I don't know the day, but we're starting week 5

I try to fill this blog with light-hearted, easy-to-read, nothing-to-worry-about updates, but this one will be a bit more involved. I think it's because after four weeks in total lockdown, I'm sick of it and all of the books and tv shows. All of them. On top of that, the messaging here in Spain has gotten kind of confusing, when it used to be pretty clear. I'll do my best to tell you what I mean by that, but first let me put in place an important disclaimer: I am reporting only based on my experiences and observations. The covid-19 pandemic is affecting the entire world right now and local/national politics, history, and culture play a large role in how governments and people act and react. While I know some of the rudiments, and I'm trying to learn more, I do not pretend to understand to any depth the politics, history, or culture in Spain. Other than their ridiculous bureaucracy, as far as I'm concerned, it's an a-okay place full of beautiful places and people. I also continue to be very aware that we are in a tremendously good place in terms of financial security, physical health and safety, and access to health care. So in this description I am not making judgments, taking sides, or engaging in analysis. I am just describing the experiences of a U.S. citizen trying to sort through this situation in a foreign country.

Okay, so like I said, things have gotten kind of confusing. Or at least they have here in Catalonia, the region in Spain where Barcelona is located. Let me start with just a tiny bit of history. A long time ago Catalonia was its own country, tucked away on the Mediterranean coast between France and Spain. Although Catalonia has been a part of Spain for several hundred years, to this day the people here have their own culture and language that they're proud of. That's why the signs in Barcelona are in Catalan even though the spoken language tends to be Spanish (which is confusing, let me tell you, for people trying to learn Spanish). Anyway, Catalonia still wants its independence from Spain, but the Spanish government does not want to part with Catalonia, which has great wealth. So there is some pretty significant friction between the local government and the national government. "Friction" is probably a gentle word for it, but you get the idea. They're not friends. The tension between Catalonia and Spain hasn't affected us because we've only been here for a couple of months and we're outside the normal social and professional circles in Barcelona. But now, amidst a global pandemic, the mixed signaling from the Spanish and Catalan governments has started to get confusing. It's getting harder to understand what is going on and what's going to happen. The pattern I observe is that the Spanish government makes some decision and immediately the Catalan government criticizes it and assures the people of Catalonia that here it will be done differently. As a foreigner, it's hard to know how much of what anyone says is true, how much power either body has over the daily goings on, and how much of the dialog is based on science or rational thought vs. a knee-jerk need to criticize enemies.

What I do know, right now, is that we have been in lockdown for over four weeks, not permitted out of the house at all except to get groceries, which Matt does for us every 5 or so days. Otherwise we are all in the apartment, all the time. To be clear, I completely agree with the need to close non-essential businesses and ban gatherings of any size. Although it makes me sad, I can handle not going to restaurants, museums, and shopping centers. But what is getting very difficult is not getting outside at all, not even for exercise or mental health. I see pictures from friends, family, and strangers in the U.S. and other European cities of all these beautiful hikes and springtime walks and I am so envious. I know Spain has been hit very hard with the coronavirus, and strong measures are necessary, but it feels like we are being held to unreasonably strict standards of confinement. And they do patrol and enforce the lockdown. I read a story in the news yesterday about a guy in Barcelona who was ticketed and fined 600 euros because the police didn't feel that his trip to the grocery store for soda and chocolate was necessary. (In related news, I have decided not to visit the convenience store two blocks away for that mint-dark-chocolate ice cream bar that, prior to yesterday, I considered essential...).

When the lockdown was first announced, in mid-March, it was somewhat less strict than it is now. Schools, restaurants, museums, etc. were closed and we could not go outside for exercise, but going to work was considered an acceptable reason to leave the home for people not in public-serving jobs. People were encouraged to work from home if they could, but they were allowed to travel to their jobs if they had to. The Catalonian government was critical of the Spanish government during this time for not allowing a full lockdown of the Catalonian border, but that didn't impact us. What mattered was that the instructions were clear and we understood what we were supposed to do (not go outside, almost ever). Then, two weeks later, I assume because of the massive number of new covid-19 cases and the sky-high fatality rate in Spain, the Spanish government got more strict and no longer allowed non-essential employees to go to work. "Non-essential" excluded medical and sanitary workers and those involved in the food-supply chain. The restriction had a two-week time limit, and it ends today, which means that starting tomorrow non-essential employees may choose to go back to work. (This does not include people who work in restaurants and schools, etc., which are still closed.) The Spanish government could have extended the restriction for another two weeks, but they elected not to.  

