2020-2022: two confinements, two worlds
Already 683 days have passed since the first confinement. Portrait of the evolution of our habits over the waves and variations.
“I'm fine be well”, she is good!
If, at the beginning of the pandemic, we collectively tried to comfort each other with great blows of rainbows, tunes of the day on social networks, from “flash your lights” and “it’s going to be fine”, as comedian Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais said in a viral video: “Is* that it’s going badly. ALL. Everything is going badly.” So we stopped predicting an imminent return to life and we adapted to our “new normal”.
The grocery store is no longer making a dip
As soon as we walked through the door, coat in quarantine, hands smeared with soap, we vigorously rubbed the pint of milk in case it contaminated us even before our first coffee. Now, even if the cases of COVID-19 explode, we know that the virus is mainly caught in the air. No more wasting time, enwaille in the pantry. The Government of Quebec and Health Canada simply prescribe washing your hands afterwards.
Bread, a simple slice of life
Recluse.e.e.s in our cabins, we embarked on the development of loaves, baguettes, bagels and other baking creations, increasing the demand for yeast by more than 500% and creating an unparalleled scarcity of flour. If a few zealous bakers continue to bake, photos of bread are no longer popular on Instagram. Back to sliced bread. 10-4.
High-mass over!
On March 12, 2020, as the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in Quebec, Quebecers attended the very first pandemic press briefing by Premier François Legault. In this new and exceptional situation, everyone was on the lookout for the latest information communicated by the government.
In the weeks and months that followed, press briefings punctuated our daily. At 11 a.m., Justin Trudeau gave an update on the federal plan and at 1 p.m., it was the turn of François Legault (who gathered an average audience of 2,500,000 people). Since then, press briefings have become more exceptional and are listened to less religiously.
Finally a real teleworking office
During the first confinement, teleworking was imposed on our lives in a rather brutal way, or at least unexpectedly. For those who did not have a space reserved for working at home, it was necessary to improvise.
Since then, we have had time to find something better than a corner table in the kitchen to work from home. Desk, ergonomic chair, second screen, decoration… We can say that work has made its way into the home!
Everyone does his little business
Because COVID-19 has not only brought bad things, the first wave was also marked by surges of solidarity. We are all in the same boat and we stick together. With certain areas of activity at a standstill, many unemployed workers are turning to volunteering. We sew masks, we deliver groceries to vulnerable people, we get involved with organizations that fight against food insecurity, etc.
Unfortunately, this spirit of sharing and of solidarity seems to have faded over the long months of the pandemic. Community organizations now have to deal with a shortage of volunteers.
End the apocalypse in grocery stores  ;
Madness in the supermarkets, shortages of toilet paper, empty shelves: we can say that we have calmed down a bit in stores and we do not get bored fighting for a bag of flour or a bottle of disinfectant , stress in the carpet.
We hang up our espadrilles
The “Are we going for a walk?” seems very far away. Remember those midday hikers who, unable to go out in the evening, invaded the sidewalks. The City of Montreal had even created sanitary corridors to help distance walking enthusiasts. Now, and especially in winter, we have found other ways to move: the trails and ski slopes are crowded!
< strong>Antibacterial: from untraceable to commonplace
March 2020, a sign of the concern experienced by the population: there is a shortage of hand sanitizer in pharmacies. Some make them the traditional way, others resell them for three times the price on Kijiji. Today this panic has dissipated. We even forget to put it on when entering certain shops.
A break from “LIVE”
The first confinement was marked by appointments daily with our favorite artists LIVE on Instagram to entertain us. Thank you to comedians Arnaud Soly or Math Duff who particularly distinguished themselves. The fashion, however, did not last until the fifth confinement.
I'm not trying to play anymore
The HouseParty videoconference games application will have brightened up several partygoers confined to the start of the pandemic. Quizzes and even karaoke could be organized there between friends, each at home. But the application failed to reinvent itself and decided to end its activities last October.
