For five weeks, Nelly, has been like everyone else: confined. With one difference: petrified by the coronavirus, this forty-something teacher made the radical decision never to go out on the street. Very far from being hypochondriac, this mother respects confinement to the extreme in her Parisian apartment. By choice, more than by constraint.
"I am not necessarily fragile but I am asthmatic so if I fall ill, I am afraid of complications and ending up on a respirator", confides this teacher in preparatory classes. "The disease would certainly not pass on me without my noticing it. My great fear at the beginning of the epidemic was to have to go to the hospital and that I could not benefit from a device in the event of saturation of the establishments ”, she explains calmly.
"I took the lead"
Nelly did not wait for the government decision to "seal off" at home. The epidemic that first ravaged Italy was more than a wake-up call for her. The contamination of her cousin, who spent three weeks on a respirator in the Bergamo region, marked her, says this mother who teaches her son in addition to his distance courses. From the beginning of March, "I was only waiting for one thing, which is to close the schools," she explains. "The last days at work were a nightmare, before confinement, as much for me as for my 5 year old son, given what we knew about the spread of the virus," recalls the Spanish aggregator. “I work in a very large high school with more than 4,000 students, whom I estimated to be a huge source of possible contagion. At that time, I stopped taking line 13 for RER C, where there were fewer people in the morning, ”said the regular passenger.
The week before confinement, Nelly decides to confine herself. “I remember going for a neighborhood tour on Sunday March 15, but I knew it would be my last outing. I also anticipated to stock up on food, ”she continues. Two days later, confinement will become the rule in France.
Food frustration
On a daily basis, the forties and her family quickly established a routine, both for class at home and fun activities with her five-year-old son. Because his little blond head also never goes out on the street and his companion had to go out only for medical reasons. “I only leave my apartment every three days to go into the courtyard of the building, do some physical exercises with my son, I take advantage of this to pick up the mail. I take a quick look outside on this occasion but staying well on the landing. And there is still far too much activity! "Quips this confined to the extreme that never touches the banister of the staircase.
For her shopping, Nelly only chooses supermarkets that deliver at home and local producer sites that deliver fruits and vegetables. “We don't always have what we want and when we want. We will have to wait a week to get apples. Sometimes there is a bit of food frustration but I do with what I have, ”explains the one who has become extremely organized. “I haven't eaten strawberries yet. Besides potatoes and leeks, it's hard to have a choice! So we eat a lot of soup at home. I buy bread via these sites, but when it runs out I make mine without baker's yeast. I also make my homemade yogurts. When we get the raw materials, we are fine, ”she says.
"I hope I can go green this summer"
The days of confinement pass and weariness does not reach this sportswoman. "I live it well. I am fully aware of living in good material conditions even if I do not live in a palace (a 68 m2 apartment without balcony, three with his companion and his son). I had a little less good after 15 days. But it quickly passed. Now I get up, I have my fixed schedule, and I don't ask myself any more questions ”, confides this sparkling blonde who is not usually a homebody. A follower of hiking and sport walking, she also practices yoga, and loves to attend concerts or dance performances. For aperitifs, which she appreciates as alive as she is, Nelly does like everyone else, and uses digital and video means.
The prospect of a future deconfinement after May 11 gives him hope for the future. “I admit that I want because I have the prospect of a great vacation and I hope to be able to go green this summer, and I really hope that it will be possible. I reserved a week on the island of Groix (Morbihan), and I have a real uncertainty on that side, not to mention that there is a risk of being greeted with stone throws ”, laughs Nelly. "The question I really ask myself, will the outside be secure enough? Until May 11, it's going well psychologically, I can still stay at home, but no one can live confined forever ”. An observation that she is not the only one to make, but that she is visibly better than average.
Newsletter - The essentials of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
VIDEO. "18 million people" to remain confined after May 11
