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Living in a science fiction novel

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Luckygirl Mon 23-Mar-20 17:19:39

This whole weird world we are living in at present is like the plot of and SF novel - pestilence befalls the world and nothing is ever the same again.

But some things are the same.......a friend of mine's OH has just had a brain bleed - he has been to a regional centre of excellence and had the relevant surgery and is back in the home town's hospital, and doing well. There all is quiet - the A&E is apparently mainly empty - with no planned surgery going ahead, the wards are half empty, the nurses lolling about chatting to one another. Friend is allowed to visit unchallenged whenever she likes, so she strolls in and out ad lib potentially bringing the bug into the whole hospital, if she happens to be carrying it. No attempt at separation - visitors wander in and out.

They are in a bubble, completely isolated/insulated from all the doom and gloom going on in the real world.

Where are all the coronavirus cases? - called up nurses and medics to deal with the chaos? - distancing precautions? - hand sanitising?

It is so bizarre.

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Chestnut Mon 23-Mar-20 17:31:15

I think some areas are much busier than others and the quieter ones are probably prepared and waiting for the arrival of all the new cases. We still don't have an overall huge number of cases country-wide so there will be many quiet areas I guess. One hopes that if hospitalisation is needed it will be in a quiet location.

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GrannySomerset Mon 23-Mar-20 17:37:14

Excellent article in yesterday’s Sunday Times by Tom Holland on the role of epidemics of plague in the fall of both the Athenian and Roman empires, both the centre of a globalised ancient world. There are certainly some parallels with today. Sorry I can’t do a link but we read a paper edition.

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EllanVannin Mon 23-Mar-20 17:39:46

More like Bible times with floods and now pestilence.
Going backwards !

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vampirequeen Mon 23-Mar-20 18:46:36

I was thinking it was more like a dystopian future type novel.

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Oopsadaisy3 Mon 23-Mar-20 19:19:15

Our main hospitals have just stopped all visitors except for a few specific patients.

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Abnuyc123 Mon 23-Mar-20 19:41:20

Yes I've said it feels like we're living in a science fiction novel. The Day of The Triffids/Corona Virus! It could all be much worse, with most of us dying and the rest wandering round trying to find food and clean water.

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CherryCezzy Mon 23-Mar-20 19:54:26

I was saying to people in the one in one out queue at the chemist that things have a strange surreal feel of dystopian fiction ( beit written word or film) atm. Everyone said they felt more or less the same way. The one I keep thinking of is the film 28 days later.

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GabriellaG54 Mon 23-Mar-20 21:47:01

Yes. That was one scary film ?

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Chestnut Mon 23-Mar-20 22:57:01

Does anyone remember 'Survivors' from the 1970s? That was a virus spread from China by air travel where only 1 person in 5,000 survived. A much more deadly virus than this one but otherwise similar in some ways. I remember wondering if such a thing would ever happen.

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tiredoldwoman Tue 24-Mar-20 06:18:14

Yes, I've been comparing it to 28 days later too ........ or The Omega Man when I was driving to work yesterday . Not allowed to go to work today so huge relief in one way .

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Abnuyc123 Tue 24-Mar-20 08:10:59

It reminds me of On The Beach, as well. A novel I read years ago, which really upset me!

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