Today is Monday August 30^th, 2021. Kia ora!

Today it’s fine and sunny, and not too cold. I walk up to the local supermarket. It’s a lovely walk, and there are few people at the store. On entry, my phone goes on the blink and I have to reboot it before I can scan the QR code. There are a couple of people behind me, but they are gracious about the delay. This morning there’s plenty of bread, still very few eggs, and one large bag of coffee beans, which I buy; also, some more plastic gloves (which became very scarce, last year).  I feel a bit like a Muscovite: queueing sometimes at the store, taking a list, only to be greeted with large gaps, and buying things not on the list because I may need them in future. After all, one wouldn’t want to run out of coffee beans.  Yesterday I went shopping and there was no bread (or none that I was prepared to buy). Now that is saying something.

This morning’s press seems to be a bit kinder to Prime Minister Ardern, but there is a note of huge impatience with the present outbreak: when will numbers start to drop? Level 4 isn’t strict enough; Jacinda should really do something. Well, she is, actually. I couldn’t even buy a book of postage stamps at the supermarket – postal services have been paused. There was a story in yesterday’s paper about Chris Hipkins at an airport, alone, looking absolutely exhausted. One feels for these people who have to make big decisions that affect us all. 

In Australia, there are reported to be 73 new cases in Victoria; in Sydney it’s reported that ICU nurses are talking about the extreme stress of the situation they’re in.

The NZ Herald reports that today’s Covid cases are expected to be just over 50, all of them in Auckland. I’d say that’s quite a decrease from the last two days of around 80.

This morning I listened to another fairly conservative podcast about – guess what – the exit of the US from Afghanistan.  This time David Frum made some interesting points, that I hadn’t heard earlier.  He said that practically there are only two ways to get material supplied to Afghanistan – via Russia or via Pakistan. Since Russia was sanctioned, supplies must go through Pakistan. This seems a really important point, but no one has raised it yet, to my knowledge, and I’ve forced myself to listen to a lot of podcasts about this, distressing through they be. He also pointed out that the US taught Afghan troops to fight the way they would, with heavy air bombardment supporting the troops on the ground. That was removed before the Taliban took over. Furthermore, Afghanistan is not, in his view, a haven for terrorists, with its backward communications and difficult topology.  I’ve listened to many pointed heads arguing effectively that might is right and the US should maintain a presence there. They tend to argue, as they did for invading Iraq back in 2003, in an academic way. One of the things that Michael Moore pointed out was that most politicians did not have a son or daughter serving in the military; Joe Biden, however, did. I’m sure that has had a bearing on the way he’s handled this crisis. It’s good to hear some pushback on the near-universal condemnation of the way he’s handled this crisis, with some even calling for his resignation.

This morning I learnt that the US had targeted two vehicles in Kabul with a missile from a UAV, which they claimed were being prepared for another suicide bomber raid.  That was impressive: they must have good intelligence to be able to carry that out (and Taliban cooperation, perhaps?) Note: I just saw video of this on television. It was very impressive.

Back in New Zealand, today we were told just after 1 pm that there are 53 new cases today, all of them in Auckland. There are now 37 in hospital, and 5 in Intensive Care, including 3 on ventilators. It seems this outbreak has hit Pacific Island people very hard. By contrast New South Wales has 1,290 new cases and has had 4 more deaths. I know where I’d rather be, right now.

We were supposed to go to Christchurch in a few days’ time for a meeting of the Hohepa Foundation. This meeting will now go ahead via zoom – no surprise there. I scrambled around to find the details of our flight bookings, (made with JD’s credit card), but all I needed was the reference number: I couldn’t cancel the booking, but I could cancel these flights and hold a credit for one year, to rebook the trip (or a different one). That was much easier than I expected.  It’s a shame not to go, but we want to go when Christchurch is open, not in level 2 or 3. Consequently we’ll be able to go to our Art group meeting, if that’s allowed to go ahead.

At 4 pm Prime Minister Ardern and Dr Bloomfield give a press conference. As expected, all of New Zealand south of Auckland will move to a level 3 lockdown at midnight on Tuesday (that’s tomorrow). It’s expected that this will be for one week. At level 3, you can’t really do much. People are allowed to return to their workplace; all transactions must be contactless (i.e. you can buy takeaway food but it has to be placed on a table outside the shop; presumably you pay for it online; and you can have up to 10 people for weddings or funerals. I remember last year we got together with  our two sons and their families to have afternoon tea together for a granddaughter overseas’ birthday; technically, that’s not allowed yet. But this is progress. Northland is to remain at level 4 until Thursday night, and will then move to level 3 dependent on wastewater testing in Warkworth. Auckland will remain at level 4 for a further two weeks.  The government has been very careful, being aware of the large number of people hospitalized, and the rapid growth of this epidemic. Cabinet will meet on September 13^th to decide on further level moves.

It’s now Tuesday August 31^st.

There is news this morning: five rockets fired at the airport in Kabul, and intercepted by the US, and the last evacuation flight of US key diplomats. This doesn’t mean that evacuations won’t continue. This is variously reported – I guess the US is “officially” out of there. Apparently Erik Prince (brother of former Education Secretary, Betsy de Vos) is offering seats on planes out of Kabul at $6,000 each. I heard this on the Al Franken podcast, where he is talking to Ben Rhodes, a security advisor for President Obama. He also noted (like Michael Moore) that contractors like Prince had done very well financially out of this war.  There were also some civilian casualties (reportedly at least 10) caused by the drone strike which took out a vehicle  containing a rocket launcher. “The US has officially withdrawn from Afghanistan”, it’s said.

Hurricane Kit has done immense damage to New Orleans and parts of Louisiana, where the power is out and expected to remain out for several days. However the levée built after Hurricane Katrina has stood firm, although several large boats were dislodged.

And, closer to home, Auckland received severe rain and a thunderstorm last night, causing flooding, and some areas west of Auckland such as Kumeu had to be evacuated. We also learnt that the firm Sistema (which makes plastic containers) failed to tell staff (waited a week!) that they had a Covid 19 infected staff member on their books.  Surely actions like this further endanger all of Auckland, where most people are desperately trying to reduce the numbers of infected people, so they can get back to some kind of normality. It’s reported that ambulance staff are not always being told that potential cases have been exposed to Covid 19.

I learnt last night that two workers at Hello Fresh have contracted Covid 19, putting a hold on distribution.  Hello Fresh is a food outlet, like My Food Bag, which spent a lot on advertising, but got in trouble in November last year over their fish having to be recalled.  It’s based in Germany, but is the biggest meal provider in the US. It sounded quite expensive to me.

There’s also news that there’s a new variant of Covid 19, considered to be “worse” than Delta, and it was detected in an MIQ arrival in late June. This variant is in South Africa and several other countries, and has mutated substantially from the original Covid 19 virus from Wuhan.

In Australia, Victoria is reporting 76 new cases; a first Aboriginal death from Covid 19 has been reported. Sydney has 1,290. Or perhaps that was yesterday. It’s later reported that NSW has 1164 new cases, and two deaths. Meanwhile Prime Minister Morrison says, in effect, that lockdowns are a waste of time, and they can’t go on like this. Meanwhile, Australia is evidently short of Ivermectin, the drug some southern UA states are using to treat Covid 19. Actually, it’s a horse de-worming drug. How can Australians be so gullible?

At the 1 pm briefing both Prime Minister Ardern and Dr Bloomfield front up. There are 49 new cases of Covid 19 today, all based in Auckland. That’s the lowest total in 6 days. The majority of cases are close contacts of earlier cases. There are 33 in hospital, 8 in Intensive Care,  and 2 on ventilators. Six cases are less than one year old. As we move to level 3 tonight, we need to stay in our bubbles; schools and pubic venues remain closed. We need to shop and exercise close to home, still.  Faith-based gatherings are not allowed. Thank goodness we don’t have the US Supreme Court, here! Any transactions must remain contact-less. People down to 12 years of age can now book their vaccination appointments. In addition, the original case is not now thought to be linked to the Crowne Plaza MIQ Hotel. It’s origin is still a mystery. That’s clear, honest information, every day. That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

Today is Saturday August 28, 2021. Kia ora.

There is no new news this morning, except we learnt that there had been an anti-lockdown protest arranged in Auckland. One person turned up! One! There were far more police than protesters.  I think folk are relieved – not to be in Auckland; and that our government is taking such good care of us all, despite Tucker Carlson’s scorn.