This is where it starts to get confusing. I was excited when I heard that some people were being allowed back to work. It seemed like a good sign that Spain was flattening the curve and the restrictions on the general population might soon be eased to allow us outside for exercise. I am desperate at all times for information so I read about the decision in the NY Times, El País in English and in Spanish, the Guardian, and some other sites just to try to understand better what is going on. What I learned from my reading, and which I hadn't fully appreciated, is that Spain appears to be the first European nation to ease up on restrictions. And people are scared because nobody knows what will happen. The Catalan government lambasts the decision and they are not alone. Based on comments on social media, some people agree with Spain's decision, but most think it's a stupid act that will send Spain right back to where we were two weeks ago (the number of new cases and deaths have both been falling, mostly steadily, the last week plus). 

The Catalan government protested the decision, but they can't change it. What they did do was announce that they had gotten a huge shipment of face masks and would provide all residents with a free mask to wear outside the house. This mask-handing-out process was initially supposed to start this week but then, confusingly, it was shifted to later in April. Instead, it was announced that starting this week the Spanish government will be providing masks at metro and bus stops. It's good that the governments are in a position to hand out masks to the general population instead of pleading with citizens to provide them to medical workers like in the U.S., but what the heck is going on? I guess the idea is that it is important first to protect the people who have to take public transportation to get to their jobs before distributing masks to the general public, who are forced to be home almost all of the time anyway. This logic makes sense to me, but it should because it is the logic that I made up to connect the dots among several only semi-informative articles that I read in different Spanish news sources. 

So, I don't know what to think. Maybe allowing some people to go back to work tomorrow is dangerous and horrible or maybe it isn't. We just don't have the data to know for sure. I think one of the problems is that the restrictions are no longer clear to the public. What we are told is that employees who do not work with the public may choose to go back to work. But who, exactly, gets to choose? Is it up to each individual person to weigh their financial needs against their sense of safety in the workplace? Or can bosses now use this decision to force employees back to work even if they're not comfortable? Social distancing is still being required, but will it be possible in all of these workplaces? 

What I see is that the Spanish government has enforced a strict--even harsh--level of confinement, nationwide. Like I said above, it has gotten harder and harder to get through each day stuck "en casa," but I have always felt safe and protected. The government promised there would be food and household supplies in the stores and there is. There's even toilet paper, at least in the stores near us. I don't know the details, but I have read that the government is taking care of small businesses financially, at least to some degree. I'm sure it doesn't cover everyone in need, but I have also heard talk of proposed universal income, although I don't know how far those discussions are or how far they will go. But all I'm reading in the news right now about Spain is how lax the government is being, that they only care about money, not about the people. Based on my experience, that does not ring true. The government probably acted later than they should have to lock things down after they saw what was happening in Italy. But once they acted, it was decisive and clear. It's only recently that the guidelines became unclear and the mismatch between local and national governments became sort of an issue. I'm sure local politics are at play here, and I just don't know about them to be able to separate fact from fiction. I would like to trust that the government is doing its best. 

I guess for us, ultimately, it doesn't matter. We still can't go outside. But it's natural to want some level of understanding, of certainty. And if allowing some people to go back to work increases the number of covid-19 cases, it will be that much longer before all of us are allowed out. There is chatter about starting to let people out onto the streets for exercise, but I hear different things from different sources so I think right now it is just that, chatter. I have heard that it might be for an hour at a time and only one person per household at a time. It might be for people with little kids to get them some exercise. It might be required that everyone wear a mask. The one consistent point is that nothing will change until at least April 26, which is when the current state of alarm expires.