THE SHIRE IN QUARANTINE

The crisis caused by COVID-19 continues. Our beloved Bilbo Baggins announced today in a press conference that THE SHIRE has been declared in quarantine, after the detection of the first case of the disease yesterday; the infected person is a dwarf who arrived from the Erebor mountain a couple of days ago.

“This quarantine is preventive” clarified Baggins during the press conference “we will start with this measure for only 14 days and from there we will decide whether to extend the quarantine and add other measures or if we can lift it at the end of this period” concluded the beloved Hobbit.

Last night, Frodo Baggins alerted the community that the newly arrived dwarf had infected one of his good friends, the cheerful Peregrin Took alias Pippin, however, both Frodo and his companions Sam and Merry say they remain calm in the situation; in the words of Samwise "Pippin is young and has a good health status, furthermore, the detection of the disease was made in an early state so there are many possibilities that he will recover completely". However, Meriadoc Brandybuck alias Merry looked visibly affected by the news during the announcement and unlike his companions, the only thing he managed to express was that a quarantine was necessary "to prevent the virus from continuing to spread and causing harm to our dear friends and family".

Bilbo insists on the importance of all Hobbits remaining in their homes in the coming days and avoiding any concentration in places with a large influx of people. He also declared that the limits of THE SHIRE will be closed until further notice, so any visitor coming from any other place in Middle-earth will not have access to the small village, nor will any Hobbit be allowed to leave unless the circumstances are strictly necessary.

“We are stocked with enough food to overcome this quarantine, I can assure you that each Hobbit will have their 7 meals a day without any problem” confirmed Bilbo, ending the press conference to calm the concern of those present who insisted that the food reserves would not last the first 14 days of quarantine.

“If we are locked up, there is not much to do other than eat so it won't be just 7 meals a day that we will have” exclaimed a worried Hobbit.

“I love to cook, you cannot stop me from limiting the number of times I can prepare food and serve my acquaintances during this time, it is very difficult not to want to enjoy a good meal when all you do is be locked up all day... there isn't enough food for the quarantine” concluded another Hobbit.

We do not know how long the quarantine in THE SHIRE will last, but the latent concern among its inhabitants seems that it may cause some problems. We will be attentive to everything that happens in Middle-earth to bring you all the information. Do not stop tuning in to our usual platforms.

A.R. Grimán