At 12:30 pm the NZ Herald warns that there is likely to be an announcement that today’s total of new cases is 80 (a new high). Instead, it’s 82, all based in Auckland, bringing the total of community Covid 19  cases in this current outbreak to 429. Of these, 25 are in hospital, and two are Intensive Care. There are now 485 locations of interest, and 31,757 close contacts identified; of these, 81% have had a Covid test, so far. Meanwhile, New Zealanders are being vaccinated at a fast rate. In New Zealand, it’s relatively easy to get a test, or a jab. There are many vaccination sites taking walk-ins, if you haven’t made an appointment. Yet again, I’m relieved that we don’t live in Auckland, and marvelling that there are no new cases in Wellington, or the Coromandel, or, indeed, anywhere else.

It is very quiet here, which is nice. There are very few planes flying overhead, and once again, you can hear the birds singing. I read in this morning’s paper “Give Dad the gift of travel”. Yeah, right! Where in the world could you go? Where would you rather be, right now? The general consensus seems to be that the coronavirus will always be with us, and that most if not all of us will need booster shots; perhaps a shot every year, like the flu jab. 

In the afternoon, I made cheese scones, using my tried and trusted recipe. Something went wrong: I had to add a lot of liquid, and consequently had to add coconut milk. The mixture was very sticky – the flour seems to be much stickier than it used to, and the scones turned out rather disappointingly. That’s frustrating. I remembered being expected to make cheese scones on my first visit to JD’s family at Karitane, before we were married.  It was pretty crazy – like some kind of virginity test? At my flat in Mount Victoria, I had a large gas oven. Down south, it was a very different situation. I should have just said no, as a lady is entitled to do.

It’s now Sunday. August 29^th. I didn’t post yesterday. This morning I hear an aero plane, and, it’s being Sunday, lawnmowers. It must still be quite wet underfoot, but it’s not raining, or sunny. I did attend a church service via Zoom.

This morning I woke with a sense of foreboding, and I try to figure out why.  Remember the bad dreams that were common when we first went into lockdown last year?  That was a very scary time.  This is too, but it’s different now. We have vaccines, but, hey, they don’t provide the level of protection we had hoped for. You should still get one, of course.  The media, after being upbeat yesterday about the prospect of much of New Zealand moving to level 3, is now gloomy again, with its “What if?” scenarios: what if an MIQ worker gets infected with Covid 19/Delta? What if there isn’t enough vaccine to go around? What if there aren’t enough ICU beds? The blame game is well and truly being played, instead of being thankful that our government has acted so quickly and decisively.  Last year there were dire predictions about widespread unemployment. That didn’t happen, in fact, before our latest lockdown, most businesses, especially in the hospitality industry, were looking for staff. “Now hiring!” notices were on many workplaces. New Zealand’s restrictive immigration system (which has kept us safe, by the way), has been criticised for keeping out fruit-pickers and farm workers, to say nothing of volunteers to places like Hohepa.  It did admit film makers like David Cameron, and his crew, but that was to stimulate local industry, and so is, I think, forgiveable.

In fact I read somewhere that Maori and Pacifica suffered less from unemployment during the Covid 19 crisis last year. That’s good, I thought, until I remembered that many of them probably are essential workers, cleaning and supplying supermarkets, cleaning hospitals and rest homes, and cleaning and working in MIQ facilities.

This morning Stuff news reports that 73 of the current 429 Covid 19 infections are “essential workers”. The Ministry of Health is yet to determine how many of these were infectious before the current lockdown began at midnight on Tuesday August 17.

Yesterday I listened to a Michael Moore podcast about President Biden and the exit and evacuation from Afghanistan, specifically from the airport in Kabul. Mike’s podcasts can be pretty annoying, but he’s really cross about the near-universal dumping on Biden for the part he’s played.  Mike spoke praising Biden, and almost speaking well of the Taliban, who arrived before they were expected, and so threw everyone; and the miracle of evacuating so many people from Afghanistan (including commandeering aircraft from Delta and United Airlines).  He claimed the Taliban were vetting people at their checkpoints, and weren’t violent towards anyone. I think several journalists would dispute those statements. But the thing that was most discordant to me was that the Taliban have a very malignant, vicious and pugilistic attitude towards women, and Mike claims to be pro-women. Does he then agree with sharia law, which allows violent physical punishments?  I agree that the US shouldn’t have invaded Afghanistan, but that was twenty years ago. Perhaps their exit should have been a little tidier?  I doubt that Mike would support Biden’s drone strike back at Isis K (not Isis J), which killed a “planner” in Eastern Afghanistan. His vowing of revenge, while understandable, is not really scriptural, in my view. “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord; I will repay” in Romans 12:19. “Thou shalt not kill” is the fifth of the Ten Commandments. I know that Catholics justify the taking of life in certain situations, but I, for one, would not wish any of my dear ones to be in such a situation, where they might deliberately take someone’s life. That’s one of my prayers.

It was nice to hear someone praising Biden, who is, for the most part, a kind and honourable person.  It’s also little surprise that Afghan forces weren’t prepared to fight for their county, when Trump, as US President, had negotiated with the Taliban!  How were Afghan troops supposed to react? Especially when Hamid Karzai is said to have left the country, taking a great deal of cash with him (which he’s said to have stolen from the treasury). Agencies are divided on whether to offer humanitarian aid, or to rebut and rebuke the Taliban. What an immensely sad situation. Now that is heart-rending. But to say, “it’s not my problem”, and turn away, is that a Christian approach?

The NZ Herald announces that an MIQ worker has tested positive. Prime Minister Ardern is to give an update at 1 pm. Kia kaha, Prime Minister Ardern! Keep up the good work.

In Australia, Victoria has recorded 92 new covid cases; NSW had 1035 yesterday; today NSW has 1,219 new cases and 6 deaths. In the US, there are distressing reports of the widespread use, especially in the South, of Ivermectin, a drug used to de-worm horses and cows. What kind of collective madness is this, where people refuse to get vaccinated, and yet take a drug indicated for animals? The vaccines have undergone multiple tests, and monitoring of side-effects; they are by and large very safe and effective, as vaccines go. You do need quite a large uptake of them to attain a communal level of immunity. One hopes we will do that in New Zealand.  At almost 1 pm, the NZ Herald reports that over 80 new cases are expected again today (they must have an inside source!)

At 1 pm the new conference takes place, as expected, with Prime Minister Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield. There are 83 new cases today, bringing the total to 511. Of these, all are in Auckland but one case – that’s in Wellington, and is a close contact of a family member already diagnosed with Covid 19, who has been self-isolating.  There are now 34 patients in hospital, including one in Wellington Hospital, and two in Intensive Care, but all are stable. 60% of these cases are under 30. There really isn’t much else to report, except that most new cases are linked to existing cases, and the locations of interest are coming off the list after 17 days, as the date moves forward. The UK’s Guardian reports 82 new cases as NZ’s outbreak worsens, but I thought the news was about the same as yesterday. Folk are just so impatient! Have we turned the corner yet?  At some time, not too far away, we expect that case numbers will dwindle, as they have done previously.  That’s the best we can hope for, and that this infection won’t turn up anywhere else.

Last night we watched another movie starring Chadwick Boseman on Maori Television. The film, based on true events, was called Marshall, about an incident in Justice Thurgood Marshall’s career. Of course it demonstrated some of the prejudice against black people, but it was a very interesting movie, and well acted. It’s diverting, and educational, to see a good movie.

In Australia, the Covid/Delta outbreak is not under control. In the UK and the US, it’s causing great concern. Children are back at school, after a largely wasted year, and now they’re getting infected at much greater rates than last year; some of their teachers refuse to be vaccinated. The issue of mandatory vaccinations is a thorny one for many. Here in New Zealand, we’re quietly confident that we will beat this outbreak too. Most people are obeying the rules, and wanting to get back to whatever they used to enjoy doing. Ngā mihi nui.

Today is Friday August 27th, 2021. Kia ora.

It is really boring, just getting through the daily drudgery. On the one hand, we’re thankful for various mercies; on the other hand, it is seriously boring and dull.

This morning there is no new news about the Covid 19/Delta community cluster in New Zealand, but there is news of a dreadful series of explosions at Kabul airport. Isis J have claimed responsibility.  60 Afghans were killed, and 13 US military (later confirmed as 14, one having died from his injuries).  This, although expected, was a dreadful occurrence. Indeed, if it was expected, what exactly were various forces engaged in evacuation supposed to do? Stop getting people out? Or just be very afraid? There are questions about just how much control the Taliban does have over Afghanistan, since Isis is evidently a sworn enemy of theirs.

