FROM THE EDITOR April 2020

​Yep, I’m taking the whole page this week, because I’ve got a bit to say. The Advertisers & Sponsors List can be found on the following page.
 
I hope you are reading this Banksia Bulletin from the comfort and protection of your home. I hope that you are spending lots of time in the home that you / your family work so hard to maintain, and that you are taking seriously the need to social distance right now.
 
COVID-19 won’t announce itself the second it arrives in town, nor will we know who it hitched a ride with. And it likely won’t even arrive alone, it could bring 10 of its horrible mates at once. With an incubation period of 14 days (give or take, they reckon) it can be two whole weeks before anyone even realises its here—at which point, the spread through our very vulnerable community could be honestly, catastrophic.
 
We need to act as though it already is here, and do everything we can to avoid it. Stay home.
Stay home as much as you can. Seriously reconsider every need you think you have for leaving your property. Get your groceries delivered to your door by the Quairading Co-op (who by the way, are bending over backwards for us right now). Talk to the pharmacy about how they can help you without needing you in person. Pick up the phone and ask other service providers and businesses how they can assist you (and how you can support them) from afar. If you distance yourself as much as possible now, you reduce your chance of catching it AND you reduce your chance of passing it on to someone else. It will be challenging and it will be lonely, but it won’t be forever.
 
As of tonight, I myself will be taking proper measures to socially distance, and basically self-isolate myself, as I reckon lots of you are too.

I don’t plan on leaving my house or yard for a full 14 days (maybe longer) unless absolutely necessary. I’ll be taking my CRC computer home and setting up an office at my dining table. I’ll be emailing Sharon at the Co-op and having essential groceries delivered once a week. I’ll be walking laps of my backyard and learning dances from YouTube to stay active. I’ll be FaceTiming friends I haven’t seen in weeks or spoken to in months to maintain some sanity. I may leave to collect mail or pop into the CRC to print the weekly Passion Sheet and drop them to the Co-op and BP. But when I do, I will be conscious of touching as few surfaces as possible, keeping distance from you lovely people and washing my hands thoroughly when I get home. I plan on treating life as though we’re already in lockdown—a measure many governments around the world are taking. I’m grateful I’m in a position to be able to do all of this voluntarily and I spare a thought for those who can’t—particularly those essential workers (nurses, doctors, hospital and clinic staff, supermarket employees, teachers etc) who are making the sacrifice to continue working for us. The image on the cover of this Banksia Bulletin is one published last week by the Australian Medical Association on Twitter conveying a message from many health workers around the country.
 
This doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Take the opportunity to stay at home and read, watch TV (MIDDAY MOVIES!!), play board games, cook, clean, declutter, garden, exercise (in your lounge room or backyard), call your friends, use FaceTime, write letters to all those relatives you haven’t had time for, draw, sing, dance, find an online hobby community, binge Netflix, moisturise, drink water, floss. Keep up to date with accurate news and announcements. The best sources are Department of Health (www.health.gov.au) and World Health Organisation (www.who.int).
 
Please note—these are my thoughts only, and I’m taking full advantage of this soap box to share them.
I don’t want to be forcing them down your throat. They’re my opinions, based on a whole lot of media and data consumption over the last two months. They’re not a judgement of you if you’re doing things differently, but they are an urgent plea to take this seriously—because I don’t want to unnecessarily lose any of our precious community members. Yesterday (Monday 23rd) Italy had reported 5476 deaths, 1000 of them were just over the weekend (from the official daily Situation Reports published by the World Health Organisation). Quairading will not be immune to this indiscriminate, borderless virus.
 
If this is just an overreaction and in three or six or twelve months time you call me a crazy lady because nothing ever happened, I’ll be far more stoked with that than the alternative other countries, such as Italy, are currently facing.
 
On the CRC front: the Passion Sheet will continue, send us an email or call my mobile if you have content to submit. Also, if you’re on Facebook or Instagram, be sure to like or follow the Quairading CRC. We’ve got lots of plans up our sleeves for online / virtual events and activities!
 
 
Stay safe, stay home, see you on Instagram, wash your hands.
 
 
Jill Hayes
Editor | Banksia Bulletin
Coordinator | Quairading CRC
 
1 Parker Street
Quairading WA 6383
PHONE: 9645 0096
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEBSITE: www.quairading.crc.net.au
FB: www.facebook.com/QuairadingCRC