Today is Monday May 11^th. Kia ora katoa! Kia kaha!

Everything is starting to be noisier here. This morning I hear a plane go over. There is noise of rubbish collection, but then, you would expect that on a Monday.

I wonder about the weekend update from Hohepa, and get JD to forward it. For some reason, I didn’t receive it. Never mind, it is very good, as always. Under level 2 they are cautiously going to reopen the school and the workshops, but will not use public transport, or go to their usual activities; the shop will remain closed.

JD has a zoom meeting at 2:30 pm. He asks to borrow my PC. I have got used to some of the intricacies of zoom, however this requires me to run around finding passwords and then getting a code on my phone to be passed on. In the meantime, I read more of my Stalingrad book, and some old LRB’s – about Wuhan, the plague in Florence from 1629 – 1631, and the 2020 campaign for a Democratic nominee to the Presidency..

We are waiting for the Prime minister’s announcement at 4 pm as to whether New Zealand will go to level 2 on Thursday. Meantime, I listen to a podcast about the strange new silence. The author misses the sounds of activity, of traffic, of busy-ness. Meanwhile, I enjoy the peace and quiet, as I think many do here. We are grateful to have much less noise, so even the half-hourly empty bus that goes past is noticeable.

What else is news? The US death total has passed 80,000.  Trump has certainly made America First, in this race. The rest of us pity the US even more than previously. Trump urges states to re-open, even as their cases of infection are rising.  In the UK, Boris Johnson eases the lockdown, but causes huge confusion there and opposition elsewhere. Interestingly, he (or someone) has combed his hair for this announcement, so he looks more presentable than usual. Sadly, his announcement is met with scorn and derision.

Today, in New Zealand, there are three new cases, bringing the total to 1497. Two patients are in hospital, none in Intensive Care.

At 4 pm Jacinda Ardern gives a press briefing, along with Dr Bloomfield. She announces that New Zealand will move to level 2 on Thursday, but physical distancing is still required and strict attention to hygiene. Schools will reopen on 18 May, and bars on 21 May. On Thursday, shops, cinemas, gyms, and playgrounds can reopen.  So that’s huge, and I expect some re-thinking will be going on, as local authorities and others decide just how to open safely.

Gatherings of up to 10 (not 100) are permitted, but I think you’re still required (as always) to use your own discretion as regards safety, bearing in mind the potential attendees, and the venue. People can travel locally, again.

I imagine that cinemas, libraries, public transport, and caterers, to name a few, will be thinking about just how they can lure back their loyal customers, and assure them that they will be safe using their facilities again.

This afternoon we go for a walk to the local supermarket. While the “rules” are still in place, each day (we now shop daily again, instead of weekly), everyone seems much more relaxed, there are even more smiles, and fewer masks worn. On the way, I notice two red rosebuds, and I determine to pick them when we return. At the store, I buy raspberries, feijoas, and plums again! In May! There is also a new Economist available (just two copies). I buy one. I wonder what happened to the missing ones? I also buy a packet of face masks to send to my son in the UK.

I figure it’s a good thing if the lockdown is lifted before my asthma gets bad again, as it usually does in autumn, with consequent coughing and difficulty breathing. I wouldn’t want to alarm anyone with my symptoms!

In many countries now, there are infected workers in meat processing plants. This has turned out to be a very vulnerable area. In New Jersey, there have been 72 deaths at a Home for Veterans. Don’t these lives matter too? We also heard tonight that Vice-President Mike Pence will self-isolate “out of an abundance of caution”. Reading between the lines, one surmises that the White House is a very scary place to work right now.

The University of Washington has revised its model to predict 137,000 deaths from Covid 19 in the US by August 1^st. This figure has been revised upwards from May 4^th. The main reason for this projected increase is increased mobility, i.e. more states relaxing stay-at-home orders, and people moving within and between states, as well as a continuous increase in the numbers of people infected.

Late today, the figures for the US are as follows: 1,367,963  infections, and 80,787 deaths. For the UK, there have been 219,183 infections and 31,855 deaths. There is a story of Greek people getting their loved ones to return to Greece from England, on the grounds that they’d be safer in Greece. How right they were. They (and others) wonder at how the British have messed this crisis up so badly. Their death toll outstripped that of Italy some days ago, having already beaten those of Spain and France (which were initially, and remain, horrifying). Their respective priorities, Build that Wall, and Get Brexit Done, seem more than ever like vanity projects that faced significant opposition at home and abroad, and ignored other priorities. Both their supposed strengths have been subsumed in these ridiculous other crises, while their leaders, in spite of scientific and medical advice, continued to ignore the rising threat of this pandemic, to their economy, and their people. Now they do know, but mismanagement and chaos continue.

Rising cases in Russia cause concern (they are close to coming second to the US  in the world for infections), although their deaths have yet to catch up; the rate of death amongst the numbers infected is different from country to country, e.g. 6.5 % in the US, and 15% in the UK.  And also, the UK ordered a large number of gowns from Turkey, and they’re no use. Figures in Brazil also cause concern – 162,699 infected and 11,123 deaths; and Belgium has 53,449 infections and 8,707 deaths. Food for thought.

I reiterate how fortunate we have been in New Zealand to have kept the coronavirus totals so low, and to be in a position to gradually open things up again. I do hope we don’t get a second wave here, although I fear as travel becomes more common again, that the course of this virus will be very hard to manage. I hope that is still some way off, and that there’ll be much less of it.

Tonight we watched Tea With the Dames on Maori Television, with a wonderful clip of Dame Judi Dench in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and the final episode of Normal People.  The music for today is a song from that play, “Where the Bee sucks”.

I’ll be back again tomorrow.  Nga mihi nui.

Prospero says, The Tempest, Act IV, Scene 1:

You do look, my son, in a moved sort,
As if you were dismay’d: be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and

Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep. 

Today is Sunday, May 10^th.

It is Mothers’ Day. While I don’t agree with the commercialisation of Mother’s Day, there was certainly something rather strange about this one. JD wished me a Happy Mothers’ Day, and my daughter rang from Hohepa to wish me well (she sent a letter, too), none of my four sons did so. Three of them are married, and three of them have children. I doubt that my daughters-in-law forgot their own mothers. So this feels very strange. As I grew older, and became unable to work, these anniversaries began to seem much more important than they used to. I always used to be busy. Now I have much more time to brood.

The day was odd in other ways, too. I did the washing, hung some things up, and put others in the drier. I went shopping, and bought some fresh bread (it was almost all gone), an avocado (a treat at $3.99 each), and some chocolates. Then I made a sandwich for lunch, put the sandwich things away, prepared dinner, cleared that away. I prepared my own breakfast, too. As I said goodnight, my husband said Thanks for a good day. For whom, I wonder?

Which lives matter?

I listened to a number of podcasts during the day. Most of them concerned an interesting question in these times – Just which lives matter? The rest concern the shock of Michael Flynn’s turnaround. There are outlines of what happened, in legal terms; but it seems to come down to the fact that he lied to the FBI, about his conversation with Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US, about the sanctions imposed by President Obama for Russia’s interference in the US presidential election.  He also acted for Turkey, when this was illegal. So why did he lie about these things?

There are continued reports about meat processing plants, having diagnosed cases of Covid 19, and now some deaths. A female judge was heard saying “But they aren’t regular folk”! This tells you a lot about American attitudes to those they consider beneath them, or sub-human..

I listen to a podcast about Amazon reminding me how mean Jeff Bezos continues to be. I’m reminded personally when I can’t read interesting articles in the Washington Post. I knew that working conditions in Amazon warehouses are very poor, with staff working very hard, very long hours at minimum wage, and discouraged from taking bathroom breaks. The customer has an amazingly good experience, with the purchasing website being easy to use, and items being well packed and delivered on time. Staff are discouraged from joining a union, and from speaking out about climate change fears, or Covid 19 fears. Some warehouse staff have tested positive for Covid 19, but others have not been informed, although they work huddled together. Staff aren’t even permitted to take leave without pay; staff working in warehouses don’t have their health insurance paid by their employer, and they don’t have paid sick leave.  This sounds truly dreadful, and it’s not as if the richest man in the world can’t afford to be kinder to his staff. The techies live in a different world, of course, with better pay and more employee perks.