President Biden again addressed the nation about this, Again he spoke about his son Beau, who had served in Kosovo as well as Afghanistan. Evidently he had just come home when he was diagnosed with brain cancer, of which he later died. Biden spoke in a heartfelt manner about the enormous grief of this. I hope he’s gone up in terms of general regard;  it seems that the evacuation, which looks extremely messy, was ill-planned, and the US President has to take some responsibility for that.

Here in NZ, my cleaner came today. He sent a text explaining that he’s rostered to come, and asking would I still like him to come. Yes please, I reply, and rush around tidying up and trying to put more gifts and painting materials away. The house badly needs vacuuming, seeing last Friday’s call was cancelled by Access. Sadly, this is his last visit. He’s leaving Access, and going to work for Idea Services. I congratulate him, of course, but this is really disappointing news. He’s a very good cleaner; he’s efficient, and does a good job. It seems Access weren’t giving him enough hours. Some people are too busy, and others can’t get enough work! I will have to get used to somebody else. I hope that’s not too much of a challenge.

It turns out he had a birthday party for 40 on Saturday August 14, the night of our party. Like ours, it went really well, but was then overshadowed by the news the following Tuesday afternoon that one community case of Covid 18 had been identified in New Zealand, and consequently the entire country was going into a Level 4 lockdown from midnight that night. Whoa!  We both had worries about our guests, some of whom had travelled to be with us, but so far everyone is all right, despite a couple of sore throats and two negative Covid tests.

In the midst of all this, we get the news that there are 70 new community cases today, all of them in Auckland. Earlier we had heard that a pupil at Advance Pacific, a secondary (charter?) school in Otahuhu, had tested positive. It has to be a charter school, with a name like that – or did the Labour Government ban charter schools? I can’t remember.

There are no new cases in Wellington, or indeed in Coromandel, or Christchurch, or anywhere but in Auckland there are now 19 people in hospital, including one in Intensive Care, but stable, and not on a ventilator.   Testing and vaccinations continue.

At 3 pm there is a press conference, with Prime Minister Ardern and Dr Bloomfield. The news is that New Zealand will stay at level 4 until midnight on Tuesday (that will be a full two weeks at Level 4), and after that much of New Zealand (i.e., south of Auckland) will go to level 3. Auckland and the Far North are to stay at level 4, probably for a few weeks longer (for at least two weeks); the area includes the North because a rest home at Warkworth is a source of infection and a location of interest.  The schools will stay closed, for now.  That’s hard for everyone. Police are reviewing Auckland boundaries for level 4/level 3 differentiation; you can’t move across barriers without formal authorisation. At level 3 you can have takeaways, but the pickup has to be contact-less. Level 4 with KFC sounds about right. The size of gatherings in one’s home, of for weddings or funerals or tangihanga will be announced.  

In the late afternoon we went out again. One of my grandson’s birthday presents arrived by courier (contactless delivery!), and we went to deliver it to his porch – it wouldn’t fit in the letterbox. His mother thanked us, and said she will give it to him tomorrow. It’s not exactly an essential item, but is very welcome, none the less. Our weather has turned from fine, sunny days to wet ones.  I went to the New World supermarket in Newlands. People were mostly very well behaved – only one dude seemed unaware of the one-way system.  Many shelves are still empty, and there was almost no bread at all. I ended up getting a Freya’s loaf of rye bread (which I quite like), I couldn’t get any Vogel’s or Mohlenberg, or my favourite vanilla ice cream. Still, we got out of the house for a bit. I hope we can have fish and chips with my grandson again soon.

This afternoon I put teddies in the window again. They look vary mournful this time around.

I have to say, boring as this is, I am so grateful that Prime Minister Ardern is being very cautious this time around. The experts are being conservative, and I think the government is making wise decisions, even if right-wing folk (like the animal channel’s Tucker Carlson) are throwing shade at them. China and Taiwan have stamped out Covid 19/Delta, showing it can be done. China shut down one district after one positive case being identified. I read last night that NSW had gone in 62 days from one positive case of Covid 19 to over 10,000 – that’s in just two months.  That is scary progress, at a rate you cannot control; you can only control your effort to stop it spreading further – by lockdowns.

It has been raining gently all day. Tonight we watched “Get on up” on Maori television, starring the late Chad Boseman as James Brown. We also watched parts of The Chair on Netflix staring Sandra Oh, but although she does quite a good job, it’s very formulaic. Last Friday evening we watched What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo Di Caprio. I found it very affecting.

Since the 3 pm announcement in New Zealand, the media have been obsessed with the projected move of everywhere south of Auckland to Covid Level 3 next Tuesday night. What will we be able to do?  Very little more, I suspect, although we will be able to get takeaways again. Again, having missed them so badly, I now think yeah nah whatever…who really needs them? I’ve kind of gotten used to not having them.  As long as I can buy coffee beans, and bread, I’m all right, really. I can now say this, somewhat more secure in the knowledge that in Wellington there have been no new cases for the past two days, and, indeed, no community cases In New Zealand apart from in Auckland.  The other thing the media is slightly obsessed with is a potential shortage of vaccines. I guess they need to print papers and deliver programmes, refresh websites, but really, it can be very annoying at times.

I was very tired yesterday, and I have a slightly sore left arm, but other than that, I have virtually no side effects from my second vaccine jab. I did have a sore right shoulder this morning, but that’s gone away. So that’s good. There’s no news tonight of new cases. 

That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

Today is Thursday August 26^th, 2021. Kia ora, kia kaha.

Hang in there, New Zealanders!  I strongly believe we need to do all we can to eradicate the Covid 19/Delta variant that has become such a large cluster in the space of just over one week, particularly in Auckland, where there are positive cases extending from Pukekohe and Otahuhu Colleges in the south, through to Warkworth in the north. South Auckland was a priority for vaccinations, being part of Group 1; I had thought that medical staff were a priority as well.  Now everyone is rushing to get vaccinated; I hope it will protect some of us against Covid/long Covid.

Last year, as the threat of Covid 19 spread and became a pandemic, causing much sickness and death, and for health systems (where they existed, in varying degrees of sophistication), there was a general sense of fear and panic, in some cases. My son and daughter-in-law visited from the UK in March last year, and while they somewhat miraculously escaped being infected, there were places in New Zealand where they couldn’t go, and some who were too afraid to see them. I had decided to self-isolate for 14 days after seeing them (which was such a joy!), but by that time New Zealand was in a level 4 lockdown, and I wasn’t seeing anyone anyway. At that time, the coronavirus was thought to be very infectious, but masks and sanitiser were really hard to get, and it was a while before the Covid 19 QR code scanning application became available. What a wonderful invention that has been!  It has worked really well for this country, and if your phone won’t scan the QR code, you can always add a manual entry.

Now, things are different. Masks and hand sanitiser are readily available; indeed, masks are compulsory in many places, as they have been on public transport for several months. Many of us have been vaccinated, or are in the process of getting our jabs.  But the Delta variant has spread so quickly, that it forms a new kind of threat, not affecting older folk so badly, but really hitting young people and children.  There seems to be no shortage of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) – this was a big worry for much of the first half of 2020.

I got my second jab this morning. JD had an appointment at 11 am, and I joined him, since my Monday appointment had been cancelled. Since we are both in the same bubble, they took us both. It was a bit different from the first time. There are two clinics at the Johnsonville Shopping Centre. While there were some older people there, many were younger. The armchairs have gone, and you only have to wait 15 minutes afterwards now. The injection seemed easier than last time. Afterwards, we were called up together, but although I had my vaccination card with me, they wouldn’t mark it, so as to reduce the amount of handling. Apparently a record goes through to your doctor. The whole process was very efficient, and I got home in time to join a zoom session for Thursday morning singing. It was wonderful to see everyone’s faces, and sing and chat together. We reflected that it isn’t really tough for us, seeing as none of us has young children to amuse, and try to keep quiet while someone else in the bubble does a Very Important zoom meeting.  We aren’t living in crowded conditions, either. It’s also noted that Countdown supermarkets have been the ones under fire, not New World (who have closed their delicatessens); on the other hand, the Kilbirnie Pak’N ’Save (owned by Foodstuffs, as is the New World brand), is a location of interest. There are now over 500 locations of interest.

