Galuh Bimantara, a 29-year-old journalist, told Sputnik how the coronavirus pandemic has affected his work and life and why he is unhappy to stay with his wife 24/7.
Sputnik: Countries are imposing restrictive quarantine measures inside cities and are ordering the closure of malls, cinemas, restaurants, bars and other establishments. How has it changed your daily routine?
Galuh Bimantara: The Indonesian government told us to practice so-called social-distancing in order to avoid lockdown because of the hard [economic] consequences it leads to. But, yes, all places of leisure and entertainment were temporarily closed.
Entertainment is not necessary for me, personally. As long as I can go out for basic needs, such as to buy food, I still can handle it. Besides, the internet provides all entertainment i need.
Sputnik: Do you go out and if so - how often and for what?
Galuh Bimantara: Yes, I do. Once in two days on average, mostly to buy food and housekeeping supplies.
Sputnik: Are there any legal fines for breaking quarantine rules?
Galuh Bimantara: No, there are no fines. Police are instructed to run patrols every single day in order to make people reduce their outdoor activity, especially those that gather in large numbers. Police officers demand they go home.
Nevertheless, police are allowed to detain people, who persistently refuse to obey. So it's better to follow their orders.
Sputnik: A lot of people have found themselves with a lot of extra free time. What are you doing while social-distancing at home?
Galuh Bimantara: Me and my wife also have extra time to take care of our home, to clean all parts of the house. A rare chance when we are in our normal situation. We also can devote more time to each other. Usually, we only chat before go to bed.
Sputnik: Before quarantine people spent a lot of time online and with gadgets, but now we’re stuck with the web at home and people are now realizing that wasting so much time online is devastating and are turning to new things to entertain or educate themselves. What about you? Have you started doing any new or unusual things?
Galuh Bimantara: No, because more time with gadgets now is still okay for me, since I enjoy reading news and use gadgets to access entertainment content. No boredom, so far.
Sputnik: We are also facing the fact that when staying at home, we tend to eat a lot and not move a lot. How are you trying to keep in shape? Do you do sports?
Galuh Bimantara: Yes, me and my wife have more time to exercise, though not every day. Try Tabata! It is a short package of exercises but it is very effective [laughs].
Sputnik: How hard is it to go without real-life communication with friends, family and colleagues?
Galuh Bimantara: I realize that several things are hard to do without live communication and personal contact. Like in my job as a journalist, real life encounters with people enriches my reports with description, with expression, with interesting details. I will not be able to do all this by writing at home.
Sputnik: Are you living alone or with your family and friends? How are you coping with staying with someone 24/7?
Galuh Bimantara: I live with my wife, and there's only us in the house. The only challenge for me is that my wife now monitors what I eat every day, so I can’t buy snacks freely as I did before, when I worked at the office. But it is good for me to control my weight [laughs].