Jeff Bezos, who could be a leader, both as an employer, and in terms of climate change, chooses not to. The banner for the Washington Post reads “Democracy Dies in Darkness”. It sounds nice, but what does that even mean?

I read this morning that South Korea has chosen to close 2,100 bars and clubs, owing to a new outbreak of Covid 19.

I am rereading Barbara Tuchman’s “A Distant Mirror”. Sadly, it seems that those who survived the Back Death did not go on to be model citizens. Although there’d been examples of great kindness and self-lessness shown, the survivors for the most part demonstrated some of the worst aspects of humanity. Nevertheless, those who survived to tell the tale are our ancestors. There was a lot of talk of a “miasma”, of stale and fetid air potentially carrying the disease.  It’s interesting nowadays that while this virus is probably airborne, falling rates of pollution have shown the true beauty of places like Delhi, and we have marvelled at photos of Venice and St Peter’s in Rome without the tourists.

I listen to another podcast talking about the Biblical plagues of Egypt (refer yesterday’s hornets and locusts).  It’s pointed out that Trump could have made big money by getting masks made in read, like his MAGA hats in China. He’s chosen not to, or perhaps he hasn’t thought of this. In the US, Trump seems to have given up on the rush to a vaccine. Meanwhile, in the US, Asian-Americans are in the receiving end of anti-Chinese sentiment. Meanwhile, the heads of the CDC and the FDA and Dr Fauci are in self-quarantine after being exposed to someone who tested positive for Covid 19. That is very scary; these folk, although limited in their ability to speak, are highly valued.

Today I have not followed any of the statistics, either here or in the US or UK, as I usually do. I believe there are two new cases of coronavirus here.

The headlines shriek about the arrogance of Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government, while some are saying we should not go to level 2. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we are learning more about the potentially horrific effects of Covid 19, from the long recovery time, and perhaps you will never recover your previous strength and stamina; to the deaths of some children, with different but dreadful symptoms; and to the effects on those who spent time on a ventilator.

I have had some personal experience of this. I was in a coma for several days; was kept anaesthetised; had various surgeries, some unsuccessful; and, eventually was awake more than I was asleep. During that time I had all kinds of dreams, not of being attacked, but back to a world of my childhood. I also had flashes of reality – the swelling of a blood pressure cuff, having my mouth swabbed for thrush, being hoisted onto a bedpan, wondering why I wasn’t consulted about whatever was being done to me. I just wanted to escape into the new dream world that had become my reality. I dreamt one night that I had short-term memory loss, and I thought this was something I should hide from everyone.

When I came around, although this took some time, and there wasn’t a Eureka moment, I couldn’t really do anything: I couldn’t speak, couldn’t swallow, had to ingest pureed food and thickened water (which I loathed), couldn’t move – even to pick up something which had dropped, or to put another blanket over me. I was always cold, and I threw up, spontaneously. I couldn’t sit up, either: after my shower each morning, I was supposed to sit in a chair for a while. I learnt after a while to ask the nurse to leave the call button and blankets within reach. I would try to “sit up” for an hour, before collapsing back into bed in some discomfort. I grew tired of doing the quite easy Dom Post crossword. I had bad double vision. This became easier to manage after a nurse brought me an eye patch.

Things could only get better from here.  But there was enormous distress. Nobody understood what had happened to me, much less me. Counselling? Forget about it. Your entire life has just changed. You’re still alive! Life can be very difficult.  One of the difficulties is that no one knows how long recovery will take, or to what extent one will recover. I learnt, after some time, that medical people don’t know how you feel: they can say you have “balance issues”, or chronic fatigue, or some extent of double vision, but everything varies, and many things aren’t visible, for example, the sometimes constant nausea, the weariness, being too tired to speak or read, the fact that one’s mind is racing, much of the time, while my body, sadly, says No!

I miss feeling grounded, as I used to, no matter how tired I was. My head feels “weird” much of the time. I have described three aspects of this: my head feels like a balloon on a string, my body feels like a ship at sea, and then there’s the vertigo, which generally occurs if I roll over in bed or look or reach up, or down.  I also feel like one of those balls with things rattling around, randomly, insde them.

When Chris Cuomo says that this disease “messes with your head”, I can understand what he means, but he wasn’t hospitalised with breathing problems.  I see staff rejoicing and clapping when a Covid 19 patient leaves a hospital, but for this fortunate person, the journey is just beginning. I remember when I saw a documentary about the Boston Marathon bombings, and the dreadful injuries caused there, that some “victims” accepted what had happened to them far better than others, who have ongoing grief and pain, and regret for the lives they used to lead. I realised then that I, too, had PTSD. Panic attacks, delirium and depression are commonly suffered, too.

I understand, and sympathise, with the pain some are enduring. While you are glad to be alive, it is hard to adjust to a new normality, especially when normal expectations are not met. Most people’s financial situation becomes much worse during such a crisis. Others don’t necessarily recognise what you’ve been through, and how hard it can be to adjust. Everyone wants you to be as you were before!  And, of course, you do, too, more than anything!  But there is hidden trauma, that no one else really understands.

Well, it’s been good to write about that. What strange things come to mind, during this strange and interesting time. It is good that nothing much is required of me, at this time. I am still enjoying the “Stalingrad” book. That, too, seems very prescient, seeing as the Russian people lived through a time of great crisis.

What music is special today? More Chopin, I think – his Piano Concerto No.2.

Nga mihi nui

Today is Saturday May 9^th. Again it is fine, after a beautiful day yesterday, but a very cold night. Winter is definitely coming, but we appreciate the sunshine, especially as Vitamin D is so good for us.

This morning I learn the following:

• One of Mike Pence’s aides has been diagnosed positive with Covid 19. (Yesterday it was one of Trump’s aides. Pence’s aide is Stephen Miller’s wife).
• A meat processing plant in Germany has been affected by Covid 19, causing Angela Merkel to pull back on some of the relaxations.
• Hornets are causing problems in the US, decapitating bees, which play a vital role in pollination.  In Japan the bees have found a way to fight back against this enemy, but it continues to cause damage in the US.
• Another, second, plague of locusts is threatening crops and devastation in Africa.

The newspaper does a lot of to-ing and fro-ing. Today, most stories and letters are upbeat about New Zealand’s progress against Covid 19, which has been severe, but warranted.  After all, economies the world over have been severely impacted by various kinds of lock down, whether or not they were also dealing with many cases of illness and death. One letter suggests Dr Bloomfield should receive a knighthood: “Arise, Sir Ashley”, the headline reads. Another article calls for respect for the Covid 19 deaths, 21 so far, pointing out that these probably would not have happened, and not in such circumstances, were it not for the pandemic. While New Zealand’s death toll is thankfully low, these people were all special to family members and friends, who would like to have been able to mourn their passing in a more friendly way.

Businesses are upbeat about reopening, safely, and working out just how they do that. Sport has taken a beating, as it would in any crisis, and surely this has been a big and unforeseen crisis.

There are two new cases of Covid 19 here today, but one is a “probable”, now confirmed, so that adds just one to the total, now 1490. The confirmed case is linked to an existing cluster. There are three patients in hospital, none in Intensive Care. Four clusters have been closed.  There is a nice video on 7 Sharp about “Laura’s Cinema”, virtual, of course.

In the afternoon we go for a walk, and, surprisingly, queue up to go shopping. It’s as though the All Blacks are playing somewhere!  I then realise it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow.

The 11 am figures are as follows: the US has 1,321,785 infected, and 78,615 deaths. The UK has 211,364 cases of infection, and (officially) 31,421 deaths. The US total represents a death rate of 6%, the UK one of 15%.  A steep rise in the cases in Russia is causing concern, now 187,859. Sweden has a 12% death rate. The jury is still out over whether Sweden’s much more relaxed approach to the virus has been a good thing or not. Evidently the US, far from trying to get testing accurate and widespread, has now abandoned it in many areas, as more governors urge businesses to re-open. CDC guidelines are being ignored. Contact tracing, earlier strongly encouraged, would be little use now since people can go to so many places, whereas here in New Zealand one can remember where one went and what one did – contact tracing should be relatively straight forward.

