Within weeks of coronavirus affecting countries outside of China, Brad Jones took a fall while out walking in Forrest, hitting his head and landing himself in intensive care.
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Days before he was taken home to his parents' Kingston Foreshore apartment, Canberra went into lockdown, meaning Olaf and Sheryle Moon had just begun working from home.
"It was kind of the best time for him to have the fall because we are going to be at home, it was the perfect time for us to be able to look out for him," Mrs Moon said.
Mrs Moon is the founder of a company based in the United States which sponsors music festivals. She is used to working remotely with a team spread across several countries.
She is also on the board of Music for Canberra - which provides lessons locally - as well as being on the Australian National University business and economics advisory board.
Mrs Moon said while her Santa Fe business has continued, with the music lessons everyone was "kind of scrambling with what to do and how to do it". Particularly since teaching children online - including some with disabilities - presents a unique set of security concerns.
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Her husband Ollie Moon is a sales manager for a Japanese multinational which has 250 employees in Canberra. NEC Australia made the decision not to cut any jobs when coronavirus caused the economy to take a downturn, instead, employees across the board took a 10 per cent pay cut.
"For some people that was a good thing, for others it hasn't been easy because they're desperately putting every dollar towards a mortgage or paying their children's school fees," Mr Moon said.
Initially pitched as a six-month reduction of income, the decision looks set to be reviewed at three months because Australia was ahead of the curve, Mr Moon said.
Bushfires came within 200 metres of the NEC building this summer, prompting a facility upgrade. Unfortunately, the employees didn't really get a chance to enjoy the "super fancy" new digs.
"Two week after the move to the new office on the other side of the airport we were made to work from home," he said.
"I've found it ... not good. I'm a sales manager and I like to meet people, so COVID has been a pain in the ass."
Mr Moon said his day would normally include two or three face-to-face meetings with potential customers, as well as meetings with partners.
He estimates that equates to between 20-30 handshakes a day. Elbow bumping doesn't cut it for him.
After Mr Jones' "messy" accident near Telopea Park School, a cracked skull and bleeding on the brain saw him admitted to the neurological ward for six days.
The stay was during the period the Canberra Hospital reduced visitation allowances to help stop the spread of coronavirus. He was only permitted one visitor a day during that time.
With coronavirus patients on floor six and her son on seven, Mrs Moon said she was permitted to come and go due to the extent of his injuries.
She said in the early days of the pandemic her concern had been for her second son in the United Kingdom and her daughter in Hong Kong.
"At the beginning I had very high anxiety levels. But now, much less," she said.
"We've always been chatters over some sort of chat channel. Now we've been doing more of the Zoom, FaceTime and WhattsApp - much more seeing each other."
She said she's even been Zooming her 91-year-old mum, despite the fact that, "some time she's grumpy, sometimes she's less so."
Mr Moon's 89- and 90-year-old parents are in an aged-care facility in Tasmania. He said it's been hard for his brother who lives close by but can't physically go and see them, although visitors have been able to drive up to the window to talk.
A creative designer, Mr Jones said he believes coping during the social distancing measures depended on whether you're an introvert or an extrovert.
"I'm quite introverted so I'm not having a hard time," he said.
Mrs Moon said her son in the UK was thriving too.
"He's the happiest we've ever seen him. He's at home and he's got his own little set up. He's got his work desk organised in one part of the room and his music stuff on the other side.
"He's all by himself and he's a bit of a germaphobe - has been since he was a child - so he goes near no one and no one goes near him. At the end of the day he turns around and switches over to his music stuff - no commuting - he loves it," she said
Maintaining sanity during this time of close-quarters living has been made possible because of a solid foundation and some strict guidelines, Mrs Moon said.
"We have a very strong marriage and that hasn't changed.
"We walk in the morning, then breakfast, then Ollie goes in and shuts his door and the agreement from the start was that we don't disturb him," she said.
This is the second in an ongoing series featuring several households at the Lakefront apartments in Kingston talking about how coronavirus has affected their lives. The Canberra Times intends to speak with residents again in six months' time to see how things have changed.
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
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