COVID-19 as Atmospheric Dis-ease: Attuning into Ordinary Effects of Collective Quarantine and Isolation

Abstract

This 40-day diary tracks the ordinary effects of self-isolation and quarantine on a small island off the British Columbia coast. Drawing on reflections on the emotional and embodied dimensions of self-isolation, and on observations of the effects of physical distancing in public spaces, the writing paints a picture of COVID-19 as atmospheric dis-ease. Whereas disease is sickness and disorder, dis-ease is a social malaise infecting the body public via atmospheric contagion. Atmospheric disease, it is argued, is a shared mode of attention and a mix of effects permeating a place with the diffused rhythms, shared sensations, contagious moods, and common orientations typical of self-isolation.