Josephine Tovey 约瑟芬·托维默
One particularly brutal winter when I lived in New York， I was hurrying to a meeting when I slipped on the icy pavement and broke my ankle.
Rolling snowstorms coupled with a cavalier attitude to snow-shovelling among New Yorkers meant I was taking my life into my hands every time I hobbled on my crutches even just to the corner store， so I stopped trying. For weeks， I barely left my apartment.
I've been thinking about that lonely period of confinement a lot lately， as the novel coronavirus sweeps the globe and more and more people prepare themselves for the possibility of home quarantine.
Already， millions in China have been forced inside for lengthy periods during mandated lockdowns. In Australia， increasing numbers of people who've been in contact with an infected person， or have returned from China or Iran， are self-isolating at home. With the first cases of community transmission， more of us may find ourselves in this situation.
Provided you're not actually suffering with illness，“self-isolation” might not sound too bad. The uber rich are readying private jets for retreats to holiday homes. Even for normal people， it could feel like a little holiday.
But confinement for many is daunting. As well set up as I was， I found my own taste of it boring and lonely. I was tethered to my laptop - I read on it，watched TV on it， worked on it and stared at it as I did modified workouts I found on YouTube. After a week， I wanted to put my moonboot through it.
Some days I would put my coat on over my pyjamas to stand out on my stoop and absorb just a little of the real world. It gave me insight into why so many elderly people in my neighbourhood did this everyday anyway.
I was lucky though， in a lot of ways. What made all the difference for me were the connections with other people I'd been forced to make coming to a new city. Critically too， I wasn't struggling financially. I was still employed full time by my Australian company， so I had paid sick leave for those first painful couple of days， and after that， the ability to do my job from home. Many， who are employed as casuals or work precarious jobs in the growing gig economy， wouldn't be so lucky.