Squishy Minnie Bookstore Squishy Minnie Bookstore
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
  • Events
  • Storytime
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • Shop

Squishy Minnie and COVID-19

By Kristen on 13/03/2020

Hello delightful Squishy book lovers,

We are making some decisions here at Squishy to minimise the impact and transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Starting from 4pm tomorrow (Saturday) we will be moving online and keeping our little shop closed for the time being. For people in the Macedon Ranges we will do free delivery and as always we can post around Australia (more details about this later).

This decision has not been an easy one however Public Health experts are clearly saying that the way to reduce transmission is by social distancing. Here at Squishy we are in a position to help minimise transmission and believe it is our social responsibility to do so. We love our little community and want people to stay well. As regular visitors to Squishy know, people stay in our little space for extended periods of time and little hands like to do lots of touching.

The risk to our community is the need for many people to access hospital care at the same time. If the transmission is slowed down the impact on health services can be greatly reduced ensuring health care is available for everyone, especially those who might need it urgently.

From looking at what is happening in Iran and Italy there is absolutely no doubt that the sooner social distancing occurs, the better it is for everyone. Australia is in a privileged position to be watching the impact on countries who did not social distance as compared to ones who did. We are not fearful nor alarmists, but the evidence is very clear that the only way this outbreak can be managed at this moment is through self-isolation and social distancing – countries which have done this (eg. South Korea, Japan) have far different progressions of the virus compared to countries who did not (eg. Italy, Iran and now the USA).

This article from Italy beautifully surmises our sentiments https://medium.com/@Marisa_Garreffa/facing-fear-in-a-time-of-coronavirus-b2b37e847107

We encourage each of you to do what you are comfortable doing, and this is what is comfortable for us. Lucky and I both have professional scientific qualifications (I have a Masters in Public/International Health and Lucky a PhD in Medical Physics) and this education and understanding of the scientific advice offered thus far along with love and regard for our community are what inform this decision. I have written this with consultation of all the senior staff (Ellie, Connie, Liz & Lucky) at Squishy and together we stand by this choice.

Now one of the challenges in this whole situation is the abundance of information, a lot of which is not backed by science. Here are a few articles we think are interesting and worth sharing.

How washing your hands can help fight COVID19:
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/3/11/21173187/coronavirus-covid-19-hand-washing-sanitizer-compared-soap-is-dope

What happens to People’s Lungs when they get COVID19:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/coronavirus-what-happens-to-peoples-lungs-when-they-get-covid-19

General Advice for the Public:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

This piece is written by a doctor in a rural indigenous community:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/12/mayhem-looms-just-around-the-corner-diary-from-the-frontline-of-the-coronavirus-health-crisis

I’ll update very soon on what our home delivery and online situation will look like as well as our contingency plans for online book clubs and streamed storytime. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with some words from the Director-General of the World Health Organisation which ring true to us.

“Let hope be the antidote to fear.
Let solidarity be the antidote to blame.
Let our shared humanity be the antidote to our shared threat”

– Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO Director-General)

With love, Kristen & Team Squishy

Posted in Books.
Share

Categories

  • Book Review (54)
  • Books (5)
  • Culture (1)
  • In Store Events (12)
  • Instagram (13)

Archives

  • October 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (2)
  • July 2020 (10)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • March 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (6)
  • August 2019 (8)
  • July 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (6)
  • January 2019 (2)
  • November 2018 (5)
  • August 2018 (2)
  • July 2018 (1)
  • June 2018 (1)
  • May 2018 (1)
  • April 2018 (2)
  • February 2018 (4)
  • November 2017 (15)
  • October 2017 (1)
  • September 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (2)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • April 2017 (4)
  • February 2017 (4)
PreviousMacedon Ranges Wide Delivery + Front Door Pickup
NextBook Review – 1984 by George Orwell

Related Posts

  • Thunderhead
    14/03/2019

    Book Review – Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

    Thunderhead, the second novel in the Scythe Arc by Neal Shusterman, picks up from where the first novel left off. Our two main characters, Rowan and Citra, have both parted their ways from each other after they were forced to kill each other at the clave meeting. Rowan has now adopted the moniker of Scythe …

  • 11/05/2018

    Walker Books School Library Book $500 Bonus

    Walker Books is currently holding a promotion where school libraries can receive $500 of free books when they purchase $500 of books! This is a great opportunity for schools to make their library budget stretch a bit further or to have extra books for award nights – or more simply, just to stock up on …

  • 23/10/2020

    A Reflection

    This is me in my little bookstore this morning, with my partner Lucky and our four year old Vega helping unpack books and do a little tidy up. You don’t see my face much on here, which is intentional. For me Squishy was always about creating a space where small people, young adults and grown …

  • 16/05/2020

    Macedon Ranges Wide Delivery + Front Door Pickup

    Squishy Minnie is re-introducing weekly deliveries to the entire Macedon Ranges (and continuting our free bi-weekly delivery in Kyneton)! Starting May 25th, the Macedon Ranges will be covered by our delightful team delivering books far and wide by foot, bike, horseback (yes, horseback!) and car. Kyneton will continue receiving free deliveries on Wednesday and Saturday …

  • Terms & Conditions
  • © 2022 All content copyright Booruwa Creative Industries, ABN 44616524120
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
  • Events
  • Storytime
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • Shop