Francisco

My name is Francisco and I am thirty nine years old, married, with child who is 19 months living in Sao Paulo. I have already graduated from pharmacy school and now work for a pharmaceutical company. I am no longer enrolled in public education, but they have all been closed from March to September; and my child’s daycare school has just reopened. I have been able to remain in quarantine while working from home, and I no longer use public transport. Usually with my job I’d have to perform hospital visits and travel frequently, but all travel has been canceled as I work from home now in place. We only break the quarantine for essential activities. Before we would leave our small apartment to go to parks, shops, and the movies, but with COVID we no longer leave unless we have to. All shopping malls, theatres, restaurants and churches were closed for the first five months of quarantine. The government has provided small amounts of money for those in need.
In the beginning of the pandemic there were no test available, but now with payment, it is easier to be tested. I believe that more people will start to work from home. Companies will implement home office permanently that can impact the amount of traffic. The biggest challenges I’ve noticed is to maintain social distancing when we do decide to go out. São Paulo is a big city, there are often crowds of people in all places, even the parks where were exposed to more nature can be difficult. “It has also taken a toll on children, they are suffering because they cannot interact with other kids and this is an impact in the emotional health of children and also adults.”