In Afghanistan, things are still dire for everyone. This morning I listened to Charlie Sykes talking to David Priess, who was the guest on the Bulwark podcast. I listen to this, even though it frustrates me at times, because Charlie does a run down of the latest news, which is good to hear, and I respect David Priess who worked in intelligence for the Obama administration.  It seems there’s still a great deal we don’t know about the evacuation situation; it’s supremely ironic, though, that the CIA helped put the Taliban leader in prison in Pakistan several years ago; Trump got him out, and now the current head of the CIA , William Burns, is negotiating with that same person.  Evacuations are proceeding, and large numbers of people are being flown out, but there are grave concerns about their security at the airport in Kabul: as well as being roughed up by the Taliban, there are fears that there’ll be a terrorist attack by Isis J.  It’s also really hard to get to the Airport: there are multiple checkpoints along the way, and every one costs you money.  There is some difficulty knowing where to go at the airport: airports are vast places, and while this one is probably not nearly as large as Dubai Airport, it can be hard to find your way around. Humanitarian conditions must be awful, too: is any clean food or drink  available? does the plumbing still work? Young families are there for days sometimes. The places they’re flying to also aren’t set up for such an influx of people, in the Middle East, for example, where it’s very hot and there’s no air conditioning.  It seems that President Biden just wants to get the heck out of there, without any American lives being lost. Many are saying that the US has an obligation to the Afghan people who helped them, as well as to evacuate American citizens living there, but they didn’t have to register with the US Embassy and it seems some may be left behind.  Amid such crowds of desperate people, it’s difficult to process any papers or proof of legitimacy; it also seems that the Trump administration, including Stephen Miller, slow-walked any process of legitimate visa application in the last few years, Consequently Biden is being shown as being derelict, pursuing an “America First” policy, and being loath to leave much of a presence there. The previous leader, Karzai, is rumoured to have left with the equivalent of millions of dollars in cash.  What to make of all this? It’s a desperate situation, and I struggle at times to sympathise with Biden’s point of view. Given the security threat, are American lives more important than Afghan lives?  Biden seemed to show great empathy, until now.

At 12:30 I learn that a Countdown supermarket worker has tested positive; locations of interest now include the Warehouse store in Waitakere. There is a note of optimism in this morning’s newspaper, that while the number of cases is increasing at an alarming rate, it’s not exponential, i.e. it’s not doubling every day. That, apparently, is a cause for optimism. Evidently 1,400 Countdown staff are isolating.  Personally, I prefer not to shop at Countdown, but of course many people do. I’ve actually found prices lower generally at New World supermarkets, but perhaps that’s just for the things I usually buy.

The Australian figures are not available yet (at 12:40 pm). In the US, there are again a large number of new cases thought to arise from the Sturgis motorcycle rally. This wasn’t unexpected.

There is to be a press conference at 1 pm today, at which it’s expected that more than 65 new cases of Covid 19 will be announced.

Today’s news is indeed grim. There are 68 new community cases of Covid 19, and one in MIQ.  Of the new cases, two are in Wellington, and are household contacts of other cases; the rest are all in Auckland. The total in the community cluster is now 277; of these, 35 are in the so-called Birkdale cluster, and 114 in the AOG Mangere cluster. This cluster now has a dedicated testing centre.  There are several new locations of interest, bringing the total to 495. The Ministry of Health website is refreshed every two hours.  The contact tracing team is under pressure, and is recruiting new members. Wastewater testing has shown some evidence of Covid 19 in Christchurch, but there are three Covid 19 cases there in MIQ, so this isn’t unexpected. Other than this, wastewater testing in Auckland and Wellington has shown traces of Covid 19 as expected, but no other area has done so, despite extensive testing.  Finally, many New Zealanders are turning up to be vaccinated; you may get a text message asking about side effects. If this is so, please answer the survey. The lockdown is having an impact.

In Australia, the numbers have now been published, and they’re pretty awful. NSW has cracked one thousand in having 1029 new cases; Victoria has 50, and the ACT 14. No one there will be pleased about that. An Opposition Senator in Australia has accused Scott Morrison not only of mishandling Sydney’s outbreak, but of exporting the highly transmissible Delta variant to New Zealand. Notwithstanding, rules are to be relaxed in Sydney for fully vaccinated people.

Late news is that someone has diagnosed positive with Covid 19 at a rest home in Warkworth, north of Auckland, and a worker at Auckland University.  Please, let the schools open in here next week. This is pretty hard. Bring back concerts, and even the Americas Cup! Those were the days, we didn’t know how lucky we were. That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

Today is Wednesday August 25^th, 2021. Kia ora, kia kaha.

This morning there’s no new Covid 19 news. We await the 1 pm briefing – presumably there’ll be one. In Auckland, more locations of interest have been added to the already excruciatingly long list: more supermarkets, an Event Cinema Complex in St Lukes in Auckland, a cosmetic store, and more bus trips. It seems if you did anything kind of normal in the days preceding lockdown, i.e. shopped, went to church, a movie, took a bus, exercised, and so on, you’re potentially at risk. Meanwhile the NZ police are busy trying to enforce the lockdown, and check rule-breakers. The Jet Park Hotel isolation facility for Covid 19 sufferers is now full and some diagnosed people are waiting to be transported to a new isolation facility, which is being set up in Auckland.  MIQ admissions have been paused, a wise move, although I wonder what’s happening to evacuees from Afghanistan; presumably they have to isolate for 14 days on arrival. An MIQ staffer in Greenlane’s Novotel has been diagnosed positive. People are urgently getting vaccinated, although the efficacy of vaccines is being  questioned.  It does seem, that while you may still be infected, and infectious, you won’t get as ill, and you’re far less likely to die, if you’ve been vaccinated.  My appointment for my second jab was cancelled, but evidently the vaccination site at a church in Khandallah is taking walk-ins, so I’ll have a go there this afternoon.

Scott Morrison’s statement that New Zealand cannot remain in its cave, or some such, is being condemned here in New Zealand; in fact, the AMA (Australian Medical Association) has condemned his statement that NSW will come out of lockdown when the vaccination rate has reached 70% (of those eligible, one wonders?)  The virus is still prevalent in Australia: in Victoria, new cases are down to 45 today. The other states are still cagy about their numbers. In Sydney, a young mother has died, and her husband is fighting Covid 19. I presume someone else is taking care of their children. It’s terrible to lose one’s mother, when you’re still a child.  References in the media to New Zealand as being a “socialist hermit kingdom” aren’t helpful either. We are not in any way like North Korea. “Socialist” is not a rude word.

This afternoon I learn that Australia has almost 1,000 new cases; NSW has 919 cases, and two deaths. That’s the worst they’re had so far. It makes Prime Minister Morrison’s statement even more ridiculous. ACT has nine new cases.

To be honest, I’m finding this lockdown really frustrating, and I fear others are too. It’s hard to accept, and it seems harder than it did last year, when it was warmer, raspberries were available, and tomatoes were cheaper!  It seems so silly to be bored and tired and hungry all the time, but that’s the way I am, and I find it very frustrating not to be able to go to simple things like Tai Chi and singing. I fear for my older son here, who has two primary-school children. They miss school and sport, and their friends, of course.  We can’t have them here, and during last year’s lockdown we gave them all kinds of games and puzzles.  We’ve now given away most things that interest them; we need to keep a few things here for when they come over. Of course I could read more, and paint, and do jigsaw puzzles….I write,  instead, about what’s happening. It helps me to write about it. People in Auckland are trying to go boating, and island hopping; police have set up checkpoints to the far North to prevent people driving far beyond Auckland. As Prime Minister Ardern says, don’t do anything risky, i.e. don’t risk getting into trouble on the water, or your car breaking down in some remote location.  Last year we were forbidden from going more than two kilometres from home; this year, it seems a bit less restrictive, but you’re still supposed to stay home, only leaving to buy essential supplies and to exercise.

In this morning’s paper, the Lower Hutt council has helpfully published what you can and can’t do, in other words, what council facilities are still open (e.g. parks are open but playgrounds are closed). The Wellington City Council has not done this. There is a spiel in this morning’s newspaper about how dysfunctional they are.  I have a further beef about the media’s tendency to describe things as being “heart breaking” and “a real shambles”, in other words, to exaggerate. To find really heart-breaking stories, one could read Dickens or Thackeray, when there was little in the way of social mobility, or a social safety net. Little Dorrit spent much of her youth in a Debtor’s Prison. I don’t doubt that these situations are very sad for people, but they don’t necessarily affect a whole lot of others, and it’s usually nobody’s fault; in other words, stuff happens.

