State of play: a special issue

For this special issue our writers went out on Monday July 19 to record a Covid-eye view of daily life in their neighbourhoods.

The idea behind today’s issue was sparked by a Zoom call three weeks ago with our writers scattered across the country. Who could leave their state? Their suburb? Their house? We were all, suddenly, living vastly different lives with varying freedoms and restrictions. At the start of this pandemic, in the March 2020 national shutdown, we were all in the same boat. Since then, some states have had rolling lockdowns and restrictions but in the past three weeks it’s come at a rush as borders close, open, partially open…

So on Monday, July 19, our writers went out to record daily life in their neighbourhoods – a kind of national snapshot, a Covid-eye view of this one day: from Hobart to Alice, Byron to Perth, Brisbane to Adelaide. The initial epicentre in Sydney was Bondi, so we went there. Since then, it’s moved to Sydney’s west and south-west, so we have the view from Chester Hill. By the time you read this, it might have taken hold of your neighbourhood too. Never has normal daily life – kids going to school, workers going to work, crowds jostling in bars – seemed so exciting.