On Sunday 22 March I received the following message from the University's Vice Chancellor, "If you need to come to campus to collect anything essential to continue to teach online or work remotely you must do so before 5pm tomorrow, Monday 23 March." On Monday I posted this image to alert the community of researchers who use our facility that we would be closed until further notice. This poster designed again by Alex Stitt, a brilliant graphic designer, illustrator and social commentator, dates from 1997, and its message is relevant today. This week I have begun to work remotely and attended online training sessions Microsoft Teams 101, and Video Conferencing on Skype and Microsoft Teams.

On the week beginning Monday 16 March cultural organisations across Victoria began to make the difficult decision to close their doors to the public as a precautionary measure. In terms of the RDA, our programs for Melbourne Design Week, the Australian Heritage Festival, and Melbourne Rare Books Week were postponed until further notice. One of the themes of Melbourne Design Week was Communication Design and Health Promotion. The 'Life Be In It' poster designed by Alex Stitt seemed pertinent to the unfolding situation where potentially people might not be able to participate in physical activity outside of their homes. My gym closed last week!

My son's school closed on Monday. He is a high energy kid and copes better when he knows what the day holds. So I devised a schedule for us where he can continue to learn whilst school is closed. We are finding that having a schedule is really helping with our daily life. It is meant to be flexible and serves more of a touchstone for when things get difficult throughout the day. Many people are saying that time in isolation is a great opportunity to learn an instrument or language, master a hobby or really relax - but those of us with children don't have that luxury.

A young child not yet three years old plays alone in a playground inside a park; usually there are several children with their carers playing here at any given time of the day, one day into lock down here and the park and playground is deserted.

Facebook post relating to financial stimulus offered to university students in response to COVID-19; capture on 23/03/2020 at 20:52.

8 tips to look after your respiratory health for trans and non binary people who bind their chest .I am a member of a secret online group for transgender men. A member of the group from the US shared this resource, on how to look after your respiratory health for trans and non binary people who bind their chest. I realised that it was written by a member of the Australian trans community, someone I have connections with in my own city. It felt good to know that resources developed by someone in my own backyard are having a global reach and that the transgender community around the world are pulling together to support one another at this time.

The challenges of working from home.

Showing Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne. Sales on in the major department stores but no one around to buy it.

Flinders Street Station in Melbourne city is one of the busiest train stations in the metro network. Normally at 7.45 on a week day morning it would be thronged with commuters, all heading off to work. This morning it was almost deserted. From today almost all workplaces, other than those deemed 'essential' are closed and most people who can are working from home. I work at the Old Treasury Building in the city. We are a heritage site and museum, now closed of course. But we are trying to document the urban environment during this extraordinary crisis, while being extremely careful of our own exposure to risk. From time to time we will share some of our photos and experiences. 24 March 2020, 7.45 AM

A commercial news website reports on the panic buying of toilet paper. URL for full article here: https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/single-toilet-paper-roll-sells-for-1000-as-coronavirus-panic-buying-reaches-new-level-c-729542 In Australia, supermarket shelves were stripped of many essential items once people understood how serious the pandemic was, but the one that became a national obsession was toilet paper. People were filling trolleys with packs of toilet paper as soon as they realised lockdowns might be ordered. Major supermarkets eventually instituted 2 packs per person limits. A black market emerged online. There were many many memes, videos, articles, as well as serious analysis of this phenomenon. The irony is that toilet paper is in fact produced in Australia, so it was never going to run out. So this was an opportunity for us to think about human irrationality and panic; local and global manufacturing (and ignorance of this); enjoy humour as a response... and so much more. Also an opportunity to think about what people used before toilet paper was the norm - squares of newspaper, leaves etc! Suddenly ads for bidets appeared in our newsfeeds as well!

Humorous recount

As an Australian who has just arrived back from overseas (Thailand) on 20 March 2020, I am required to self-isolate for 14 days. As I am sharing a small one-bedroom inner urban apartment. I need to stick to my own room, while my fellow inhabitant lives in the lounge room. I’m also a PhD student in the final throes of trying to get my thesis done and do various casual research jobs at two different universities. This is my makeshift desk set up at the side of the bed to enable me to hopefully get some work done throughout this uncertain period. I also have a tiny 1.5mx2m space set up on the other side of the bed to try to do some yoga during the isolation period.

The video satirises the 'Australian spirit' and the panic buying of toilet paper which is still - 23 March - a feature of the response to the Pandemic in Australia

Banks experiencing high volume of calls re financial hardship

Announcement of leisure centre closure in line with Government requirements

Article

Meme, comedic.

Statement from the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Divinity announcing shift to online teaching after a "pause week"

First sign of empty shelves in early March

A photo of Francis Greenslade’s character Liam O’Malley, Chief Deputy Medical Officer Intern with the text reading “The important thing with panicking is we don’t want to rush into it. We want all Australians to wait until we can declare a state of national panic and we can have an ordered, timely descent into chaos.” This resource shows the comedic response to panic in the broader community.

CV diary Saturday 19 March 2020 I went to the walk today. Have missed the last two and the world has changed so much that I wasn't sure anyone was coming. But there were 5 of us, all keeping our distance. Three did not come because they are self isolating or fearful of having coffee with us ?? A lot of the discussion as we walked about the past two weeks - the virus , restrictions, shopping, toilet rolls, family situations, what is going to happen... G has just come out of two weeks isolation after her holiday in Egypt. D is under pressure from her daughter to change her life - e.g. Not to walk this morning. But she came. We all need the exercise and I/we need to see my friends. When we got to the coffee shop we were able to snag two tables outside. But that wasn't enough for M who moved her seat even further away. Each to their own. But hard not to feel the inherent rejection. G shared her hand sanitizer. During the walk I got a phone call from a friend, cancelling our plans for a film tomorrow. She was amazed that I was outside walking with friends and had stopped for a coffee. Said she and her husband have been in isolation since last Sunday. Cautioned me to do the same. When I got home I thought about my plans. I will go to church tomorrow (it was confirmed late today that the Diocese has belatedly decided to ban all services from Monday). Should I go to the gym on Monday? They seemed well organised last week. Should I cancel my lunch with Susan on Tuesday? Have not seen her since her mother died, I could not go to the funeral or the wake. And she seems quite distressed and needs support. On Wednesday I am expected to present at an important Board presentation to Club members. It is being taped and uploaded to our website for those who cannot get to the meeting. Should I cancel everything after that? LM

We can wipe our trollies, but no toilet paper.

The Australian Government has recommended social distancing of at least 1.5 metres. This pharmacist has taped a line on the ground in front of their counters — it makes trying to reach forward to pay for goods a bit like a fairground game of "tap the card reader with your bankcard".