"It's eerie to see Bondi beach deserted"

In recent weeks, the print edition of the Westmeath Independent has been publishing an extensive series of interviews in which we've asked local people overseas how they've been coping during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 'Abroad In Uncertain Times' feature in this week's edition includes the following interview with Sara Hogan, a native of Ballykeeran in Athlone who has been based in Australia for almost four years.

Sara lives near Bondi beach in Sydney with her fiancé, Colum, and their son, Noah.

* What is the current situation with the pandemic in Sydney?

At the time of writing, there are 2,857 cases of the virus in New South Wales, and over 6,000 in the country. Like in most countries, it was looked at with a relaxed view to start. Who ever could have known the havoc that it was going to cause globally?

We live 20 minutes walk from Bondi beach, somewhere we would walk to, swim, or hang out by nearly every other day, so it is eerie to see it deserted because it is always so busy with locals and tourists no matter what time of the year.

As with the rest of the world, the very strong message here is to stay indoors. The rate of infection is slowing here in New South Wales, and that is encouraging, but the authorities don't want people to become complacent and increase the infection rates again by being careless and ignoring social distancing rules.

We don’t know how long the restrictions will be enforced, they could be in place for up to 6 months or longer. We just don’t know what is going to happen and that's the scary uncertainty of it all.

* What has been the hardest aspect of the crisis for you?

I work at Fitness First, one of the largest gym chains in Australia, so I have unfortunately lost my job. I was just back to work for a few weeks after finishing my maternity leave, we had settled our nine-month-old son Noah into daycare and it felt like we were just getting into the swing of the new daily routine.

My fiancé is a carpenter and working on a big construction site in the middle of the city. We are grateful and lucky he is still working at the moment, but it is also very worrying because with every sneeze or cough you think it might be Coronavirus. It is coming into normal flu season over here, and Colum felt a bit unwell early in the week. He had to get tested for Covid-19 in order to be able to go back to work.

It was a three-day wait for the test results, and luckily they were negative, but just waiting for them and thinking what if he does have it definitely raised anxiety levels for us, so my heart goes out to anyone dealing with this.

* If you could identify a positive aspect of the situation what would it be?

Getting to FaceTime family and friends at home and around the world so much more. Being at home with Noah and getting to spend more quality time with him. And we got engaged a couple of weeks ago, so that will be a big celebration to plan and look forward to eventually when this is over!

I think it’s made us realise your health is what’s important, and as long as family and friends are well, you have food to eat and a roof over your head, what else matters?

* Do you have a message for friends and family at home?

We miss everyone so much like always. I think it would be harder being home and not being able to pop in to see them or hug them, so for once it's ok being away.  Our neighbours have been amazing to my parents, checking in on them and getting weekly shopping for them, so a huge thank you to everyone who is helping them out! I have some friends who are having babies soon too, so best of luck to them.

Colum is from a farming family in Mayo, and they are holding up well out in the country, so a big hello to everyone down there. We hope everyone stays safe, we love you, and we hope to see you as soon as we can!

Thank you to Sara for this interview. To read other stories from locals living in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland and Qatar, see this week's Westmeath Independent. 

Our paper is available in shops now, and if you can't get to the shop an ePaper (digital edition) can be purchased, anywhere in the world, through this link: https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/epaper

The 'Abroad In Uncertain Times' feature will continue, with stories from more locals who are overseas, next week.