The month of May was a relatively quiet one and things hummed along with out much change, at least until the end of the month. Aya and I made a few bike trips to the beach and to the forest, early in the morning to avoid crowds, and had nice picnics but otherwise didn’t get out much.
Poland continued to see more cases and more deaths, rising from 15,000 cases and around 800 deaths to 24,000 cases and over a thousand deaths by the end of the month. Wisconsin saw an increase from 9,000 infections and 400 dead to 18,500 and 600 dead. Many of the new infections were associated with meat packing plants where people were working in close proximity and the state continued to see cases rise from instances where the stay at home orders were not taken seriously. The US in total reached 1.8 million infections and 104,000 deaths by the end of a May. Many media institutions covered the milestone but perhaps none more vividly than the New York times.
In our neighborhood things carried on pretty much as usual. People were still wearing masks almost 100% of the time besides when in the forest where they were not required. Business remained mostly closed but as the month went on the restrictions were eased. Restaurants started to have some seating, stores could allow more people in, and eventually big news by the end of the month that when outside people were allowed to go without a mask. When that restriction was lifted most people took the mask off. Yet, the border remains close and as of June 1st there is not an indication that this will change but the expectation is that sometime in late June it will. Much of the EU is loosening the borders within member countries, but not yet to the outside. Much of our summer plans are up in the air, but one option of going to Japan got cut off as they closed their border to all Americans. Japan was seeing a decline in cases, Poland a flattening, the US was still increasing.
At the same time, I’m not sure Poland lifting restrictions is such a great idea. The number of infected and death has remained steady for the past few weeks but that is with all the precautionary measures. Now that it is summer and the restrictions are lifting I am pretty sure we will see another surge in cases. Poland is not like Germany or New Zealand where cases have been doing down.
On the 30th my school held its senior graduation ceremony and it was a special moment, but even more so because of the circumstances. For a while we were not sure if we would be able to have one at all, then thought maybe we could have one virtually, but the school managed to pull something together that worked. Parents and staff were allowed to enter with one car and park on the soccer fields. Nearby a tent was erected where our 70 or so senior student would sit for the ceremony, distanced from each other. There were also about a dozen chairs in the open, also spaced, for faculty who did not have cars, like me. Other than family in the car, staff, and students no one else was allowed so it was a bit smaller gathering than might normally take place but still all the relevant people were present.
In front of them all a stage was set and speakers took turns approaching. Student speakers, a chosen teacher speaker, and even a trio of senior students singing took the stage. Somewhere around the 30 or 40 minute mark I threw in the towel and headed to an awning behind the stage as it had been raining fairly steadily and I was sitting out in the open as someone with no car. It was just me and two other brave teachers who did so and none of us made it the whole ceremony. Near to the end of the event the seniors were to walk to the podium, distanced, and receive their diplomas. They were then to gather in front of the tent, move their tassles and we could all cheer. It was great fun and all went well though I have to say that many were not social distancing. Students were often quite close to one another and sometimes hugging. I can’t blame them, but when I imagine what it will be like to come back next year, especially for young ones, and ask them to distance themselves it just won’t happen.
Though that weekend was a happy time as we saw off our senior students it was also a very sad time for me as an American. George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis and the resulting protests soon mushroomed into destruction and violence by both police and many protesters. In the waning days of May the protests spread to many cities around the US and other nation’s such as in London and Berlin. Though this is a tragic event that deserves many thoughts and words of attention the site of people on the street shoulder to shoulder, shouting, touching each other was a little more upsetting than usual.
Eventually the protests arrived in Warsaw as well and on the one hand I'm heartened to see people taking action to stand with the black community I'm also, as with the US, afraid of what close contact will due to the spread of the virus.
Covid-19 in the US had not slowed down much in terms of infections and deaths by the end of May. It was still a major problem. Many US cities and states opened up by the end of the month in anticipation of Memorial Day weekend and the beginning of summer and the picture of crowded boulevards, beaches, and squares seemed wrong.
On June 2nd we got tested via a service that the school had contracted. The tests cost about 55 USD each. The test itself is only testing for the virus, not for antibodies that would indicate a previous infection so I don’t think it is particularly effective for informing us of anything, but it could be. In the end we turned up negative so I guess it was nice to know that we didn’t have the virus at that time.
The school year's end is just around the corner and summer in Europe is still locked down for travel, but looks to open soon I'd guess.
