Dealing with the looming threat of COVID-19 is taxing for everyone, but one woman tells us how she’s had to protect herself from the virus while hiding her HIV-positive status. We hear from a woman who has found her freedom despite spending most of her day, everyday, in self-isolation. A look at how closures to public transport in Victoria and how it affected those who often need it, and the strain that quarantine can have on our mental health. This is episode one of Under Cover, a storytelling project by RMIT Journalism students. In this episode, we discuss ‘freedom’.
Producer: Tyson Whelan
Assistant Producer: Simone Etheve
Story 1: No one knows
We generally like to think of ourselves as free. Free to go about our lives the way we choose to. Coronavirus has changed that for a lot of us, especially for people with invisible illnesses who are more at risk than most people. In the time of coronavirus, they face a new question: will keeping it a secret put them in danger?
Reporter: Eva Marchingo
Story 2: Freedom Run
Ella Barry, like most, is feeling more trapped than ever amid the coronavirus outbreak. But things become more real when she discovers her cousin has been infected by the deadly virus. Feeling like all that is good has been taken away, and when the daily bickering and arguing with her family becomes too much, Ella has found a way to feel free again.
Reporter: Sophie Jacobsen
Story 3: Public Transport
Victorian public transport has introduced changes to make their services as infection-free as possible, which means trains, trams and bus services in Victoria have been reduced or stopped altogether, leaving some Victorians who don’t drive stranded.
Reporter: Sharee Ratten
Story 4: Distancing
We are now a society at a distance, forced to separate in order to survive. Along with the shut down of non-essential services, citizens returning must now follow new isolation measures which could see them spend time in isolation before they can be reunited with their family. What does that feel like? What can we do to take care of our mental health while in isolation?
Reporter: Giulia Raneri