Yesterday I found my copy of Barbara Tuchman’s 1978 book, “A Distant Mirror – The Calamitous 14^th Century”, and I’m determined to reread the whole thing. I went first to her chapter on the Black Death, and it makes very ominous reading. It does seem to have been much more severe than Covid 19, but it wiped out huge numbers of people, and in some places society broke down – the norms of “essential services” such as sanitation and collection of bodies stopped happening.  It was devastating. In this disaster, poor people tended to fare worse, but this disease affected all people very badly. Somehow, all our forebears survived!  We are thankful here in New Zealand that Maori and pacific people have not, to date, suffered worse.  I wonder how Aboriginal people in Australia are getting on.

Last night we spoke to our son in the UK. He looks and sounds very well. They cannot get masks there, so we will send some, now we that can post things. This morning, my daughter ran, and we had a lovely letter and drawings from her.

The music today is one of Chopin’s Nocturnes, the Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, OP 9, No. 1.

Nga mihi nui.

Today is Friday May 8^th. Kia ora katoa! Kia kaha. It is a lovely fine day, and it’s one of my granddaughters’ 5^th birthday.

The knives are out. No one (well, hardly anyone) is satisfied with the government’s swift actions. There is talk of human rights violations, and of suing Dr Bloomfield.  This morning’s newspaper content reminds me of how previously I sought to avoid New Zealand politics. So what does level 2 mean, exactly? I think it means use your common sense. Think about your loved ones, family and friends. Be respectful to other people.  If you get sick, of anything, who will look after you? Whom will you pass an infectious disease on to? What makes sense, in the new environment? Many of us have always been cautious. Under level 2, it makes good sense to be extra cautious.

The points that strike me first this morning are the following:

• Michael Flynn’s case is to be lifted by the US Department of Justice (he admitted lying to the FBI).  This continues to cause huge shockwaves.
• One of Trump’s aides has tested positive for Covid 19.
• In Russia the oligarchs are taking over.
• The official line is now that the US numbers of deaths and infections have been overstated.
• China reports that Covid 19 has been found in the semen of infected men.

I listen to Dr John’s daily briefing before my phone conks out (I have been having trouble charging it, lately, and, when charged, it doesn’t last long). He makes the point that, regardless of socio-economic conditions, black people and ethnic minorities are four times more likely to die of this virus than white people.  There is a formal report (ONS) on this issue.

There is still no vaccine, no reliable antibody tests, no effective treatment for the coronavirus. Some otherwise fit and healthy people become very ill and die. If you have trouble breathing, and are put on a ventilator, the odds of recovery are not great – about 9/10 don’t recover. It looks as though it will be around for a long time – perhaps always. Even if New Zealand largely eliminates it, it will still be overseas, probably prevalent in some countries.

It seems to me that during wartime (and this is a war, albeit against an unseen, persistent and pernicious enemy), you have to accept some privations. Many see their military sons and daughters go far away, leaving behind parents, spouses, children and other loved ones, only to die alone overseas, whether by enemy of friendly fire. During World War 2 many English children were evacuated: how terrifying must that have been, for parents, children, and their (sometimes reluctant) hosts? They also endured rationing, which persisted until well after the war. Privations such as power outages continued for some time, while enemy countries such as Germany and Japan, and allies such as the US, and Australia and New Zealand, enjoyed financial success and rebuilt their economies. Victory came at a very heavy price for the United Kingdom.

What we have endured here is nothing compared to those privations. It has been hard, but to have all but eliminated the virus seems a big achievement, when other countries are accepting that they will have some deaths, many sick people, as well as a devastated economy. Whichever way you turn, easing up or imposing more stringent regulations, most nations have to accept Covid 19 affecting some if not many of its people, and the subsequent heavy demand on whatever health services they have, and consequent deaths.

Last night I read about Barbara Tuchman’s book about the 14^th century, “A Distant Mirror”. I have read this book, but dismissed it as being somewhat ancient history. It now seems incredibly relevant. Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower, has also written a novel about a pandemic: “The End of October”. It seems very timely now, although it was researched and written before Covid 19 took hold.

It also strikes me that a crisis brings out the best in many people, showing an amazing degree of kindness and selflessness, but it has also brought out the worst in some. That would include:

• Financial bailouts  for cruise lines, airlines and other examples of big business, from money that is supposed to help people in real need;
• In Russia and in Italy the oligarchs and the Mafia have taken advantage of this crisis situation.
• Increased domestic violence in many countries.
• Mental health issues, especially anxieties and obsessive compulsive disorder.
• Difficulty in handling naturally occurring traumatic situations, such as death or divorce.
• Many support networks for older and more vulnerable people unable to operate as they used to.
• Elimination of democratic principles and intrusions into one’s privacy to monitor health of individuals and societies. I will have more to say about this.

Some of the good things include:

• Parents seeing more of their children, not less
• Fathers enjoying playing with their children and sharing domestic tasks.
• Families cooking together.
• Much less consumerism.
• Lack of air pollution – skies are clear again, and streets are empty.
• The environment has surely benefited from the lock downs.
• People being creative about showing things online.
• Lack of obsessions that many used to have – many things we used to think were so important don’t really matter now.
• Some people taking pay cuts.
• Smiles and waves.
• Individuals  moving into bubbles of vulnerable folk such as the elderly or my daughter. Hohepa have been truly amazing, and goodness knows, they have challenging situations to deal with.

I am sure I have omitted other instances, both of scams, and kindness.

At am the figures are as follows: the US has 1,292,987 infections, and 76,942 deaths. The UK has 206,715 infections and (officially) 30, 615 deaths.

Today, my cleaner comes again. What a relief! It is great to see him. We miss the 1 pm briefing, but there are two new cases of Covid 19, and no deaths. One of the cases is a nurse who had been looking after St Margaret’s rest home patients at Waitakere Hospital. The other one is confirmation of a previously probable case, so the total rises by one to 1490.

We are so fortunate to be safe in this country, with strong leadership. Many of us have loved ones overseas, and while we pray for them, they don’t need to worry about us.  No one here should go hungry, or be without medical care.

I, for one, appreciate the steps that have been taken at our local supermarket. There is always someone at the door to greet you and allow you in; you’re not permitted to take bags into the store (this took some getting used to, as previously we had got used to taking reusable bags), and they’ve taken more trouble to wrap individual items and take doors off the self-service cabinet. It’s nice to shop there, and you feel fairly safe.  I am looking forward to having the checkout person pack my goods again, though – I do find it hard to load everything back into the trolley, wheel it outside, and then pack my bags.

This afternoon we are due to have a special afternoon tea with our granddaughter who turns five today. We are honoured to be part of her lovely family’s bubble. This is the first time we’ve interacted with family (not at a distance) since before the level 4 lockdown began on 25 March. We are so honoured to be part of her special day. She has missed (thus far) her last day at kindergarten, and starting school is still a bit of a blur. The children are very affectionate. With us being adult, and them being quite small, they can hug us again. It is good to share experiences together in person.  We agree that we haven’t missed inappropriate advertisements for clothes and travel and things you used to be able to buy at all!

The music for today has to be the Birthday Song.  Nga mihi nui.

Today is Thursday May 7^th.  This morning we have a singing session using Zoom at 10:30. So there isn’t a whole lot of time to muck around (or read the newspaper), given that getting ready and moving and starting up the computer takes a while.

What I do learn is the following:

• Countries who seek to ease lock down restrictions are by and large experiencing more coronavirus infections and deaths; they are then faced with the conundrum of accepting this (wave 2?) or re-imposing some form of social distancing, which may be a hard sell to their people.
• In most countries large cities are first hit very hard, then the virus spreads to the rural areas.
• There continue to be concerns about children catching Covid 19 and presenting with unexpected symptoms.
• Trump’s coronavirus task force is not going to be shut down by Memorial Day (May 25) after all.
• Three medical staff (doctors?) in Russia have had window accidents, i.e. been pushed out of windows when they protested conditions. One survived, injured, to tell the sad tale.
• The oil price is negative again.
• The vice-chairman of Amazon has resigned, apparently unhappy with the way some Amazon staff have been treated.
• Exxon Mobil has lost a great deal of money.
• Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has sold all its stock in airlines, noting that the future looks different now.
• Thailand, despite being a poor country, has done rather well.
• Aeration, as in opening windows, is good, but air-conditioning can be deadly in terms of spreading the virus around (viz. cruise ships).

