Many people are spending more time on their own these days. The Coronavirus has hit us all hard in one way or another.

What was a normal way of life barely a month ago is no longer. When the first cases of the virus were reported on the opposite side of the world many of use barely gave a glance to the timid headlines that appeared in the international media.

Day after day, week after week, the numbers started to grow in China and then it quickly became apparent that the virus was spreading to other countries. Even then, although our interest grew, we dismissed it as something that would not have such a great impact on our lives.

Soon enough, however, it arrived close to us. When Coronavirus reached Italy, we started to understand that it was not something that was happening far away. It was a disease that was hitting a nation that was close to us, a place that many of us visited, and some of us frequently too. Quickly, we began to understand that it was impossible for Malta to escape unscathed. We knew that, sooner or later, the first case would come and many others would follow.

It’s been less than two weeks since the first case was reported in Malta, and things have changed drastically since then. The effect on our lives has been devastating. Schools have been closed, many workers are carrying out their duties from home, even the lotto has been affected – the Second World War did not stop the weekly draw, but for the first time in 100 years the practice has had to be suspended.

More than this, a new phrase has been coined and everyone has learnt what it means really quickly. It’s called social distancing, staying away from others as much as possible. At a time when globalisation reached its peak and distances became shorter, nature has found a way to keep us from being with each other. For us Maltese, we are now locked on an island as we cannot fly out to anywhere or take a ship to nearby Sicily.

No lockdown has been ordered, but the closing of bars, restaurants, cinemas, clubs and other places of entertainment – coupled with our own fear of contracting the disease – has forced us to stay in the comfort of our homes as much as possible. Even going to the supermarket to buy necessities has become more stressful, as we try to keep away from other customers and look at them harshly if they dare to sniffle.

Suddenly, we’re not complaining about traffic jams and journeys that take an hour when they are supposed to take 10 minutes. We’re also afraid to visit friends or relatives, just in case one of them has been abroad or came in touch with someone who travelled. We’re told to stay away from our elderly friends and relatives too, just in case we’re carrying the virus and could transmit it to them, and they’re more vulnerable to the disease given their age.

And so we are spending more time on our own these days.

Maybe something good will come out of this. It will give us a chance to take a look within and see what the real priorities are.