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16/3/2020 11 Comments Coronavirus and how it affects ME I will be writing about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and how it is affecting not only Portugal, but how it is affecting me and my life. So far, worldwide, there are 164,837 cases and 6,470 deaths. These numbers are growing exponentially every day. Portugal Yesterday, in Portugal, there were 41 cases, today I woke up to 112 cases. The only thing that they show on the Portuguese news, (and probably all of the news) is the coronavirus. But compared to other countries, Portugal has it easy. France and Spain have both tripled their cases and Italy’s a mess. But enough about other countries, we’re talking about Portugal. Most major cities (Lisboa, Porto, Braga, etc…) here have the majority of the cases. We’ve been to most of the major cities here before the cases appeared, so I think we’re good. Currently, there have been no deaths from the COVID-19 in Portugal, but that might change at any moment. If you would like to keep up to date with how many cases the world has please click here. It’s a really reliable source and it uses sources from all around the world. It is the World Health Organization (WHO). My life So, the coronavirus is simply completely obliterating our plans for this trip. My parents say that we are not going to any other country besides Portugal, we’re not going to any more football matches, and we can’t go to any major cities. Worst of all, we’re staying here in Ponte de Barca where there was an amazing football pitch that we played for hours on, each day. Yesterday, though, we were playing 3 on 3 with some Portuguese boys, when these two officials walked up to us and said something in Portuguese to the boys. The boys motioned for us to come off the pitch and said, “Coronavirus.” Today Sol and I went to check on the pitch. The doors are locked. We’ll try to find another pitch. I guess that we’re not going anywhere. We can’t come back to Canada without being in quarantine, and the airports are sketchy. At least, at the place where we’re staying, we have wifi. We have rented a car for 15 more days so we can explore the surrounding area a bit better. Probably more hikes and churches. Last time we rented a BMW and had fun with that. The roads here are really windy so we can’t go super fast, as there are cliffs on the side as well. Anyway, I just feel that we’ve seen Portugal already and I’m ready to leave, but now we can’t. In Spain, it is actually against the law to cycle. I’m really disappointed because this is a once in a lifetime experience, that has just been ruined. Yes, we still have Portugal, but it will become just like the other countries. conclusion Portugal is doing okay, compared to other countries. It has been growing a lot in the past few days, but is still under a thousand. We’re stuck in Portugal until further notice. The coronavirus has annihilated our trip. We’ve rented a car to see the area, and I would like to leave Portugal, however we can’t. This virus is taking so many lives. I sincerely hope that they find a cure. PS: Just for comparison, I've written out a fraction for you to see how many people are infected versus how many people there are in the world. I've done some calculations and the percentage of the people in the world with coronavirus is 0.002%.
11 Comments
Marijn
16/3/2020 07:30:52
Hi Lief, my compliments, you have a great style in writing! You made me smile, although the topic is not really to smile.... The coronavirus is terrible for the people infected. And for you and your brother, and parents, it’s terrible because you’re stuck in a country you’ve allready seen completely.... hope for beter times for everybody!
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Russ Fleming
16/3/2020 12:33:42
Hi Lief,
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Lief
19/3/2020 03:02:07
Hey Russ,
Joe
16/3/2020 10:17:51
Hi Lief, That sucks. I'm glad you are all well. We are self-isolating on North Beach until it becomes what the best strategy to deal with coronavirus is. Nice writing! Joe
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Joe
16/3/2020 12:37:34
Question: If the number of individuals infected continues to double every 5 days how long until 1%, 10%, 50% and 100% of the population have it?
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Lief
16/3/2020 14:29:26
Hey Joe,
Rob
16/3/2020 21:57:14
Hi Lief - very nice post, even if not the happiest circumstances. I liked your inclusion of statistics and links in the text. Portugal is a good place to be stuck for the time being, fewer cases than Canada and most of the rest of the EU. I'm not sure I believe that you visited ALL of Portugal yet though...did you go to the south? To the Algarve region? I've only been to Portugal once (1992) but I remember a train ride to Lagos in the south - beaches and warm weather and nice little towns.
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Emmy O'Gorman
16/3/2020 23:33:52
Oh Lief, I can sense your disappointment while I read this post. Many of your HG friends have had to cancel exciting trips over Spring Break as well. Too bad about the soccer pitch being locked. Our Whitecaps soccer camp here was cancelled as well. We are thinking about your family over there. Stay well and keep writing! Ms.O
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jacques
17/3/2020 08:41:23
Hi Lief, thank you for sharing your thoughts on how this virus is affecting you and your family. I am glad to hear that you are at least not stuck in Spain and unable to go out and bike; that would suck! I see though that you are making some good use of your time learning your mathematical skills and learning the culture of Portugal. Sandra and I misses you and your family, but we are happy to hear that you are safe and making the best of this. All the best my friend!
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Nadine
18/3/2020 22:46:36
I can hear your frustrations Spring on HG is not the best at the moment either. Logan’s Spring break soccer camp was canceled, the soccer season is most likely canceled also. Hockey and basketball cancelled. We are all doing our best at social distancing so that means no play dates inside or sleep overs. Keep looking for the silver linings and new adventure in Spain. Math questions for you - what is .0002% of the population of HG and/or BC.
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Lief
19/3/2020 05:07:15
For BC, 0.0002% of the population is 1000 people, HG is 0.9 people
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