At 11 am, the US death total is 74,121; two hours later it is 74,799. At 11 am here the UK death total is 30,150.

We have a lovely singing session. It is a joy to see many again, including some who haven’t logged in earlier. The session ends abruptly after 40 minutes – evidently that’s the Zoom limit unless the host buys a premium level of Zoom.

At 1 pm Jacinda Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield give a briefing. The news is good – there is one new case of Covid 19, linked to the Matamata cluster, bringing the total to 1489.  There are no new deaths, and just two patients in hospital, none in Intensive Care. There were 7,323 tests done yesterday, giving a total of 108,023 tests to date. Dr Bloomfield concludes that with respect to masks, there are benefits and disadvantages, and wearing them is not mandatory at this stage.

The Prime Minister next gives us the information we have all been waiting to hear – what will level 2 look like? She is admirably cautious – “we do not want the virus to come back”. No one wants a second wave. She repeats that relaxation of rules overseas has seen the virus bounce back.

Under level 2, bubbles need no longer apply. Workplaces, hair-dressing salons, cafés, restaurants, pubs and shops will be able to open; also churches, museums, and markets. You can have gatherings of up to 100 people; you’re expected to maintain social distancing and good hygiene; in cafés the three S’s apply: patrons must be Seated, Separated from others, and have a Single server. If you can work from home, you should continue to do so. Organisations should continue to keep track of who’s there, as some were doing before the lockdown. Numbers in stores should be controlled. This will assist in contact tracing. Schools and early childhood centres will reopen, but on the Monday following the announcement. And, above all, if you’re unwell, or your child’s unwell, you should stay at home and endeavour not to pass any illness on. But you can have members of your family or friends round for dinner at your house. We’ll be allowed to travel within New Zealand, but not to a convention. I am looking forward to seeing my daughter again, when Hohepa says it’s acceptable.

I am sure that newspapers will rush to explain what’s allowed under level 2. What aren’t mentioned are the following: buffets and shared refreshments, or catered food; libraries; public transport; cinemas; visiting rest homes, retirement villages, and hospitals;  funerals – it may be very difficult to restrict access to them. Organisations need to create rules that work.  That’s probably easier said that done!  But we have a good idea of what’s likely to happen. Oh, and Super Rugby will be on again, but stadia empty. The borders remain closed, and any new arrivals from overseas will still be required to quarantine for 14 days. So that’s a relief.  I suspect in fact that pretty much anything will go. Rules will be honoured in the breach rather than the observance.  I pick that tables will need to be reserved at restaurants – there won’t be much in the way of casual dining. But, no decisions will be taken until May 11.

It occurs to me that I am really pleased that we didn’t take on a boarder earlier this year. That would have been really difficult during the lockdown.

Reopening in the US is a death sentence for many. It’s now officially accepted that there will be deaths as a result.  Evidently Trump and Pence can get Covid 29 tests whenever they want; the rest of the US can’t. Even people returning to work, as restrictions are lifted, can’t get tested. Where testing does take place, the numbers infected are growing and alarming, as are those of deaths. But the federal government seems determined to ignore bad news, as people are scared of returning to their workplaces, where suing management is not an option.  It seems any restrictions or guidelines issued by the CDC or even the White House are optional rather than mandatory.

It seems to, that according to various polls a majority of the US public prefer measures of distancing in order to save lives: the seeming hordes you see in some pictures, at the beach, for example, or protesting, represents a vocal and well-funded minority, Many people are afraid to return to work, and to return to using facilities previously available. As someone asked, would you put your thumb in a ball at a bowling alley? But Americans do have a conflicted idea of just what “freedom” means.  The President has used the Defence Production Act to ensure continuity of the meat supply, in spite of illness, instead of using it to produce much needed equipment for treatment, protection, or testing. The federal government has not provided easy to access financial assistance, so many people are desperate for their pay check, assuming they still have a job. As Dr John Campbell comments, it’s not possible to stay at home if your children are hungry, and depending on your earning something in order to feed them.

It was quite amusing seeing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson being grilled by new Labour Party Leader, Sir Keir Starmer, at question time. The British have failed woefully at managing this crisis, but it is fun to see Bojo having some reasonably able opposition for a change.

The figures from the US generally get update around 11 am our time, so I won’t quote them again.

That’s all for now.  I’m sure we will hear more tomorrow about what level 2 may mean, and when we may expect our recycling collections to resume. I shall have to contemplate getting dressed up again!

This morning we sang Six Ribbons and For the Longest Time, and learnt a new song. That was fun. JD and I have been watching “Normal People” on TVNZ On Demand. It’s a treat to hear Irish accents, and see Trinity College; and doesn’t Marianne wear beautiful clothes?

Quote from “Stalingrad”, which I am presently reading: “People felt both free and orphaned”, page 384. That seems to explain the situation in many places now.

Nga mihi nui.

Today is Wednesday May 6^th. Kia ora katoa! Kia kaha!

What’s next? A body can get used to anything, even being hanged, but now thoughts must turn towards the future, of reopening economies, of relaxing lockdown restrictions, of establishing a new kind of normal.

Tuesday was unpleasant, in terms of the weather. It was much colder than we have experienced here to date, and it rained heavily.

I woke to news of Trump complaining at the Lincoln Memorial that he has been treated worse than Lincoln, amidst alarming talk of the University of Washington changing the assumptions of its models (they had falsely assumed that testing would improve and the level of contact tracing would increase).

There was mixed news here. The government seems to be doing a great job, but the Wellington City Council, not so. Some of the complaints include a lack of openness, warnings about rates increases, bickering and infighting, strange priorities (surely reopening the Wellington Central Library has to be a key priority?), and an odd decision not to get information from NIWA about southern storm warnings, such as the recent high waves that caused such havoc at Owhiro Bay. Now evidently the council is going to build a wall, but not, according to residents, where it is needed.

But there is an article on the Stuff website entitled Ten Reasons to be Optimistic about Jobs and the Economy amid Covid-19, which JD actually agrees with. I do, too.  It is good, too, that Maori and Pacifica are not disproportionately affected here by the virus.

Overseas, the news is mostly not great. England is heading towards having the highest death rate in Europe; ah no, they’re not part of Europe now. China’s economy is down by perhaps 6% (whatever that means); their factories have been severely affected by worldwide fall in demand for anything that they make. It also seems their death figures have been understated. There is also huge suspicion in the US of China, and seeking to blame the Chinese for the virus. Was it created in a lab, and released by accident? Was it created in a wet-market, and transmitted from an animal to a human being? Who knows. Does it really matter, or make any difference now? We have all been hugely affected. The world has literally stopped in its tracks. Many agree that a pandemic was bound to come, sometime soon, and some of us are now thinking that this crisis was not such a bad thing to happen, here in New Zealand, anyway. The effects of climate change are coming, too.

There are efforts to track the progress of Covid 19 as well as its origins. It is a shocking reminder to realise the first reports of a new virus from Wuhan were in early December, through to the first death in the UK on March 5. By the time of Easter (Good Friday was April 10), virtually the whole world was in some kind of lock down, the world economy was paralysed, and personal situations were scary and confusing in many places. No one would have seen this coming, so fast. I reread a newspaper from Saturday March 21, before New Zealand went into lock down, and reporters were musing on the effect already on the tourism industry in small towns of the South Island, on the election, and another retrospective piece seeing what was likely to come here. Medical staff speculated on what might be required of them, if the effects of the virus became much worse here as it had overseas.

There are disturbing reports now from the US, and previously from the UK, of children being ill but in a different way from adults. They may have weird patches on their feet, like frostbite or chilblains, and symptoms of Kawasaki disease; or some in New York have presented with heart failure. These distressing signs are not widely prevalent, but have been noticed.

At the 1 pm briefing there are no new cases, and no further deaths in New Zealand. Four patients are in hospital. In April there were the fewest car deaths since 1946.

