When I came to Funchal beginning of August I fled from a Corona afflicted Germany to the almost untouched Madeira island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, far away from the mainland and the trouble.
Here they had no cases for a long time and when one case from any foreign country came they knew instantly because they made tests at the airport and sent the people to quarantine until they had the result. But obviously, not everyone sticks to the rules and some of the tourists broke the rules and brought the virus to the people of Madeira.
There were rules before it got worst but these rules were only the standard safety measures in order to ensure the well-being of the people living here but with more cases come more safety regulations. So right now, with almost 2000 active cases, we have some regulations we have to deal with.
The one that hit us the most is the curfew. The curfew is on weekdays from 19 hours to 5 hours and on weekends even from 18 hours until 5 hours. So right now we spend a lot of time in our rooms but we make the best out of our situation by thinking of games we can play with others or cook together in order to somehow spent our time inside the student’s residence.
But we also value the time we can spend outside even more and if it does not rain we spent a lot of time in and around Funchal. The cafes, bars and restaurants are still open, and museums and parks are still able to visit, so boredom is not in sight everywhere.
On the other hand, even if we could go out we try to reduce the contact with other people and places as much as possible because we do not want to risk getting the virus into the residence with many people living there.
Also for everyone else: Stay safe and stay responsible!
Noelle
Volunteer from Germany at the Colégio dos Jesuítas in Funchal.
part of MADEIRAN HERITAGE program.
