Berlin, April 14, 2020, 10:48 a.m.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is about to address the nation and tell us how the next few months will unfold. But more than anything else, she will present an exit strategy that has been devised by her experts at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
Finally, not just virologists will be there, but also mathematicians, psychologists, sociologists, jurists, and others. They prepared a 19-page memo with actionable recommendations that have been discussed extensively by the various German media outlets.
Merkel said that her actions will depend on the proposals set forth by the scientists. We are so fortunate to have a physicist as a chancellor. Unfortunately, this is a one-off, at least for a while, and we are sadly preparing for her departure. In the fall of 2021, someone else will lead Germany, and that person will have big shoes to step into.
It's been a month since I started my weekly columns about the coronavirus. Back then, we were still at the "trial phase" of the epidemic. Some 7,500 people in Germany had been diagnosed with the virus, and the 17 have died.
But today the death toll is greater than 3,000 and the number of the carriers stands at 30,000. The massive death toll that people predicted at the time did not materialize. We had luck, but it did not come as a surprise.
I have gotten used to the in-house office I created. I got used to the more relaxed atmosphere; the more productive environment. I got used to hanging the laundry in between Zoom and Hangout sessions. If there is one thing that I can say, without hesitation, that I will miss it's this format of work. I will miss it very much.
I have never been a people person. I consider the lack of physical contact with people to be mentally therapeutic.
Finally, there are no more forced lunches with colleagues; finally, I don't have to attend the bi-weekly outings with the staff, during which everyone eats pizza or just goes to a karaoke bar. The work-at-home office can stay forever, as far as I am concerned; the actual offices, the communal spaces, are a relic of some ancient century that must be dispensed with like some bad habit.
In all the other aspects, I truly hope the familiar normalcy will be restored as soon as possible. I can barely wait for the political speeches that will be delivered if the apocalypse doesn't arrive within two or three weeks. If I could put my money on that option in the stock market I would invest all my savings there. I would rake in a boatload of cash in December, regardless of what unfolds.
Why? In part because this sh***y and incredible crisis meant that I could not accompany my grandmother to her grave. She died on Passover Eve (no, not because of the virus, just age doing its thing as part of the ongoing dilemma of human existence).
Now, because of the instructions, only ten people can attend a funeral. This is enough for a prayer quorum, that's it. All other family members could not bid a proper farewell. This is painful on its own, in an unimaginable way, because my grandmother was very beloved. She had more friends than me but had to be laid to rest with only 10 men. I really don't think this did her justice.
But, in the grand scheme of things, what's left is her masterstroke: she died on Passover Eve at the height of the coronavirus crisis. This, in and of itself, is tantamount to a work of art. We have to give her credit where credit is due. Respect to Andrée-Thérèse Leather, born in Paris in 1938. Difficult as our relationship was, despite everything, I loved you so much.
Mirna Funk is one of the most influential Jewish writers in Germany. Her first novel Winternähe, got raving reviews and won awards.