In the afternoon, we go shopping at Newlands for groceries (at least I do). I buy quite a lot of things, having to go back to the vegetable section for salad dressing, and then having difficulty finding a birthday card and wrapping paper for my granddaughter. At the checkout, I suddenly feel very tired. It is wearying to unload the trolley, and then put everything back in it, especially when one is trying to protect the eggs, the fresh bread, and some cakes. Anyway, I pay for the goods, and come out to the car and pack everything in the shopping bags I have brought.

Dubya (George W Bush) has released a video which shows kindness and empathy and the need for everyone in the US to work together. It is a wonderful message. While I cannot forgive the invasion of Iraq, this is a wonderful message, and just what the country needs.

I learn in the evening that the UK that there had been over 32,000 deaths in the UK. The US totals were 1.21 million infected, and 69,680 deaths.

On Wednesday morning there is more news. I think the most horrifying is the New York Times suggesting that the US will regard deaths due  to the virus like mass-shooting deaths – part of the price they seem more than willing to pay for “freedom” and defence of their Second Amendment rights. The heading reads “Will We Shrug Off Coronavirus Deaths As We Do Gun Violence?” One commentator pointed out that it was not unreasonable that one might defend one’s home; it is quite something else to openly carry a gun in a threatening manner (she said).  

Meanwhile, the White House is planning to phase out the Coronavirus Task Force, by Memorial Day, according to Vice President Mike Pence.  It seems that Trump has decided that it’s all nothing to do with him, he just wants everything to be as it was with the stock market rising, unemployment falling, his big donors happy, and everything open again, come what may. There are deep divisions across the country with many supporting some level of distancing and precautions. Trump toured a mask-making factory in Arizona today, refusing to wear a mask himself. The background music was “Live and Let Die” by Guns N’Roses.

George Conway, president of the Noble Society (and previous survivor of wind-mill cancer) has released a video, “Mourning in America”. The US President erupts in rage calling him “Moon face” in a tweet. Meanwhile Wendy’s is advertising that it can’t supply hamburgers, because of a meat shortage, and sales of meat are being restricted in stores. One assumes that so many meat processing plants have been affected by infections of Covid 19, that supply has indeed been affected, despite the President’s Executive Order requiring meat processing plants to stay open.

Another frightening development today was the news from California that the virus has mutated into another, more deadly version than its original, and that this deadlier one has wreaked havoc on Italy and New York, in particular. This version may be resistant to whatever vaccines are being developed. With regard to vaccines, China joined other world leaders including the WHO for a common video discussion yesterday. The US was not present. Meanwhile, a US doctor (Rick Bright) who was demoted because of the cronyism around use of hydroxychloroquine and development of a vaccine has now made a formal complaint.

The 1 pm briefing today brings two new cases of Covid 19 – one confirmed case in the Marist College cluster, and one probable at the St Margaret’s Rest Home in Auckland. This brings the official total to 1488. Sadly, there has been another death – a woman in her 60’s who was a resident at the Rosewood Home in Christchurch. She did have pre-existing health conditions. Jacinda Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield front this briefing, and again, I am a bit surprised at how tough the journalists’ questions are.  This has been a war, after all, with war-time like conditions. Jacinda Ardern answers them all graciously, but does point out that her main focus was getting control over the virus, and managing that situation, and that the unfortunate situations she is quizzed about would be distressing in any circumstances.

On Wednesday it is fine and much warmer, in fact it is sunny in the afternoon. We go for a walk to the local store to buy things I couldn’t buy yesterday – there is one punnet of raspberries left, and there are tins of creamed corn. I can also buy packets of fruit biscuits. You can see what the popular items are!

Once again, we are so grateful to be here, in a country where there is good government, plenty of food, and an increased feeling of safety and friendship, and of people going out of their way to be nice. It has done us all good to slow down a bit. 

At the end of the day, figures are as follows: the US has 1,238,030 infections, and 72,284 deaths. The UK has just under 195,000 infections and 29,427 deaths. By contrast, Canada has 63,215 infections and 4,043  deaths. That makes you wonder, does it not?

My favourite piece today is the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Itzak Perlman as soloist. Isn’t he a marvellous That’s it for now. Nga mihi nui.

Today is Monday May 4^th. Kia ora katoa! Kia kaha!

“Let’s not squander the gains we have made”.

The sense I get from this morning’s paper is one of caution, although there are the usual arguments for lifting restrictions vs. we haven’t been severe enough. There is a predominating fear of celebrating too soon, of lifting our guard too quickly. Perhaps there is also some fear of opening things up  again – work, schools, tourism, hospitality, shopping in person, cinemas, libraries, pools etc.

Today the 1 pm briefing is on again, fronted by Dr Ashley Bloomfield. There are no new cases of Covid 19, and no new deaths. Dr Bloomfield allows himself a rare smile of cautious optimism, bur warns that this success reflects New Zealanders’ hard work, and warns that we need to maintain discipline. Any new cases arising from the move to level 3 will show up later this week, and will be a good test of whether the rules are being relaxed too much. Dr B, you’re amazing, and well done, New Zealand. The Prime Minister is due to give a press conference at 4 pm. We will all be agog.

Overseas, people are getting “antsy”; while the dreadful death rates of almost 1,000 a day recorded by some European countries have thankfully declined, and their lock downs are being eased, other countries have still to see the worst of it, with rapidly rising rates of infection, and high death rates almost certain to follow. It seems premature to talk of a second wave of this virus, as some are eagerly doing, when the first wave is still wreaking havoc. Some countries’ leaders are in denial, for example, Brazil’s Bolsonaro; the US seems unique in its inability to manage this crisis and not to care about human suffering and human lives lost.  One thing the US Federal government does succeed in doing, besides being a winner in terms of cases of infection and numbers of deaths, is in sowing chaos amongst those who would seek to manage this better. One feels so sorry for those needlessly suffering in this crisis.  It seems many do not have a choice.

Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York State, gave another good briefing, shown today. He delivered many useful messages, including the following: there is rightful appreciation shown for health-care staff, ambulance drivers, and other essential workers, but if you really want to help them, then don’t get sick! His leadership has been a bright beacon in a large country crying out for good leadership with a strong sense of decency.

Andrew Cuomo says several interesting things. He mentions changes to the climate, and the difficulties of getting any kind of unity from many different hospitals in New York, many of them private. He talks about a consortium of governors working together to purchase PPE and ventilators so that they are not competing with each other, and a desire to hold stockpiles of PPE, and be prepared for whatever the future holds. He also mentions that the California, in the west, contracted the virus from China, whereas states in the East contracted it mainly from Italy – a seemingly different strand, causing different problems; this would help explain why Italy and then New York were both hit so very hard, for several weeks, and how this came as such a shock.  Both have seemingly good health care systems, and yet both were struck with problems of disease and death beyond anything they’d previously experienced.

Now European countries, and some American states, are seeking to lift their lockdowns, with a view to re-imposing restrictions as necessary, should the virus flare up again. People are enormously relieved , it seems, but there are still many who advise and act with caution. Cuomo also remarked that it is harder to open things up than to shut them down.

Tonight the main figures are as follows: the US has 1.18 million diagnosed infections, and has had 68,286 deaths. Apparently Trump this morning predicted a US death toll of 80 – 90,000. Which model is being used now, one wonders (yesterday he was predicting 100,000). I fear that target may be reached sooner than he expects.

The UK has had 187,000 cases and 28,446 deaths. They haven’t maintained their target of 100,000 tests each day. Their death total now outstrips those of Spain and France and almost reaches that of Italy. All these countries have been very hard hit by the virus. Their wonderful tourist sites looked so attractive without the sightseeing crowds, but I think now we would rather be here.

This morning we have a great video chat with one of my sons and his two children. It is such a treat to see them all! The little boy is talking with lots of words and the baby girl looks so well, happy and growing. She reminds me so much of her father when he was a baby. The little boy shows us where he sleeps now, and demonstrates his building skills. We promise to find and put together some more toys for him.

“Stay the course, finish the job”.