At 1 pm we learn the latest news: there are 62 new cases in the community; one pf these is in Wellington, and one in Warkworth. The rest are all in Auckland, so none in the Coromandel, and none in the South Island. Poor Auckland! But the rest of the country will be heaving a sigh of relief.  There are now 12 people in hospital, including 11 from the current cluster of community cases. There are six sub-clusters. At this stage there are 58 cases are associated with the Mangere Assembly of God church. The list of locations of interest has increased.  Prime Minister hopes again to eliminate Covid 19, and, indeed, why wouldn’t she?  You can’t control this (look at Australia). In this country, no level of community cases is acceptable. That’s all we are told, for now. It’s evident that this epidemic hasn’t peaked yet, but we hope is does soon.

This afternoon we went to Khandallah, where I hoped to get my second vaccine jab, and do some shopping. It was fine and sunny, and Johnsonville was deserted: there was no one at any of the bus stops, and the only buses we saw were NIS (Not in Service).  There was a long queue for vaccines in Khandallah, and although it was moving quite quickly, it was quite long and I decided not to join it. The queue was made up of people none of whom looked to be over 45. I posted a letter, and went shopping at New World Khandallah. I had to join the queue to get in: they’ve put up an awning to protect those in the queue. There’s also a QR code outside the store, a security guard at the entrance, and the entrance has been divided into separate routes for entry and exit. I did some shopping (wine, coffee beans, more fruit, more sausages and something for afternoon tea), but the delicatessen is closed, and there are many gaps on the shelves; I can’t get an apple turnover or a cheese scone either.  But it’s fine and sunny and everyone’s very pleasant. It was nice to get out. I didn’t get my jab.

JD is due to have his second jab at Johnsonville tomorrow morning. I am wondering whether to join him. I find it very frustrating to have to keep waiting. I have a zoom call for Thursday morning singing, so there are things happening tomorrow.

Late news tells me that of the current outbreak, 66 children and teens have been infected, and a student at Otahuhu College has been diagnosed positive for Covid 19. As far as I know, Otahuhu College wasn’t on the list of locations of interest. This is the 10^th college to be added to the list. It is getting really hard to keep track of all these locations, and I fear this outbreak hasn’t peaked yet.

I didn’t mention yesterday that in US news, there was supposed to be a report from the Cyber Ninjas firm that carried out the Arizona (fr)audit. Although this has been much delayed, three people from the Cyber Ninjas firm have been diagnosed with Covid 19, and some of them are really quite sick.

That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

Today is Tuesday August 24, 2021. Kia ora, kia kaha.

This morning I learnt that a lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington has tested positive for the coronavirus, but is not thought to have been infectious while at the university. I was prepared to be very sceptical about this, till I read that she had tested positive last Friday (August 20), and so had been in isolation (technically, since we had been under a level 4 lockdown since Wednesday last week).  She had been in contact with another Wellington case. I read that the university is now a location of interest, but it doesn’t appear on the list. I fear that before she was tested she may have mingled with other family members, and gone shopping. Such is life.  Green Bay High School is now a location of interest, as is the St Therese Catholic Church Mangere East.

Today is our eldest grandson’s birthday. We both spoke to him, and wished him Happy Birthday. I asked if he has plans for the day – he hopes to go for a run. His mother has made and decorated a Minecraft cake – it’s truly amazing. She is very clever, I take my hat off to her. I hope we will see them again soon. Yesterday I connected in some way with all my sons. This morning’s paper has some extra puzzles, and a very funny spoof by Dave Armstrong about our latest lockdown. Last year my granddaughter turned 5 while the schools were still closed. She had wanted to have a pool party, instead she made do with us.

In Australia, Victoria has 50 new cases of Covid 19, and NSW aren’t saying yet (apparently its 753 new cases, fewer than the previous two days).

This morning I joined a Bible Study group from my local church on zoom. There were only a few of us, most of whom I knew. It was nice. We looked at the first chapter of James’ Epistle.

This morning I listened to Tom Nichols being interviewed on several podcasts. He’s just released a new book, called Our Own Worst Enemy. He’s an academic, and was a republican, and a Jeopardy winner, but I found him very interesting to listen to. One point he made was that we would not have had (Athenian) Democracy unless the Greeks had defeated the Persians; on the other hand, it didn’t last long, and Pericles, a great statesman, who lived during the “golden age” of Athens, died of a plague that swept Athens (Thucydides wrote about it), and Athens was defeated by authoritarian Sparta in the Peloponnesian Wars. I heard this on a Lawfare podcast, where David Priess (whom I’ve a lot of time for) was interviewing Tom Nichols.  I knew these facts, of course, but I hadn’t connected them in this way.  One tends to study The Classics in a rather disparate fashion, reading extracts here and there, sometimes in their original Greek or Latin, but you tend not to get the overall picture.

In other US news, Trump held a rally in Alabama, a state very badly affected by Covid 19/Delta version.  At this rally, Mo Brooks and Trump were both booed: Brooks for saying that people needed to move on from the 2020 election outcome, and Trump for saying people should get vaccinated.  On the one hand, I think it’s good that they’ve been booed (which was obviously unexpected); on the other hand, it’s really upsetting that crowds believe the big lie about the election outcome, and they believe misinformation about vaccines, some preferring to take medication for animals instead. Some hospitals in the south of America are in desperate straits, and the Federal government is sending them support and extra ventilators. You can’t get hospital care or even ambulance care at present. Of course, there’s no criticism of Joe Biden’s government for sending such aid – normal people feel real sadness and sympathy for those suffering. In Florida this morning some doctors walked off the job, it was reported on Morning Joe.

At 1:25 pm I learn that there are 41 new cases today. Of these, three are in Wellington, the rest in Auckland. The Wellington cases are linked to known cases; the rest are still being investigated and I guess information will be released as it comes to hand. It now seems an Assembly of God Church in Mangere is the basis of a growing cluster (not the Church of Christ in Freeman’s Bay). These parishioners are largely Pasifika, and have been very cooperative in assisting with contact tracing. The early Wellington cases travelled north to attend a convention in Mangere.  Rosmini College, a Catholic school on Auckland’s North Shore, held a Filipino cultural evening on Friday August 13^th; it is now a location of interest. Evidently a baby less than one year old has tested positive.  At this stage no Maori have tested positive, but 9 AUT students have; half of the current cases are under 30 years old. A Middlemore Hospital ED staffer has tested positive.  At this stage, it is still less than a  full week since the whole of NZ went into a level 4 lockdown (at midnight last Tuesday night). Now we are embroiled in a crisis, with the feeling that in Auckland, things are probably going to get worse before they get better.  The total cluster of cases in New Zealand is now 148. About half of these are Pacific Island people.

Somehow it’s been a really boring day today, despite the zoom session this morning, and the Listener magazine arriving in today’s mail.  It’s been really hard to get through the day, for some reason. There hasn’t been much news, although that’s probably a good thing.  There are still no diagnosed cases of Covid 19 apart from the majority in Auckland, and a handful in Wellington. So far there are none in Coromandel.  That is amazing, perhaps like Wellington’s recent scare, when a visitor came from Sydney for a weekend, went everywhere, and was diagnosed positive on his return (as was his partner). Yet in Wellington somehow no one caught the virus. What a strange thing it is, and although we know a great deal more about it than we did eighteen months ago, there is still a great deal we simply don’t know about this unseen, silent menace. That’s all for now. Ngā mihi.

Today is Monday August 23^rd, 2021. Kia ora, kia kaha.

This morning, early, there was an alert on my phone saying that a contractor who works at two Weta Workshops sites in Miramar had tested positive. Later, this news was withdrawn. It’s not beyond the Stuff website to stuff up, sometimes.  Meanwhile, in Auckland experts are looking at three people who used the walkway next to the Crowne Plaza Hotel’s exercise area (the Crowne Plaza Hotel is a designated MIQ spot). A Gym, a doctor’s rooms, and several KFC outlets, and a Taco Bell outlet are now locations of interest – they now number over 300.

