As the month of May is nearing its end, most Indonesians who are fully aware of the dangers of COVID-19 are still in self-isolation, as they have been in quarantine at home since mid-March. Even with the “blessings in disguise” of increased bonding time with family or the opportunity to acquire new skills, limited mobility and the yearning to see the outside world often feel too unbearable.

For Greater Jakarta urbanites, while striving to live within the walls of an apartment, or a house with limited outdoor space, their minds might wander to faraway places that are close to nature. Furthermore, with social media posts showing past vacations to the beach, the mountains or the countryside, some are likely to be reminded of their canceled vacation plans.

Do you happen to be one of them? Or do you wish that you had gone to those places and have a wild imagination of being stuck in your dream destination for self-isolation?

For Paris-based writer and editor Rifina Muhammad, self-isolation in the French countryside is not a dream. She first realized that the coronavirus is a serious danger when the city of Wuhan went under lockdown. Later she felt that COVID-19 would spread to Europe, when Paris had its first day of fashion week on Feb. 25, just a few days after a lockdown in Italy’s Lombardy, where most fashion week guests previously gathered.

Rifina followed news of the coronavirus outbreak from BBC, Financial Times, Huffington Post and the World Health Organization (WHO) website, and after French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday, March 12 evening that all educational institutions were temporarily closed, she and her family left Paris for the countryside in Le Perche the next day.

“We initially planned to stay for only a week, but on Monday, March 16, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced a nationwide lockdown effective per Tuesday, March 17,” Rifina told The Jakarta Post in a text message.

The countryside is quiet and far from crowded areas, thus the air there is clean. It became the background of a life in lockdown for Rifina and her family.

She and her husband took turns helping their young son and daughter with the school work sent by teachers every morning. In the afternoons following lunch, the children usually play in the yard while her husband tends to the garden, and Rifina would do house chores, stroll around the house or connect with her friends and family back in Jakarta and other places through instant messaging services.

Rural dream: The countryside in Le Perche, France, became the background of life in isolation during the COVID-19 outbreak for Rifina Muhammad and her family. (Courtesy of Rifina Muhammad)

“I am pleased to see my children play and have fun in nature,” Rifina, who returned to Paris in the second week of May, told the Post, adding that supervising her son with his homework was the most challenging task she had in isolation.

She also has concerns that no COVID-19 vaccine will be produced.

“[It might] mean that we have to live with the coronavirus, which means there is always a possibility that it will infect me and my loved ones,” said Rifina.

A similar fear that the coronavirus is here to stay was shared by jewelry designer and philanthropist Delia von Rueti, who normally divides her life between Bali and Switzerland but has been unable to leave the Swiss Alps’ Gstaad – her wintertime base – due to travel restrictions.

Delia described Gstaad as “heaven for isolation” as the air was fresh and there was no lockdown because no COVID-19 cases were found in the area, even though Switzerland has recorded more than 1,800 coronavirus-related deaths (with those aged 80 years and up being the most vulnerable).

“I think it’s the air, and the immune systems of the people here are better as we all are living in a perfect habitat,” said Delia.

Settling with her husband and their three daughters, Delia said that they had to look after themselves, for instance by doing endless walks, cycling and hiking on mountains and by rivers. They also take zinc, vitamin D and vitamin C supplements, in addition to eating healthy food and drinking lots of water.

“We wash our hands, wash the fruits well, and if we receive goods with packaging, we remove the box right away, and for bottles and other stuff, we leave them on our patio for three days before taking them into the house,” Delia explained.

Comfortable life in Gstaad aside, what really bothers Delia during isolation is that she misses her friends and relatives in Indonesia, and as she thinks that the coronavirus is not to fade away in the near future, she knows that she will not be seeing them soon.

Delia is also sad that she won’t be able to pay tribute to the one-year anniversary of her mother’s passing on May 16 in Bali, but she organized prayers with about 110 households in the Balinese village where her mother is buried, sending tons of food staples including rice, cooking oil and eggs.

“Life has been hard on them [the Balinese villagers] with layoffs, no jobs and no income, and I’m trying to help as much as I can. I give my staff Rp 500,000 (US$ 34) per month on top of their salaries to buy vitamins during this pandemic, but I don’t know how long I can stay afloat for them,” said Delia, adding that her delayed projects in Indonesia and the economic impacts of COVID-19 on the archipelago were also among her top concerns.

While trying to do her best to help her staff and community back in Bali, Delia said that nothing in Switzerland made her sad. She is pleased to have her daughters working and studying from home beside her and her husband.

“That’s the most precious [thing] in life, family,” said Delia.

As for Rifina, the home isolation experience made her realize that prime physical and mental health is true wealth.

“[…] and [thanks to being in isolation], a delicious sweet martabak (stuffed pancake) could be concocted in my very own kitchen!” said Rifina excitedly, referring to the famous Indonesian street food that people usually buy instead of making at home.