At 4 pm Jacinda Ardern gives a press briefing. She does this alone, and handles reporters’ questions with aplomb. I keep wondering if these journos would address the same questions to a National Party Prime Minister, and give him or her the same grilling? They probably wouldn’t get a chance! She’s been invited by Scott Morrison to join the Australian Cabinet by video for a meeting tomorrow, primarily to discuss trans-Tasman travel. This invitation is unprecedented.

The Prime Minister has undertaken to tell us on Thursday what level 2 Covid 19 restrictions will look like, but a decision to go to level 2 won’t be made until May 11.  Meanwhile, we are all wondering what level 2 will mean for us, and when it may be safe to resume some activities.  I think my initial preference would be to go to a supermarket further than 2 km away, and buy some fine cheese, doughnuts and other goodies. My other wish is to go to a bookshop and buy some new books.

Tomorrow I would have gone to a Tai Chi class, caught the train back into Wellington, had a bite to eat and done some shopping, and caught the bus home. I won’t be doing that, but I will go shopping to buy more food.  I think it may be a long time before we can plan a party, or travel to another part of New Zealand. That would involve driving long distance or flying, and using cafés, bathrooms, and accommodation – all perfectly normal back in the day (late December, was the last time we travelled), but quite scary now. As I say so often, there’s no rush.

With regard to watching television, there is no live sport for JD to watch, and we don’t have Sky anymore, so rather than watching climate change videos and calving glaciers, he watches re-runs of America’s Cup yacht races. New Zealand won the last one, in Bermuda, much to the astonishment of the non-Kiwi commentators (who would have thought – the Kiwis did win it in 1995). Auckland is supposed to host the next race series, although who knows when and where that will be?

I try and be disciplined about television watching, mainly sticking to evenings. After we’ve done current affairs on YouTube, we scan TVNZ1 and Maori Television, then Netflix, Lightbox and TV On Demand to see what’s worth watching.  Sometimes there are good reruns of series available, such as the John Le Carré/George Smiley series.  Usually we find something.

Today it is Sunday in the Northern Hemisphere, and I have not really caught up with the news.  Tomorrow will be different! Lots of beautiful music goes around in my head, but today’s favourite has to be Bach’s Air on the G String. It is evocative of many things.

Nga mihi nui.

Today is Sunday May 3^rd.  Kia ora katoa! Kia kaha!

This morning, the weather is horrid. I go outside to pick up the newspaper, and it is windy (unusual for our house, we’re usually quite sheltered), and raining quite heavily. So one cocoons, guilt-free, inside.

When this crisis began, when we first started to regard this novel coronavirus seriously (remember when none of us had heard of Wuhan?), after the virus came to New Zealand and seemed to be rapidly spinning out of control, there was a favourite saying, that “we are all in this together”.

Yesterday I wrote about the strangely seductive beauty of the novel coronavirus as pictured. It is hard to believe that something so beautiful could be so harmful, setting out, as it does, to wreak havoc on humanity. It reminds me how innocuous, how tempting evil can be; in the Garden of Eden, it was a good apple from a good tree that Eve was invited to eat. Many things have both good and bad inherent in them. That’s why we need to discriminate, to choose the good and abandon the evil. Who would deny that there are positive and negative aspects to the Internet? If there is any good and safe usage of nuclear power, I have yet to learn about it, but there is a certain beauty in splitting the atom. Who could have known it would unleash such power, and such potential destructiveness?

Sadly, it transpires that it is by no means the case that “We are all in this together”.  Certainly, the virus infects anyone, and doesn’t respect state or geographic borders as it makes its way around the world. But some of us are in a much better position to practise what has come to be known as “social distancing”, and some of us have far better health-care systems. Some people have safer workplaces, where their employers take care to ensure that their valued staff work in humane, clean conditions, with the appropriate level of protective equipment, wherever they work. Some governments care about their citizens’ lives and health more than they care about money.

Some of us live in comfortable, warm homes, with enough to eat, a good electricity supply, sound leadership by our government, and in a strong civilised society, where people’s basic needs are taken care of, and no one should go hungry, and the powers-that-be respect scientific thought and care about the environment. While we moan and groan about our deprivations, we are being asked to stay at home and watch television. What could be harder than that?  I realise that while some suffer financial hardship, and some go “stir crazy”, and there are valid concerns about mental health, we are very well off here, in so many ways. For once, being far away at the bottom of the world, seems like an advantage. There is concern about Jacinda Ardern’s popularity. Terms like “hero worship” have been used. I think we (and our children) are just so relieved to be here, and to be relatively safe, having a government that cares about its people, all of them.

It has transpired that most (but not all) of the infections, and subsequent deaths from Covid 19 have arisen from a lack of social distancing.  This virus is extremely infectious, and, so far, extremely efficient in finding hosts in which to burrow and do its damnedest. When it was first so prevalent, we immediately became suspicious of all social surroundings, and shops and cinemas rushed to tell us about their superior cleaning efforts, inviting us to maintain distance between ourselves and others. First, it was remember to wash your hands, properly: never bad advice. Then, the advice was not to embrace loved ones, or even shake hands – I liked the Japanese “namaste” which involved bowing to someone, but not touching them. Then we were asked to maintain a supposed safe distance between oneself and others – two metres, or six feet, in the US. Oh, and if you must fly, wipe your tray table with disinfectant; perhaps your seat too. Keep the middle seat on an aeroplane empty. If you had been in contact with someone who might be infectious, such as a traveller from overseas, you were supposed to “self-isolate” for first 7, then 14 days.

It rapidly became impossible to buy hand sanitiser, or masks, in New Zealand. But the figures kept rising. I still remember our collective horror when a friend told me on March 23 that diagnosed cases in New Zealand had reached 102!

We would normally have hugged each other, but even then we kept a safe distance apart. There was a real sense of fear and panic, that despite faith, we needed to do something to protect ourselves and our loved ones, especially those more vulnerable, like my daughter.  Although there have been several epidemics, this is the first major one to affect New Zealanders so badly in our lifetime, and to have a major impact on the local, and the world’s, people and economies. It is not a war, in the sense of being at war with another nation, or fighting to support an ally who has been attacked. However the imposition of wartime restrictions is, I think, a useful way to regard some of our present “impositions”.  The ban on having funerals has, I think, been extremely difficult.

The government had been toying with various regulations. They banned travel from overseas unless you were a New Zealander returning home; they introduced 5 levels of response for schools; Chinese students were refused entry (Victoria University of Wellington thought this was madness), and they introduced 4 levels of Covid response for the country.  They announced that people over 70 years’ old, or with compromised immune systems, or existing health conditions, shouldn’t go out at all. Bus drivers over 70 were to be withdrawn from Metlink rosters – I think there were about 50 in Wellington. All this time I was recalculating every day just what I could still do. Council facilities like pools and libraries were being closed.  Everyday brought new restrictions, and scepticism from people who thought this was an over-reaction.  But fear turned from asking What can I still do? to regarding everyone as a potential carrier, as infections continued to rise, seemingly from anywhere.

Then the axe fell, and the government announced a level 4 lockdown to go into effect within a couple of days. No takeaways at all! We had some Chinese Fried Rice while we still could.  We also stocked up on goods that would keep well (like tinned food and dare I say it, toilet paper – we experienced no shortage!). We exchanged notes with my husband’s wider family in Australia and beyond. We took photos of a shopping trip to our local supermarket, where I took the last trolley available, sanitiser had run out, and the queue to check-out went right back to the entrance to the store.  They did have shortages, and limited how much you could buy of popular items, but now there is plenty of hand sanitiser, and disinfectant and gloves are in short supply. There have always been some shoppers wearing masks.

This action was not unexpected, and although it was indeed severe, it was a relief in a way. I had chosen not to take part in my usual activities for 14 days after our son arrived from the UK; this was great hardship for me, but by the time the two weeks were up, they had all been cancelled or postponed. So that was that. Time’s up. Your bubble is yourself and your husband.  You (being under 70) can go out to buy food or medicine or go for a walk nearby, nothing else. That’s it.  But, as one was to realise, things could be far worse.