There was a secretive political meeting in Auckland last Wednesday evening, about mass hysteria; this is thought to be a far-right group), which of course, broke the rules about staying home and limiting exposure.  There’ve also been an armed incident on the North Show, and very sadly, a child run over in a driveway. In Wellington, the Grand Mercure Hotel has now been converted to a quarantine-only facility (it was previously an isolation facility, although the language is confusing here – some overseas travelers isolated here, before entering the community. Now it is equivalent to Auckland’s Jet Park facility near Auckland Airport, where you go if you have been diagnosed with Covid 19. One wonders how the health system is coping, but they are managing record numbers of tests and vaccinations. There’ve been some stupid violations of the level 4 lockdown, but no large protests, and people seem quite ready to dob in transgressors to the police. We’re all pretty well-behaved here.

In Australia, the NZ Herald reports that NSW has 830 new cases and three deaths, and Victoria 65 (later reported as 71). That’s their news so far today.  There have been really violent protests against lockdown; on the other hand, state governors are upset with Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement that Sydney’s lockdown will be lifted when vaccination rates reach 70%. That’s a totally misleading statement, of course, seeing you can’t vaccinate children under 12, and it will take a while to vaccinate 12-16 year olds, especially in hard to reach places. The distances in Australia are vast.  In Sydney, a number of churchgoers have been fined after attending a service against the rules.  That’s a big contrast to reactions in the US, which would hold that religious freedom (for some) is the most important thing (for some). Over the weekend 204 children between 0 and 9 years were diagnosed with the virus in Sydney.

The press yesterday were, I thought, quite vicious in their attacks on the Labour Government. Of course there is the occasional stuff up, but I think they’ve adapted their practices very well to cope with the present situation. There are some saying that NZ’s health system couldn’t cope with a Sydney-like outbreak; well, hopefully it won’t have to! That’s what the current lockdown is all about. I simply cannot see how it is worthwhile to “open things up” so that we can have continuing fear and anxiety for our precious children and grandchildren. We are already on edge, but these restrictions are to keep us all safe. Today there is to be statement at 1 pm (in about ½ an hour), which will presumably include new case numbers, and a press conference at 4 pm to indicate the way forward.  A Guardian columnist has accused Prime Minister Ardern of being arrogant; how so, I wonder?  There is now a note of ridicule, rather than wonder, at NZ going to level 4 lockdown for a single case of Covid 19.  Having seen the consequences of that single case, in less than a week, I consider it a wise decision (as did most Kiwis at the time), I am expecting my Tai Chi class tomorrow morning to be cancelled, but I haven’t received a notice yet.

At 1 pm we are told that there are 35 new cases of Covid 19: two in Wellington, the rest in Auckland; so still none in Coromandel, or the Waikato, or the South Island. There are now 13,000 people considered to be contacts, and a growing list of locations of interest: including the Mobil Service Station in Wellington last Tuesday. We sometimes go there, but not on this day, or at that time. So far, that’s all we know. There’s to be a press conference at 4 pm.

At 4 pm we learn New Zealand’s fate for the next few days. The entire country is to remain at level 4 until midnight on Friday; however Auckland will remain at level 4 until midnight on Tuesday August 31^st.  Dr Bloomfield has advised Prime Minister Ardern that parliament should not be recalled  right now; consequently it has been suspended for a week.  Wastewater testing shows evidence of the virus in Auckland and Wellington, but nowhere else, at this stage, although wastewater is being tested around the country. Several contacts of Aucklanders are isolating in the South Island.

Meanwhile, information about the positive cases continues to trickle out, as does the names of new locations of interest. I read that St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland is a location of interest: fortunately our friend goes to St Matthew’s in the City, the big Anglican church. But the Auckland Art Gallery is now a location of interest, as is MacDonald’s’ in New Lynn, where a worker has tested positive.  Four more students at AUT have tested positive; an Auckland Primary School is now a location of interest, as is Green Bay High School. Oh boy, this thing just gets everywhere. There’s still some mystery as to how what is now regarded as the original case from Australia who went into MIQ in the Crowne Plaza Hotel transferred the disease. Nevertheless, most if not all the cases are genomically connected, and are the delta variant of Covid 19.  So I think there’s an acknowledgment that, frustrating as this is, we all need to be extra careful during this trying time.  Although young people are ill, no children are ill yet.

I guess there’ll be no Tai Chi class tomorrow morning – I haven’t been notified of any outdoor classes, so I will probably attend a zoom session instead. It’s my eldest grandson’s birthday tomorrow: this afternoon we dropped off a card which thankfully I’d bought him, and JD found a present for him, since the things he really wanted are on order, and unlikely to arrive any time soon.

I went shopping at New World in Newlands late this afternoon, and actually felt safer there than I did during lockdown last year. I was wearing a mask and rubber gloves; I could scan the QR code on my phone; everyone was masked and dutifully obeying the up/down directions on each aisle. However many shelves were empty, the delicatessen was closed, and I was unable to get raspberries. I was unable to get JD’s Guardian cereal (perhaps they don’t have it any more); in the absence of things I did want too buy, I resisted the urge to buy chocolate snails and other treats, but I did buy a fruit Danish pastry. The checkout operator wiped down the conveyor belt before I unloaded my trolley, and I didn’t feel rushed at all.

Are things getting any better? Every day, the locations of interest come closer: I do hope they don’t affect us directly. Everyday there are more locations of interest in Auckland, but I guess it’s some relief that there are clusters forming, and the new cases are not all completely random. What a lot or worried folk there must be in Auckland, and how they must loathe this whole business. We are all duly warned, and just want this to be over, and for the children to go back to school. This time is different. It’s cold outside, and the days are shorter. We have some food shortages in the shops, although now you can get plenty of masks, rubber gloves, and sanitiser. That’s something to be thankful for.

That’s it for now. Ngā mihi.

Today is Sunday August 22, 2021. Kia ora, kia kaha!

This morning we are told that 10,000 New Zealanders are self-isolating, being regarded as contacts of people with a positive diagnosis of Covid 19.  (Actually this number was revised downward during the day, to something closer to 8,600). There are 219  places of interest. I just learnt that a worker at Fisher and Paykel HealthCare (which manufactures certain health care devices), has tested positive for Covid 19.  I attended a service at my local church on zoom, and a family reported that they attended Countdown in Johnsonville at a time of interest, and so are isolating. It’s noteworthy that in the past the Ministry of Health was only worried about what it classified as “close” contacts. Now, if you were at a location when an infected person was there, you are at risk, and you need to ring Health Line on 0800 358 5453, self-isolate, and get advice about when and where to get tested. Even though there are 300 people answering calls, there are significant waits on the line. Actually, that’s encouraging. Kiwis are by and large willing to help. I don’t think we were complacent: you go ahead and do what you can, when you can, with care. I still think it was a good idea to have our party last Saturday evening. Kiwis are compliant in the main about taking care, being kind, taking tests and having the vaccine. Thankfully.

Over the pond, police have had to break up protests against lockdown, the most significant being a protest in Melbourne yesterday. Today’s figures for Australia aren’t out yet (at 11:33 am), which means they’re probably awful (or maybe it’s just Sunday and some Aussies are having a day off).  Meanwhile, their Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, says the Sydney lockdown will be lifted when the vaccination rate reaches 70% ! That seems really stupid, to me. There are reports of Australian school children being really badly affected. How heartless can you be? There is concern about Aboriginal folk, too. I remember that the Delta variant of Covid 19 is thought to have come here from Australia, via MIQ. The Australian government has been very cruel at times, foolish, too, in my view.  Victoria has recorded 65 new cases of the virus, with 21 of them being from Shepparton (which is having a bit of an outbreak). There are no new cases in Queensland. At 1 pm the Guardian reports there are 830 new cases in NSW. There are fears of anti-lockdown protests spreading the virus.

Here Prime Minister Ardern has warned that there are contacts of known Covid 19 cases throughout the South Island.  No cases have been identified yet in the Mainland, but I fear it’s only a matter of time. Once again, there’s no rush. We aren’t going anywhere or doing anything.   I look at the coming week’s appointments in my diary, but I expect that none of them will be happening. 

Evidently Marcus Lush, a radio host, is self-isolating in Bluff after visiting an Auckland “place of interest”.  Kiwis get about, and indeed, why wouldn’t they?

