already been launched the so known “virtual tampon”, an app that aims to collect information regarding the spread of the pandemic among the Italian population, named “allertaLOM”. Once the app is downloaded, it proposes a questioner about the one’s characteristics and habits during the lockdown, possible symptoms and does a check-up from the distance with the main objective to identify the real number of people who have contracted the virus. There have been at least 60’000 downloads until now.
Meanwhile, in U.K the efforts have been focused to create an app that once downloaded by users could provide the scientists with more data about the situation regarding Covid-19. In an attempt to balance the social and economic impacts of the virus worldwide, the app sends notifications to the users in case they have been exposed to other tested positive users based on location.
In India teams are working on an app that notifies the users who have downloaded it in case they have been in contact with other users who have contracted the virus. The app will be called “CoWin-20” and it will work by tracking the location. The information will be stacked in a database aiming to help the government localize and prevent the spread of the pandemic.
In Singapore on the other hand the app has already been launched. The phones of different users exchange signals through Bluetooth determining the kind of contact and the duration of the contact helping the government maintain the situation under control.
Another kind of app is being used in Albania. In order to keep track of the permissions to go out in specific moments throughout the day, the users need to be provided with passing confirmations by the government.
All these efforts are important as they give hope that the situation will improve soon.
No matter how hard the self-imposed quarantine and the constant fear of the unknown might be to cope with, it is important to note that all the drastic measures taken mean to keep as safe and healthy. It is very important to keep ourselves and those who surround us safe by staying home and trying to spend as much quality time as possible. Soon this situation will be over, and we will be able to go back to normality, or at least to what it will look like after all this experience.