While this virus doesn’t discriminate over its hosts – virtually anyone will do – it is evident that some of us are at greater risk than others. It appears that people of colour are at greater risk, and dying in greater numbers, proportionally to their share of the population in the US and other places. Any institution where people live close together, or are in care, are vulnerable: rest homes, prisons, ships, any dormitories or migrant camps, and those in health and caring professions, for example, prison inmates don’t just get sick, the staff guarding them also get sick.  Meat processing plants are particularly vulnerable; as well as being significantly affected in the US, they have been affected in Ireland, and, we learnt today, in Victoria, Australia. In the US the president claims to be concerned about the food supply. I wonder if many are turning away from eating meat? I read this morning in the New York Times about 98 residents of a care home dying, and about the current insistence that people go back to work, as modern-day slavery, as I wrote about yesterday. People talk about it being a choice between your life, and your livelihood. No one should have to make that kind of choice.

There is a column in the Washington Post headed up “Trump and the GOP have a plan for governing during a pandemic – just don’t”.  Unfortunately, the richest man in the world has deemed that I cannot read this column. But my reaction would be that it would be easier if Trump and co. just didn’t govern. Instead he lies, makes false claims, sows chaos and disinformation, and co-opts his mates to receive huge bailouts while forcing low-paid people back to work. Where is the care or justice in that? Evidently he aims to replace an HHS watchdog who raised the alarm about severe shortages in hospitals. Meanwhile the issue of folk who are sick and dying is juxtaposed with that of armed protesters in Michigan, wanting “freedom” from their current impositions, and seeming not to give a toss about their fellow-citizens.

At 8 pm the figures for the US are 1.16 million infections, and 67,067 deaths. The figures for the UK are 182,000 infected and 28,131 deaths.  According to Dr John, there is still “a small window” to mitigate the worst effects of this pandemic. This sounds like the approach of climate change, whose effects, like those of the virus, are coming upon us at logarithmic speed.

Today, for the second day running, there is no 1 pm briefing. There are two  new cases of Covid 19, bringing the total to 1,487. There have been no further deaths.

This afternoon there is to be a stay-at-home “concert” by the NZSO at 4 pm, playing Beethoven, but due to technical difficulties, this has been deferred to 6:30 pm.

Today I am going to quote the opening lines of Milton’s great epic poem, Paradise Lost.  I think it is quite wonderful. It’s written in “blank verse”, that is, iambic pentameter, with five beats to the line. Shakespeare wrote all his plays in blank verse, too, and sometimes varied it with great skill.

Milton’s epic starts as follows (see below). It begins “in medias res”, in the middle of things, as is the classical epic tradition; he also calls on a Muse to help him – “Sing, heavenly muse…”. It’s placed firmly in the Judaeo-Christian tradition by mentioning “till one greater Man”, referring to the Lord Jesus, and invoking the record of the creation of the world in Genesis, with “In the beginning (the first words of the book of Genesis) how the Heavens and Earth rose out of Chaos”.

There are many classical allusions, but you don’t have to be a great classical scholar to appreciate this poem. Milton composed it after he became blind! Homer, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, is also thought to have been blind. There are twelve books in Paradise Lost. In the first, Satan has been cast into Hell, into “darkness visible”.  There are claims that Milton’s Satan is quite an interesting character, but then he has to be a very beguiling one, as well as being able to change his appearance. The Serpent/Satan/Lucifer is always masculine. We are told the Serpent was more subtle than any other animal.

Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit

Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste

Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,

With loss of Eden, till one greater Man

Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,

Sing Heavenly Muse, that on the secret top

Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire

That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed,

In the Beginning how the Heav’ns and Earth

Rose out of Chaos: or if Sion Hill

Delight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed

Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence

Invoke thy aid to my adventurous Song,

That with no middle flight intends to soar

Above th’ Aonian Mount, while it pursues

Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime.

At Hohepa every year at Christmastime they perform The Paradise Play (the story of the Fall), and The Shepherds’ Play (about Jesus’ birth). When I have been privileged to see them, I have been amazed at how much the residents there are involved in these plays and enjoy them. They form part of the rhythm of the year, and are timeless, like a child’s favourite story.

This afternoon there was to be a stay-at-home “concert” by the NZSO at 4 pm, playing Beethoven, but due to technical difficulties, this has been deferred to 6:30 pm.  It was worth waiting for. They played Beethoven’s Septet in E Flat Major, Opus 20, a chamber music piece. They played it in separate locations, but in time with each other. Well done, NZSO members!

That’s it for today. I have been meaning to write about what happens to democratic processes during an emergency. That’s still to come.

Nga mihi nui. Bye for now!

Today is Saturday May 2^nd.

I woke this morning feeling glum about the situation overseas.

There is some interesting news. The Covid 19 disease seems to be a blood-clotting disease, rather than a lung disease, or a type of pneumonia. The drug Remdesivir shows promise as a treatment. The virus pictured has a strange beauty, don’t you think? It’s not unattractive.  If we could master it….

The morning paper carries lots of interesting articles, including a long piece about the Rosewood Rest Home in Christchurch, where there have been so many Covid 19 deaths. It seems this rest home was doing a really good job, and what has happened has been devastating for them.  As Dr John has reminded us, there is no stigma about having Covid 19, just sadness, and probably some frustration. Our son flew in from the UK, fortunately on a plane from overseas not carrying infected passengers, but we didn’t know that till later.

There seems to be a general feeling that some people are taking advantage of the move from level 4 to level 3: one takeaway staff member is very nervous about the fact that she had to accept cash sometimes, had little time to change her mask, and it had been difficult to maintain social distancing in the kitchen where she worked.

The newspaper is also advertising the TV Guide, which hasn’t been published for the last few weeks, and the Wellington City Council is advertising WOAP (Wellington on a Plate), a food festival which takes place annually in August. Perhaps not this year – I doubt that we would be ready for that.

I listened to a podcast relating stories of some of the people who have died from Covid 19 in England. These are all very sad; in England, as in the US, black people and ethnic minorities have tended to die first, along with elderly folk in rest homes. Although pictures of largely white NHS workers have been displayed, the staff are predominantly coloured people.  One man was in hospital, had a blood test, and was sent home. After he died a few days later, the coroner’s report said his death was due to Covid 19 infection, but neither he nor his family were told about this.

Another sad story was about a widower in his 60’s who was an immigrant and a bus driver. It seems he was at risk, and wasn’t supplied with masks. He became ill, went to hospital and was put on a ventilator, but his daughter was asked for permission to turn off his life support. I immediately thought of the contrast here, where bus transport is free, and remains free; passengers are asked to get on and off using the rear door; and in level 3, passengers are asked to log on and off using their snapper cards to indicate the level of use of public transport, not so that they can be charged. There has been such kindness here.

There were other stories of deaths, too. They all had something in common – none of these cases knew how they had contracted Covid 19.

There is a worrying report about meat processing plants in Ireland having increasing numbers of infections.

Around midday one of our sons visited. It was wonderful to see him, although we were well-behaved and maintained distance. We spoke about his daughter’s 5^th birthday, coming soon. So far she is likely to miss out on her last day at kindergarten, and school visits.

There was no 1 pm briefing today, but there are 6 new cases of Covid 19 and one death, another former resident of the Rosewood Rest Home in Christchurch. This brings the total infected in New Zealand to 1485, with the death total now 20. All but one of the new cases are related to existing clusters.  There is a business helpline available, in each district, and some tax relief for businesses has been announced. We are all (mostly) beneficiaries now, and thankful to have governmental support.

I go shopping again today. It is cold and windy and drizzling outside, so we take the car for a spin. JD says it’s very strange to drive the car again. Shopping is fine, quite uncrowded, although there is quite a queue to enter the store when I come out. Again, I buy raspberries and feijoas. Then I remember bread, which is at the back of the store. There isn’t much left, so it’s just as well that I bought some. I go through the aisles in order after this, remembering to buy eggs again. There is a TV Guide, too. Some things are getting back to normal.

At the end of the day, the US figures are as follows: 1.13 million cases of infection (certainly an undercount, given how difficult it is to get tested), and 65,605 deaths.  (Note: on April 20 the US death figure topped 40,000).   There is no official moment of silence for these deaths, and no offer by the federal government to pay for funerals. There will need to be time to grieve and mourn and address some of the issues of caring for very ill and dying patients and enduring so much pain and suffering at some stage in the future.  Such grief will have to be acknowledged.

