I can feel the criticism of people around me. “seriously?” they think, “we are crushing under this emergency and you entertain yourself by drawing a funny Zoom background?”
Yes, yes I do. Let’s talk about it.

It’s been 3.5 weeks since Israel went into a lockdown due to the COVID-19 situation.

Kids stay at home and drive their parents nuts. Businesses stopped operating and their owners sink into debts. People lost their incomes but still must pay rent. Independent businesses receive little to no help from the government. Many employees started working from home and struggle to adapt. People feel lonely and depressed.

And then there is me. I somehow dodged all of the affects mentioned above.

Here is why I’m still standing:

I don’t have kids, so I couldn’t care less if schools are closed. My husband is with me, so I’m not lonely. Our house is attached to my parents’, so we see them every day. We have a big garden with sun terraces and trees, so we don’t feel suffocated indoors. Also, our house belongs to our family, so there is no rent.

Work-wise, not much changed for me either. I’ve been working from home since 2010. Most of my income arrives from online assets (such as stock illustrations), which means I get paid even when I do nothing.

Now let’s talk about anxiety. I’m generally a very anxious person, with a set of fears for every occasion, including an unexpected pandemic. But surprisingly, this is the calmest I’ve ever been.
The truth is, I am calm BECAUSE I am so anxious! You see, all of the fears that I have on normal days are now on hold. I don’t need to be scared of car accidents because no one drives anywhere. I don’t worry that someone will break into my house while I’m out because I’m always in. I don’t worry about violent attacks or new terrorism waves because we are all safe inside.

Don’t get me wrong, I do worry about the coronavirus. But compared to all the things I worry about on a daily basis, this feels like taking a breather.

And let’s not forget the blissful COVID-19 humor that flourishes online. There is a facebook group dedicated to coronavirus memes and also a super funny trend of re-dubbing Disney songs with lyrics that match the situation. God, I laugh so much.

In the meantime I draw some relevant stock images. You have to go with the flow, right?

Funny Zoom background to download

Making a Zoom background was my brother’s idea. He lives in the U.S and uses Zoom to keep up with his work and studies. He suggested that I illustrated a COVID-19 themed background, and I sent him this one. It’s a green corona virus that sneaks behind the person on the screen. 

You can use this zoom background for your fun personal purposes (please note it is not for commercial use).

►Save this Zoom background

Zoom is very popular here, too. Last week we celebrated the Seder (Passover Eve), which is Israel’s most family oriented event. Celebrating it in quarantine was a challenge to our Jewish minds, but many families just did it together via Zoom. Thank god it’s the 21st century!

I’ll finish with the best wishes for health and safety to all of you. Be strong, scroll through some COVID-19 jokes, and we will make it to the other side.