This morning’s paper is filled with appealing travel options around New Zealand – your local Bali – but by the way, we’re under lockdown here, for the entire country.  It’s even scarier to think that there might be infections in the South Island.  Meanwhile, planned events have been cancelled, or put on hold, although you can still buy tickets for Auckland’s Fashion Week August 23 – 29, 2021. Somehow, I don’t think this will be happening. There are reports of people trying to go on holiday, or rent Airbnb accommodation.  While we’ve all tried to support local tourism, this is not the time to do so. Wellington’s celebrated Visa on a plate has been put on hold. I imagine the WOW organisers will be holding their breath, wondering if this can go ahead from 30 September to 15 October this year as planned. It was cancelled last year.

We await the 1 pm news, which will give us more information (and, I hope, not more confusion).

Chris Hipkins and Dr Bloomfield attend the 1 pm Press conference.  There’ll be a 3 pm press conference tomorrow (Monday), at which there should be a decision about remaining in lockdown, with perhaps different statuses for different areas.  Sign-in will become compulsory with the event organiser being responsible for people signing in or scanning the QR code on their mobile phone. There are 21 new cases, although we’re not told where specifically. Some wastewater testing in Wellington at Moa Point has indicated the presence of coronavirus. This outbreak is significant because of the number of large organisations or gatherings involved. The Church of Christ gatherings in Freeman’s Bay are more significant as a location of interest – apparently 7 cases came from there. There are five people in hospital, none in ICU. The cases from the Crowne Plaza Hotel MIQ are considered to be part of the community cluster. We still don’t know if there are any cases in the South Island. Don’t travel unless you have to!  Maintain social distancing!  I’m sure that my upbringing in a very strict religious group has prepared me well for this. There’s plenty of vaccine, it’s still arriving regularly. You can have a six-week gap between jabs.  There is some confusion over numbers of new cases in Wellington. Apparently there are 20 new cases in Auckland and one in Wellington. The Wellington case was reported on Saturday evening, but added to Sunday’s (today’s) total, bringing the total number of cases in Wellington to six.  It’s confusing but it seems that the Wellington cases are connected to each other, after Auckland exposure, and are not seemingly random like many of the Auckland ones, popping up at quite disparate locations in Auckland.  That’s a relief.

JD’s family in Australia want to have a phone get-together this afternoon. In my experience, these can be rather frustrating link ups, but I’m prepared to give this a go. Actually some of us hooked up, and had a great chat. One of my sons rang, and we had a good talk. He is enjoying lockdown! So that’s a relief.

Late-afternoon there are reports that a third AUT (Auckland University of Technology) student has tested positive (I didn’t know there’d been a second).  Let’s hope that future cases are limited to the known locations of interest in Auckland. From now on, it’s compulsory to sign in to any location, or to scan the QR code. This makes good sense. Some adjustments have been made, and I think the government’s response has been quite amazing. We only found out that there was an infected case in the community on Tuesday afternoon, August 17th! That’s not even a week ago! Now almost 10,000 people are isolating, and there are many locations of interest. The list is growing – as at Sunday afternoon it was 280. It’s very helpful to be able to access this easily, and to have the dates and times affected.

Some Countdown supermarkets have closed in order to do a “deep clean”, whatever that means. 

Some lovely photos of our party have come through. That’s a big thrill, I worried that we wouldn’t have a photographic record of it.

I’m pleased we celebrated while we could. That’s it for today. Ngā mihi.

Today is Saturday August 21^st, 2021. Kia ora, kia kaha!

Today it’s fine, after a very cold start. But it’s nice to have a fine day. Already teddy bears are appearing in people’s windows. Several folk are out walking in the sunshine.

I went shopping early this afternoon, hoping to get bread that I like. And I did – a loaf of Vogel bread, and one of Mohlenberg (I could have got Freya’s Roggenbrot, which I also rather like). The store was quite busy, and the distancing stickers have been put out again. All staff and shoppers were masked.  It is a tad annoying to get everything out of one’s trolley, only to put it back in again. Shopping is really different under lock down: one tends to buy whatever one can, not wanting to go shopping very often at present. I also noticed that, as last year, coffee beans were really scarce, so  I felt fully justified in buying more expensive ones.  I also bought eggs, tinned food, and more toilet paper (yes, I fear we are down to our last half dozen rolls! I wouldn’t want to run out!). We were both hungry, but I didn’t buy a ready-made roll, I felt that was a bit risky. I did buy a sultana scone. It  had been cooked!

There isn’t so much news today. At 1 pm it was reported there were 21 new community cases of covid 19, three in Wellington and 18 in Auckland.  One of the Wellington cases is a student from Auckland who flew to Wellington to be with family, and tested positive. More locations of interest have been published: these presumably include service stations along the way between Auckland and Wellington (in Tokoroa, Waiouru and Bulls); a second student has tested positive from AUT; a dental centre in Glenfield is a location of interest, as are St Pierre’s Sushi at one entrance to the Johnsonville Shopping Centre, a Countdown store in Newtown, and the large Pak’N ’Save store in Kilbirnie. More locations visited by the Miramar case are still to be published.  Meanwhile, there’s not much news as yet about the 21 new community cases The list of locations of interest keeps  growing,  although the Government is now pretty sure that the original Delta case came in through MIQ, and consequently they have taken some early sites off the list. Oh, and one infected student of Auckland University attended a Ball with 500 students present. And the other party celebrating at the Spark Arena in Auckland was Bayleys’ Real Estate. By now thousands of people must be self-isolating, and trying to get a Covid test. Additional testing sites have been set up .Apparently an Auckland  bus driver has now tested positive. That’s hardly surprising. Late on Saturday night I learn that a Sky City employee has tested positive for Covid 19, and a member of the Pukekohe High Scholl staff, as has a student at Western Springs College. This virus certainly gets around. I am thinking of a nephew of ours who lives in Auckland with his wife and three young children. I do hope they’re all right. The other people I know are mostly older folk, who would not get around so much; also, this Delta virus seems to be hitting young people much harder this time; when we had it badly, almost eighteen months ago, it was older people who were mainly affected. All the deaths from the virus in New Zealand were of older folk.

We knew about the Sky City Casino exposure; that a bus driver is infected is hardly surprising, although he was driving in the Onehunga area; a Sky TV worker based at Mt Wellington has been diagnosed positive. There are cases popping up all over Auckland, which is very alarming. The Honourable Grant Robertson warned this morning that things will get worse before they get better, but this is ridiculous!  This virus must spread so easily.  I just hope there are no locations of interest identified where we’ve been there at the date and time specified. I fear for those who came to our party last Saturday night: was it really only a week ago?  It seems like ages now. The warm glow it left has largely worn off.

In Australia, Victoria has recorded 77 new cases; NSW has a whopping 825 new infections. ACT has 8 new cases.  It must get to a point when you have so many cases that contact tracing and location tracking become rather pointless: already people are affected, and are isolating, at 6 large Auckland schools, two universities, the Spark Arena, the Sky City Casino, and several large supermarkets.  When will this peak?

The press today is rather unruly. Commentators have gone from everything’s reasonable and wise to things are terrible and there are many complaints. I realise this is annoying, but for the most part this is being very well managed. If one gets caught up in feeling hard done by, I think you have to be kind and nice and acknowledge that most people are doing their best, be they shop workers or medical staff. It’s anxious and frustrating for them too.  Really, the more we all play our part and behave nicely, the sooner this will be over (one hopes). A few mistakes are bound to be made.

The situation in Afghanistan remains challenging, with harrowing sights at Kabul Airport still, and reports of the Taliban torturing and killing people.  President Biden has made another speech on television, and been accused of not taking enough responsibility, or showing enough empathy. He mentioned in his latest speech that his son Beau (who later died of cancer), served there. That must have been an anxious and terrifying time for him, and his father. From listening to podcasts today, the general view seems to be that the war was unwinnable, lacked a clear objective, and cost a very great deal of taxpayer money; on the other hand, contractors to the military did quite well out of it. Remember when Betsy de Vos’s brother, Erik Prince, wanted to send a private army there? I bet he intended to charge the US government a great deal of money. It seems that Trump and his allies (like Mike Pompeo and Stephen Miller) made several very unsavoury deals with the Taliban, and had thwarted efforts to approve specialist visas for those who had helped the Americans. Biden inherited this mess, and is now being blamed, unfairly to some degree, for it.  It does seem to me, however, that a better effort should have been made to ensure the safe evacuation of those who were entitled to leave Afghanistan.  Evidently helicopters are being used to fly people from some of the more remote areas in Afghanistan to Kabul Airport, also to convey people to the Airport and thus avoid the Taliban-controlled checkpoints. It seems very sad that not only will this be a tragedy for many who wish to leave, but it may cast a blight on Joe Biden’s presidency, as if Delta weren’t doing that already. Joe, we’re rooting for you!  My friends and I! 

