“Pre-COVID life has died”, says Sydney doctor

People miss travel, weddings, funerals, holidaying, drinks with friends, gyms and life as we know it

Jamieson Noutsatos with his mother and grandmother Lambia, whose funeral he could not attend. Photo: Supplied

13 August 2021 4:59pm

In a now viral Facebook post, Sydney doctor Sacha Kepreotis described first-hand how Sydney’s hospitals were buckling under the pressure rising COVID patients.

“Pre-COVID life has died,” he said, while detailing the long-term effects of coronavirus beyond the physical while touching on the financial, and said any chance of Australia returning to some semblance of normality hinged on widespread vaccination.

For Jamieson Noutsatos, 18, widespread vaccination did not come soon enough. For him, the grief of COVID is very real, not having had closure following coronavirus restrictions at the time of his grandmother’s death.

“I knew that my yiayia would probably be the first one to leave us and always pictured being at her funeral. Never in my lifetime would I have thought anything differently, but obviously that was ripped off us. I sat there watching the live streaming of my yiayia’s funeral in disbelief as to what was unfolding. I felt her presence and that ultimately gave me peace. I thought that even though someone is gone, we are still united in some sense and that gave me comfort and strength during the mourning period,” he told Neos Kosmos.

Peter Sinadinos of Big Fat Greek has seen his profits dip, but is still offering food vouchers to those who are vulnerable.

“We will get through this,” he told Neos Kosmos, while pointing to the despair he has seen.

The Dekapentavgousto feast, traditionally filled with paniyiria feasts and plans of travel to Greece, will now be confined within four walls as cases increase with record numbers in NSW (390 cases and two deaths on Friday), 15 cases in Victoria and eight in Queensland

An important feast for Greeks, lighting a candle in church, something once taken for granted is now out of the question due to restrictions of 10 people per service in Victoria and churches with doors shut tight.

Life as we know it has changed, and we can but document the changes.