I woke up to the heavenly scent of freshly baked bread.
Yet the reality is not that heavenly at all…
Being a Saturday, this was my first day at home with no work. I thought I’d be able to do a lot, but in fact I did next to nothing. Following the news, chatting to friends, a bit of cooking, that’s pretty much all of it.
I was glad to read in the morning an article by a senior lecturer at Massey University in Auckland, Steve Elers, who shares my opinion that New Zealand’s Government is incompetent and stepped in too late – https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/120581185/antivirus-measures-are-too-late-to-stop-needless-sickness-and-economic-pain. I guess history will tell, but before that there will be bodies to count.
The fortress we are trying to build by locking down at the very last moment might prove to be just a sand castle. Whatever it is, we now need to get in behind our leaders, respect and preserve democracy, as the tough times are yet to come.
We are now sitting ducks, and many of us are yet in denial or too naive to undestand what’s actually going on. The number of cases in our country is now 451. A week ago it was only 20! Three weeks ago 5 and merely a month ago we had none (confirmed). Is our memory so short? People are going to the beach, playing touch rugby in the park, there’s car and bike traffic like on an Easter Weekend. This is not your seasonal cold. Why don’t you get it? It’s like going to Africa and when a lion charges towards you, you just smile and go “just another cat, whatever”…
I haven’t been out for three days, not even to buy milk. We still have enough to get by and I understand supermarkets have long cues. In a way, if I had the disease now and I became critical, perhaps it would be good timing, as hospitals still have plenty of room. But if I get it now, chances are that I might feel seriously ill around the peak of the wave and then I’d be just another number.
My kids came home today from their mother’s house, driven by my wife who goes out for work. They saw nobody wearing masks and plenty of cars in the streets, with just one policeman on a motorbike. I am planning to create a mini-golf 9-hole course outside but the children are too busy on their electronic devices and this time around I really encourage that, as they communicate and play with their colleagues. But I can’t stop thinking that we should have closed our island borders a month ago and my kids could still go to school instead of having their childhood and development age fractured by uncertainty.
Enough for today. It’s a weekend night that feels like shit, to be fair, and it’s not really my shit, but I have to accept and put up with it. In a few days, it will hit the fan.
Tags: coronavirus, lock down, New Zealand