That’s it for now. I’m sure there’ll be more sad news tomorrow. Ngā mihi.

Today is Friday August 20^th, 2021, third day of our snap level 4 lockdown. Kia ora. My home help has been cancelled, which is hardly surprising.

This morning my computer is going very slowly indeed. I’m typing this in Word, but it’s taken ages for Word to open. Fortunately I have the news on my phone. My computer is not multi-tasking at present.

There’s lots of news this morning. Don’t get bored yet! We may be in for a long haul, back to the anxieties of March 2020, when New Zealand was subsumed by a rash of cases of Covid 19. I remember chafing at restrictions, and then being thankful for them. You just have to get into a different gear. Once again, I am thankful not to have young children, or active teenagers, or even a boarder at home.

Early this morning I learnt more news. The school pupils at Northcote and Lynfield Colleges were part of the community cluster; but their close contacts, or even peripheral contacts, are all regarded as being at risk; think of their families, too, their sports, and whatever transport they may have used.

Also I learnt early this morning that someone has tested positive (22^nd community case) who went to the Emergency Room at North Shore Hospital, and then went to Waitakere Hospital. Consequently the Emergency Room at North Shore Hospital has been closed, begging the question: if you are sick, where do you go?  Auckland is huge, covering a large distance. We also learnt that a staff member at Auckland’s NZ Post Mail Centre in Highbrook has tested positive.

Then at 11 am the stuff website announced that there are probably 2-3 cases of Covid 19 in Wellington. The new totals are to be announced at the 1 pm news briefing, where the “Dynamic Duo” are set for another series of their rather absorbing reality show.  That’s absorbing, of course, if you’re safely out of contention for having the coronavirus. But it’s getting closer and closer. Wellington! That’s scary.

My cousin just rang from her home in Seatoun. She says that the new cases are not yet confirmed, but are thought to be in Miramar and Johnsonville. That is getting very close to our homes, seeing that I live in Churton Park.  Apparently the Government’s decision about lockdowns is set to be announced at 3 pm. My computer is still playing up. I’ve had to create a new document, and I can’t look at any other site. I can’t reboot, either. My computer’s time is stuck on 11:06 am.

Testing and vaccinations are to be ramped up in Wellington. I’m due to get my second jab next Monday – in Johnsonville. Cheers for that! I should have stuck to Plan A, which was to have Jab 2 last Tuesday. Then, on the other hand, I might have picked up Covid, given that stricter protocols weren’t in place. At midday the NZ Herald reports that there are at least 30 cases of Covid in the community, including in Wellington, and that the lockdown is to be extended. Well, frankly, I’d now be upset if it weren’t. In Auckland, 5 vaccination centres have been closed and the staff directed to help at overrun testing sites. There are reports of people frustrated at having to queue for testing, but hey, they’re in their cars, they can listen to the radio or spend time with their phone, and when did traffic in Auckland ever not have to queue? Dr Bloomfield always expresses confidence that everything can be taken care of, and expresses amazement that this may not be so in reality (“Oh, is that right? I haven’t heard that”).

In Australia, 55 new cases have been reported in Victoria (that’s slightly down from 57 yesterday). Our local situation, together with what’s happening across the Tasman Sea, has distracted us from the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan. It’s later reported that NSW recorded 642 (644 according to The Guardian newspaper)  new cases, and four deaths.

As it turned out, there was no “presser” (as the Americans call them) at 1 pm, but there will be one at 3 pm.  Instead, there was to be an announcement from the Ministry of Health at 1 pm, which eventually turned up. It confirmed that there are in fact three new cases of Covid 19 in Wellington, and 8 in Auckland, bringing today’s released total to 11 (the same as yesterday). It turns out that of the Wellington cases, two of them are in the same household, and the three of them all went to Auckland, to a location of interest (the casino, perhaps?)  I only ever visited the casinos at Christchurch, Auckland and Nice once, and found them to be desperately sad places.

I think that’s all we know about the new Wellington cases, at this stage. Oh, and by the way, Sir Michael Cullen has died of cancer, at 78. He just had a memoir published. He was a great statesman and Minister of Finance, and his skills are sorely missed. I reflect on this loss. Isn’t it strange how, during lockdown and a time of fear, one gets lazier and hungrier. I will have to go shopping again sometime soon.

My eldest grandson has told us what he’d  like for his birthday, and I’ve ordered these things online. I was going to wait for the 3 pm press conference, but given that there are confirmed cases in Wellington, I doubt that our lockdown will be lifted just yet. I fear the presents won’t come in time for his birthday – I wish I’d got them last Tuesday before we knew this dreadful news.

We just had the 3 pm press conference. Once again, I marvel at Prime Minister Ardern’s ability to communicate without showing any frustration with some of the journalists’ rather silly questions. With Dr Bloomfield, she performs very well, with the right amount of gratitude, information, and a “please be sensible” attitude.

The whole of New Zealand is to stay at Level 4 until midnight on Tuesday. There will be a press conference on Monday to indicate which areas, if any, might go to a lower level. Today, there are again 11 new community cases, this time 8 in Auckland and 3 in Wellington. These three (two of them are in the same “bubble”) all visited Auckland, two of them flying back, and the other driving, visiting four (!) petrol stations en route, and cafés, etc. Locations of interest are to be advised on the Ministry of Health website. Of course, as the PM pointed out, the sites have to be notified first, before they are published. So that’s that, then. No movies, no church on Sunday, no cafés.  Severe boredom continues.

It turns out that one Wellington person went to an Awards dinner in Auckland at the Spark Arena held on August 12, That does seem rather a long time ago, although, of course, many would have been there.

A local location of interest has also been published: a sushi shop in Porirua – One Sushi at North City Porirua’s Food Court on Tuesday August 17. Oh dear, you think you’re safe, but perhaps not so safe.

I listened to the Rachel Maddow Show. In the US, three senators have tested positive for Covid 19: Roger Wicker, Angus King, and John Hickenlooper. They had all been vaccinated. Vaccination no longer seems to be the magic bullet that we had hoped for. Countries like Israel which had a high rate of vaccination now have high case numbers and deaths. In Alabama, there is a quite desperate situation with more sick people than the medical system can cope with. More and more young people are getting ill very quickly with Covid 19 than previously. There is genuine fear everywhere about children in schools. On one podcast I listened to, a doctor predicted that this pandemic would be with us for three years. It’s already been almost two: perhaps the end is in sight? Or will this always be with us?

I just received a text advising me that my Monday booking for my second jab has been cancelled, and asking me to book again. I can’t rebook until September 15th, some time away. That is just so annoying! Don’t they know that I have a myriad of medical conditions?

We certainly live in interesting times. Nga mihi.

PS as I get ready to go to bed, there is more news. Several locations of interest in Johnsonville have been named, and I can safely report that we went to none of them. None of them are places I would normally go to, and they’re not in the Shopping Centre. The Countdown supermarket in Johnsonville is the one in Johnsonville Road, not the one in the Johnsonville Shopping Centre, where I sometimes go. An Air NZ flight from Auckland to Wellington between 5 and 6 pm on Sunday August 15 is named; we were at Wellington Airport, having coffee with friends, but they were flying to Auckland; we would have been well out of the Airport before that flight arrived. We were there the next day, however.

There is more news from Auckland, too. An Auckland University student has tested positive, who flew home to Wellington on Wednesday (by which time we were all in lockdown, and I didn’t go anywhere). Students from, two more Auckland Colleges have also tested positive: one from De La Salle College, and one from McAuley High School. Hilary Barry is isolating – she MC’d the big dinner at the Spark Arena last week, where a bar worker has tested positive. There are now over 130 locations of interest, in Auckland, Coromandel, and Wellington. This outbreak has tentacles which spread out wider and wider. I fear that soon there’ll be so many people isolating that there’ll be few left to “man the pumps”, i.e. offer essential services like food, medicines, petrol, vaccines or tests. It is an offence not to self-isolate if you were at one of the locations of interest at the specified time; you’re required to follow the instructions given. Some institutions have already closed, or are open for fewer hours. I’m sure there’ll be more news tomorrow morning. In the meantime, go well, and be at peace.