Pandemie Review – “We were all afraid: when will Corona come?”

The first news about the virus that the world conquered came from far as an ominous murmur. But suddenly it was there – tangible, real and also arrived in Carinthia in the most remote valleys. The Lockdown came faster than many could imagine. There was a fear in the air that not only paralyzed the body, but also the hearts.

“I can remember the first Corona case in Carinthia as if it had been yesterday. An Italian in Bad Kleinkirchheim. In our head it was zero – for us in Carinthia. Then the infection rate has risen to the top and the measures started, ”recalls Andreas Brunner, qualified health and nurses, who also has district management at the UKH Klagenfurt.

“We take the disease home”
“We were all scared. They were existential fears. The ethical dilemma, an obligation to help the population and society in the sense of sufficient health care and at the same time not knowing what we do when we are affected? We take the disease home to our children and family members. In the beginning we were very difficult.”

In patients, the measures have met partially resistance. “There were always smiling or pejorative opinions. The rooms also left positive, thank goodness, not the station. In a conversation I tried to explain that the hospital is a sensitive area. There are patients here who do not have a healthy immune system. Then I appealed to solidarity. ”

“We looked like Marsmännchen”
Brunner, who also studied nursing and health management, faced challenges with his colleagues, which was not always easy. “What was very difficult for me was to deal with patients with nursing homes. Because these patients need increased protection. Most demented patients are in a nursing home. One can imagine: the poor old man falls, has stress, does not know. He comes to the hospital and sees no normal face, feels no human touch – but only sees us carefully seeing how Marsmännchen walks around. That was very difficult for us. It was very bad emotionally, but it was no different.

Empty rooms for actress
The streets remained empty, the conversations in the cafés went out, the stages remained dark and people looked insecure in the future. The well -known actress and spokeswoman Eva Maria Frank can take something positive from the Corona period.

“I was very lucky because I was well booked as a spokeswoman. I could also work during Corona. I was now also pregnant – I had my maternity leave, where no one else worked anyway, “the sympathetic Carinthian recalls.

A lot of time for family
“We walked a lot and were for ourselves. That was the good thing about Pandemie. We had a lot of time for ourselves as a family. Corona also had a number of unpleasant moments for Otto Jaus’ wife: “I had to say my sisters about Skype that I became pregnant, that was a horror, there was the first lockdown.”

The battered art and cultural scene stood still for a long time. “It was incomprehensible for the people on stage that they could not do their work and for a long time. People had to change their jobs because they could no longer do their work, “Frank recalls. “Now I am just happy that we are going on that it is no longer a problem.” The resident of Krghendorfer, together with her husband, is currently making the film “Neo Nuggets” (the continuation of “drawn pork”) and plays in Vienna. Frank is also there in the film “Pfau”, which is currently running in cinemas. “I can highly recommend it,” smiles the lively actress.

The silence started to grow in the villages and towns. People were on the shelves of supermarkets with masks as if the world was in a foreign film. The scent of disinfectants came in the nose and stood out in the thought as if it would never give way. During this time, completing the Matura was more than a challenge. Not only school, but also in a development phase where friendships are extremely important.

“The first Lockdown Day, March 16, was actually on my 19th birthday. At first we thought it would take two or three days, then we normally go to school. After a week we realized that Corona is more serious. New information was maintained every day. “We have always looked at what the Minister of Education says, how things go with the Matura.” The diploma presentation was also canceled.

Semester note instead of oral matte
Due to the cancellation of the oral Matte, the semesternut for the Matura certificate was then taken over. “It was good for me because my half -anniversary certificate was not that bad. Others speculated that they will have a good figure on the oral matte, which unfortunately was not possible. The written matura was then relatively normal. The preparation for the Matura took place online, without contact with her schoolmates. “It was a shame. Especially last year you knew that you don’t see yourself that much after that. The celebrated Matura -EI -strictly controlled.” Of course the Matura trip also fell into the water. “

“I think it’s a shame that we didn’t have an oral matte, because somehow you want to prove yourself of course. For me the Matura felt a bit deserved. Prejudices because of the Corona Matura finds alert but inappropriate. “You still have to assert yourself, it doesn’t matter what you had with the Matura.”

The then mature missed contact with her friends, but in principle the first lockdown was somehow fun. “My mother said to me and my brothers and sisters:” Use time with the family at home – you will never have that long again. ” Because we have a big house, it was very harmonious.

The first days of Pandemie in Carinthia were characterized by a fog of uncertainty, fear and a touch of hope. But they left an indelible memory – the memory of a time when everything changed and the world was never the same as before.