BRISBANE priest Fr Michael Grace has lived off Coles home deliveries and Domino’s pizza for the past week after Italy’s national lockdown forced him to return home to Brisbane under self- isolation.
Fr Grace is in his final semester of a Licentiate of Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome but his studies are on hold after the Italian government placed the country in lockdown on March 8 to contain the coronavirus outbreak, which had been confirmed in more than 24,000 cases and claimed more than 1800 lives.
Europe was confirmed the latest epicentre of coronavirus last week, with Italy becoming the second-most affected country after China, where COVID-19 originated.
All seven of Rome’s pontifical universities, including where Fr Grace studies, suspended large gatherings including academic courses and activities following the government’s orders.
Fr Grace said the Venerable English College where he lived in Rome advised international students to return home “if possible” and continue their studies online.
He arrived in Brisbane on March 11 and, for precautionary measures, immediately went into self-quarantine for 14 days inside accommodation provided by Brisbane archdiocese.
“The archdiocese provided me a place to stay, essentially on my own, and not in danger of anyone,” Fr Grace, who does not have the virus, said.
Fr Grace is among potentially thousands of Australians and international travellers who are in self-isolation following Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement on March 15 that anybody who entered Australia from overseas, including Australian citizens, must by law go into self-isolation for 14 days.
People in self-isolation may not visit public places including schools, work, childcare, university or public gatherings, and monitor for symptoms including a fever, cough or shortness of breath.
In Queensland, anyone caught breaking the new law could be fined up to $13,000.
Speaking after the first day of self-isolation, Fr Grace said he had
signed up for Coles home delivery, where “they can just leave the (delivery) on the doorstep as it were and I’ll go out and collect it”. “I’ll just get some food delivered, and I see Domino’s pizza have a coronavirus delivery option,” he said.
“I should be able to avoid starvation.
“Obviously I’m very lucky in the sense that being a priest, there’s a lot of people around who can support me.
“I think I’m quite happy to be relatively self-sufficient and just live with the reality of the quarantine. “Better to be in your own country than on the other side of the world.”
Fr Grace was planning on returning to Rome after the Easter break to prepare for exams and submit his final thesis but expected he might need to “wait and see” before making definite plans.
His major thesis for his licentiate is due in May and he was expecting to “get back to work” in Brisbane by July.
Fr Grace said those feeling anxious about the pandemic should look to the Scriptures.
“The Gospel passage that springs to mind – ‘Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today’s trouble is enough for today’,” he said.
“But our minds tend to run ahead to the worst-case scenario, and that is not actually that likely.
“It’s much better off thinking, what do I need to do today? What’s the ramification of this for today.”
With the number of positive COVID-19 cases worldwide toppling over 217,000 and causing more than 8900 deaths, Fr Grace said he was more concerned for people who had been impacted by the pandemic.
“I’m much more thinking of those people who have been affected by this virus, those who are sick,” he said.
“My own circumstances are fairly trivial by comparison.”
