West Kelowna resident living in quarantine in Spain speaks out

West Kelowna’s Allison Brown is living abroad in the Canary Islands in Spain and has decided to stay there amid the COVID-19 pandemic rather than returning home during the global crisis.

“Tenerife is a really dense island. Its population is a million people and it’s about half the size of Prince Edward Island so we’re really used to being packed in and seeing each other, but when I look out onto the streets, it’s like a ghost town and that’s a huge adjustment.”

Brown says things escalated quickly in Spain.

“I recall on Mar. 12 I was teaching English at a local public school and I was informed that the schools would be shutting down for 15 days starting the next day.”

Once the news was out, people started to panic, clearing grocery store shelves, she says. 

“We also had shortages in the grocery stores, so yes there was no toilet paper for a while, people were stocking up on meats, a lot of canned goods weren’t available, the frozen food section was almost emptied but now three weeks into the quarantine things have calmed down, things have stocked up.”

However, she says the atmosphere in the grocery stores is still high on paranoia and people are anxious. 

“Unfortunately we’ve lost a lot of pleasantries that I am used to seeing day-to-day, people are more selfish and concerned for themselves - that’s a bit hard to see.”

The country has been on lockdown for 21 days and looks to keep it that way for at least one more week. 

“Everyone was obligated to stay in their accommodation, tourists who were here… were told they were to stay in their hotel rooms and they could only visit the restaurant in their hotels and to try to find a way home as quickly as they could.”

If you were an essential worker, Brown says you needed a work permit with your full name, photograph and working hours to present to law enforcement during checkpoints. 

She believes if Canadians continue with proper social distancing techniques and healthy hygiene practises we could prevent extreme quarantine measures like Italy and Spain.

“While Italy was going through their quarantine, a week ahead of us - despite being a neighbour Spain was still functioning normally, not even encouraging something like social distancing,” says Brown, adding people were still following the cultural norm of saying hello by kissing both cheeks. 

Brown says Canada is lucky to have the vast space available for people to properly social distance. 

“We are so densely packed in here most people don’t have a backyard or an outdoor space they can go into, so not many people have the benefit of getting some vitamin D and sitting outside in the sunshine. I feel really bad for families with small children who don’t even have a balcony and they’re expected to entertain their kids inside for 21 days plus.”

She says people have definitely pushed the limits of the law. 

“People were violating rules in every which way they could, I think. There were so many viral videos and photos circulating of people, for example, tourists swimming in hotel pools when they weren’t allowed to do so and being arrested by police or people jogging in the streets.

“After some hefty fines were given out, I think people finally learned that this is serious enough that police will fine you, they will arrest you if you are breaking the rules and you have to stay in your house.”

The biggest surprise to Brown was how quickly a state could be shut down.

“I didn’t think that was possible to do in many democratic nations. Seeing pictures of China I can understand it’s more authoritarian, but in very democratic countries where people are used to moving around freely without question, to suddenly be shut inside our homes and having everybody following these practices is quite scary and it really speaks to the gravity of the situation.”

Brown is abroad living with her partner and she says his family who lives in the apartment above them has embraced her as their own.

But coming home did cross her mind when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advised Canadian citizens to return home. 

“Travelling now feels riskier than hopefully travelling in a few months,” she says. 

Brown is planning on returning home in August, a month before she is set to start her Master’s program at either Carlton University in Ottawa or McGill University in Montreal.