Acceptance

Kia Ora Katoa! Kia Kaha!

Today is Wednesday, April 8^th. I did not go shopping today, but I went for a lovely walk. There was a long queue outside the local supermarket. Apparently it is very quiet when it opens at 7 am, but that’s too early for me. You can look on google maps to see the busy times.

This morning it was quite cold, but in the afternoon it was fine and sunny, and lovely to be out for a walk.

I forgot to mention yesterday that in New York they are looking at temporary burial of bodies in parks.  There was also talk about going “stir crazy”, both in New York and here. The NZ Prime Minister remembers the severe trauma caused by the Christchurch earthquake in February 2011. People are still traumatised by their experiences back then; some of them may never get over it. So I am pleased that this issue is being addressed.

This morning I had a call from the agency that supplies cleaning services, to see if I was getting on all right. It was very nice of them to call, and while I miss their help, I recognise that during the lockdown it is advisable.

The 1 pm briefing is encouraging. Today there are 50 new cases of Covid 19, bringing the total to 1210. This number of new cases is the same as back on 25 March, which seems ages ago.  It seems we are making good progress. There is a story in the Washington Post praising NZ’s approach: “New Zealand isn’t just flattening the curve. It’s squashing it”.  Quiet and unseen no longer!  Jacinda is very diplomatic about this: they’ve used particular vocabulary. She reminds us all not to go away for the long Easter weekend.   At least, the usually terrible Easter road toll should be not yield any accidents at all, and some of our medical staff should be able to have a well-earned rest. We have still not been under lockdown for two weeks.

It seems that Jacinda’s offsider, her Dr Fauci, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, has developed quite a reputation of his own, for integrity, patience and honesty. There is a story in Slate about him!  Unlike poor Dr Fauci, his details are listened for, heard and valued. More testing is being done.

There seems to be a different acceptance of the lockdown now. Everyone has slowed down, there is not such a rush to compensate for previous activities. I had a favourite saying, there’s no rush! I can now say, there’s absolutely no rush! We are seeing the benefits of slowing down a bit.

Meanwhile, there’s still confusion. How complete should the lockdown be? How often is it safe to go shopping?  Every trip becomes more risky, as some relax their guard. Should one wear a mask whenever one goes out? Does talking (i.e. droplets) spread the virus more than surfaces? I do have a routine for shopping, but I don’t go overboard in terms of disinfecting everything. I think my precautions are adequate, but it’s a good idea to bag everything, and avoid cabinets and bulk buying of nuts, dried fruits etc.  Meantime, I feel the NZ lockdown is worthwhile. I hope the quality of food stays good, remembering that we are only as safe as whoever else has handled the food and packed it or picked it.

No overseas news for now. Tomorrow I would go to singing, so instead I will sing in the shower, and I will practise Tai Chi. Today’s suggested activity is playing knucklebones.

Nga mihi. Good-bye for now. We’ll talk again soon.