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Collected Item: “Humans of Covid-19 AU: Ron Taft”

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Humans of Covid-19 AU: Ron Taft

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

Instagram post

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before. I remember the atmosphere of war time, but that was not the same. And we had the polio epidemic seventy years ago, which had dire consequences for children. That caused some panic but nothing like the widespread shut downs and health controls we are seeing today. Of course, the role of the media was completely different then.
I live in an aged-care nursing home. We are completely shut down from physical contact with the outside world. We can arrange to talk through the fence. COVID doesn’t really make as much as a difference to my life as it does to younger people, who are used to being out and about.
I’m actually having more communication now with family and friends than I had previously. Maybe the exceptional circumstances mean people want to reach out; could be having more time on one’s hands. Mobile phones are having a huge impact on people’s lives.
I feel quite healthy. I survived a haematoma a couple of years ago. All going well, I turn 100 in about six weeks. The world has changed so very greatly over the century of my life.”

Instagram post on Ron Taft, retired Professor of Social Psychology & nearly centenarian, and his experience during the pandemic, which was created by a psychology student living in Melbourne who was interested to hear about how COVID-19 was impacting on different peoples’ lives.

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

Amira Moshinsky

Give this story a date.

2020-04-19
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