He exchanged the theater boards for the telephone. Now the actor helps hygiene with tracing

When the government decided to close the theaters, he did not wait long. Together with about twenty other colleagues from the theater, he offered to help the Regional Hygiene Station of the South Bohemian Region (KHS) with tracing contacts. He completed training and went to work. “We call, we find out information about the called party, we communicate information about the quarantine, we find out if the household is not a senior and what the situation is at home. We are looking for contacts for general practitioners, “says the actor, who fills in what he learns into a special program.

As an external collaborator, he is in charge of calling not directly infected covid-19, but those who have been in contact with a positive person, should go for tests and are in quarantine.

Computer and microphone

The actor works from home. “We have login details, we can call from anywhere. I made a work tent at home and I call from here. Colleagues who work in the administration, or the secretary of the play, come to the office for a call, “Kaštovský explains.

All he needs to help with tracing is a computer and a headset with a microphone. It is called over the internet. He made 22 contacts in six hours, one call lasts 15 to 20 minutes. “Sometimes it’s fun, some people want to talk,” says Kaštovský, admitting: “I’ll learn interesting stories, but also the sad fates of people.” The new activity charges the actor. “I feel like I’m doing something real that makes sense,” he explains.

He is no longer mentally tired from tracing. “At first I had a tendency to empathize more, but that would drive you crazy. I try to help and communicate encouragingly. I don’t admit what I find out bad, I enjoy the good things, “says the actor.

Over a hundred people a week

He feels that people are ready. “At first I thought they wouldn’t want to say information. In a week, I called over a hundred people, and I did not encounter it, with a minimum of exceptions, which apologized, “says Jan Kaštovský. “People were ready to call. They are conciliatory and diligent. They cooperate and are pleasant, “he adds. Fortunately, it has not yet happened yet that he introduces himself to the phone for regional hygiene, that some spectator would recognize him by his voice.

Kaštovský is now free from rehearsals. For how long, this is not yet clear. The theaters will not open until the so-called second stage of the table of the Ministry of Health. And it probably won’t be until Christmas. Nevertheless, the actor does not have to keep the game in mind. “I call our memory a floppy disk. We have productions in our heads that we haven’t played for a year, such as the revolving auditorium. These lyrics are dusted off and we go on stage with it. We will remember the whole thing, “describes the actor. He is in contact with colleagues. “We are preparing games for forotes, we are finding out how to reach the audience outdoors or online. We are thinking about how to help, “concludes Kaštovský.

Source: DiarySpecial appendix We can do it together

This article is one of many that you will find for free this Friday, November 27, in a special supplement to the printed Diaries We Can Do It Together. It deals with life at the time of coronavirus and you will find for example:

* Tips for gifts in difficult times
* How athletes and artists struggle with limitations
* How Christmas was celebrated in times of war or Positively in difficult times
* How to be in a good mood even without parties and travel

And another interesting read. Don’t forget, on Friday, November 27, in your printed Diaries.

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