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A local man who has not left his house in almost two months has been informed that the rest of the world is actually also in lockdown, after it was confirmed that he had spent the entire time playing the new Animal Crossing: New Horizons video game.
Simon Williams, a local gamer and self-professed “outdoorsy person”, has reportedly spent the last six weeks in total isolation playing the recently-released title from Nintendo.
Williams has now confirmed that he had no idea that there was a global pandemic going on at the same time, and that his personal isolation from the entire world was purely due to the fact that he REALLY likes Animal Crossing.
“Honestly, it’s a bit of a shock,” said Williams. “I had no idea there was an irresistible virus going around that forced everyone to stay inside and not see their loved ones. I thought it was just a normal video game release.
“It’s so crazy to think that the world has been in lockdown this whole time! I just assumed that everyone was staying inside because, like me, they needed to spend as much time as possible catching tarantulas and calculating turnip prices.”
When asked how he was able to completely miss the biggest global news story of the year, Williams defended his lack of awareness, saying that it was simply a case of “not caring about anyone or anything else”.
“In hindsight, there were plenty of signs that something big was going on,” continued Williams, who’s also a husband and father of four.
“I kept getting texts and emails asking how I was doing. I just assumed they were asking about the flower patch I was putting in. I kept responding with ‘Hopefully we’ll get some breeding going soon!’ but I’d never hear a response back.
“My work also emailed me at one point – I sort of skimmed it, but I think they just wanted to know if I was keeping ‘safe and sane during this time period’. In hindsight, they probably meant during the pandemic, and not the Bunny Day event in April.”
Despite learning of the crisis later than everyone else, Williams says he supports all government measures to fight against the virus, and urges others to do the same.
“If anything, this entire process has confirmed for me just how important it is to stay at home and play video games and ignore everyone else around you.
“Also, if anyone has any Roses for sale on their island, PLEASE let me come over.”