The stock market was looking healthier, but the US President’s threats to sue China saw the Dow Jones swing downwards again.  The federal government is said to have purchased 100,000 body bags; Trump says that if deaths are kept to 100,000 he will have done a great job. He’ll have to do something fast to keep it to 100,000.  He also claims that the death toll would be far worse were it not for his actions. I doubt that anyone agrees with him. One no longer knows which model he’s following, or whether the White House daily press briefings are on again or off again, or whether Dr Fauci is going to be allowed to testify before Congress. So how can he not be permitted? Oh, I remember, he’s allowed to testify before a Senate Health Committee. There is much discussion about Congress these days, as in it should do this, or that, or take charge more. I think they have worked very hard, and done everything in their power to manage things as well as they have done. They did vote to impeach the President, and although the Senate did not vote to remove him from office, he remains impeached. It has been a delight to see Nancy Pelosi stand her ground.

“Scientific thought is in fetters”.  This is not a quote from a news story or editorial column about White House/Coronavirus press briefings, but from the novel Stalingrad, which I’m presently reading. It describes the view of science in Nazi Germany, where there was also great fear, and disregard for human life and human suffering.  I suppose Trump doesn’t have much reason to trust doctors’ scientific expertise, seeing he got them to write draft-deferments for him, and his doctor during the 2016 election campaign admitted that he’d written what Trump asked. But while science gave us the atomic bomb, and atomic energy, it has given us many wonderful things too. We value doctors and scientists in collaboration with each other at this critical time, where there is so much we don’t know about this virus and how it behaves.

I have been wondering why there is such disregard for the value and gift of human life in the US, and I conclude that it has a great deal to do with slavery, racism, and immigration from Latin America and majority Muslim countries. Fear has been stirred up against these folk, and they are treated, like most slaves were, as subhuman, threatening, and expendable. There have been many tales told about illegal immigrants doing “the work Americans don’t want to do”, according to Ivana Trump, the unkindness to so-called Dreamers, and the separation of children from their parents at the southern border. Such cruelty was horrifying, but now it is seen on a grand scale, when there are armed protests against lock downs, people are ordered to go back to work (at meat plants, and other places) and to put themselves in harm’s way, while it’s ensured that there is no liability on the part of business owners.

In the UK, the number of infections is 177,000 and the number of deaths 27,510. Apparently the UK can now do 100,000 tests each day; and the good news is that a vaccine is being trialled there.

On a different note, I have been enjoying the Second Movement of Mozart’s 23^rd Piano Concerto. I particularly like Horowitz playing it. This music was used to great effect at the beginning of The Death of Stalin movie. It is very beautiful.

That’s it for now. Nga mihi nui.

Today is Friday May 1^st. Kia ora katoa! Kia kaha!

I have not blogged for the last two days, although much has been happening, most of it not good. However, here we go again.

I think I am developing a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. Part of me doesn’t want this special time to end, although it, will, and must. But I doubt that things will be “the same” again, we have all been irredeemably changed by this experience of managing our situation during this pandemic, Phase 1.  I will call it Phase 1, although I doubt that Phase 1 is over in many places; it’s just getting underway, and one fears things will have to get worse before they get better.

As NZ moved from level 4 to level 3, it hasn’t been so quiet. On Wednesday morning, there wasn’t a lot of traffic noise, but it sounded as though everyone was putting out their wheelie-bins. The next few days it has been quiet again.

I’ve been to the store twice since we moved to level 3.  Although most people are still practising social distancing, and you still can’t take personal shopping bags into the store, there is a much more relaxed feeling up there. It’s as though there’s been a collective sigh of relief. It occurred to me, that if there are only about 3 new cases in NZ, then we can all be less anxious. I read in this morning’s paper that there have been no cases diagnosed in Wellington for the last two weeks. I am also pleased that postal services are available again, so I can post a birthday present to my granddaughter in the US. Fortunately I bought her present before the lockdown started.

It is amazing, although to be expected, I suppose, that there are still some voices complaining about the lockdown. It surprises me because we’ve coped fine, NZ is not like many places overseas where families tend to live in apartments; for the most part, we live in houses with separate bedrooms and front and back gardens, and there are plenty of good walks, even if the parks are closed. The Director-General of Health repeated that if you needed health care, you could get it; the Prime Minister insisted that no one should go hungry. One might well ask what better place could you be under lockdown?

But even in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the situation has been well-managed, the Novel Coronavirus gave us a big shock as everyone scrambled to make their working/servicing/shopping/eating environments safer, before the level 4 lockdown. Indeed, with the numbers of those infected increasing each day, and, in spite of travel bans and “precautions” there were still crazy things happening like cruise ship stops, so-called self-isolation “at home” being totally ineffective in some cases, an infected person visiting a café in Wellington, it was a relief when the Prime Minister took strong action and declared a severe level 4 lockdown to take place within a couple of days. Many of us acted early as if the lock down was already in place. Our son visited from the UK while things were still quite open; he seemed quite surprised by the precautions here. Despite those, by the time he left less than two weeks later, events had moved with great speed, and it was not easy for him and his wife to get back to England.

We had a sample, a taste, here of the enormous grief and disruption caused by cases of the infection leading to serious illness and sometimes death; people dying alone; not being able to hold funerals when people had died of natural causes; of just having to stay put, and hoping and praying that nothing happens to your loved ones.  Many of the stories from overseas record health workers’ despair at the situations they find themselves in ,and bearing the brunt of family members’ grief at not seeing the situation with their own eyes.

And yet..and yet, there is a rush to say “Enough! We’ve had enough of not having simple pleasures like what, exactly? Your old activities? We have all suffered. But did you learn nothing? Someone or something just said No!  One of the main lessons in life, is that, plan as we may, (and it’s wise to plan), the answer to what you want, will sometimes be No. This is one of those times. Sometimes, despite our best precautions, our best insurance, bad things happen, where you are grateful for life itself, life having got down to basics of breathing and staying alive and sheltered. In these situations, people matter, family and friends matter, One’s faith matters.

It seems to me that the pro-life Party in the US should perhaps now be known as the pro-death Party (not their death, of course), for its actions would seem to imply that there is a huge lack of concern for working people, coloured people, health workers, older people, veterans….In the US, seemingly in the pursuit of profit by a few, many are required to put their lives and safety, and by association, that of their family members and their work associates, in danger.

Although the US economy has shrunk by 4.8% in the first quarter of this year, although 21 million Americans (no, now 30 million unemployed) .have filed for unemployment, meat plants are being kept open, in spite of growing numbers of infected staff and some fatalities, and staff are being ordered to work, in spite of their feeing unsafe to do to. Some are told they will lose unemployment benefits. Larry Kudlow, formerly so upbeat about the economy, now warns that the coronavirus is no longer contained, but nevertheless, he’s optimistic about it “bouncing back”.

The US death toll from Covid 19 surpassed that of the war in Vietnam, which took place over 19 years; now it is growing by over 2,000 a day. A few weeks ago there had been no deaths. There does not seem to be any plan to halt this dreadful, growing toll.

Here in New Zealand, there is still a handful of cases each day. The Prime Minister talks about level 3 as being “the waiting room”. Some restrictions have been lifted, but we are urged to be responsible, stay close to home, and only go out if we need to do so. On Wednesday there are two new cases. Testing in level 3 will focus on the following:

• finding new cases, where there are symptoms suggestive of Covid 19
• carrying out surveillance testing according to a planned approach.

If someone in a rest home test positive, all residents and staff will then be tested.  Contacts of known cases are to be followed up and tested, and there is interest in studying how the virus spreads within clusters.

Journalists’ questions are quite combative. But Jacinda Ardern handles them with aplomb.

On Thursday, there are three new cases, and no deaths, but 7 cases in hospital.

There are several hundred complaints, but the police are onto these. The Prime Minister says that rather than there being a cult of snitching, most New Zealanders don’t want to lose the ground they’ve won, and feel threatened when they see people appearing to break the rules. On Friday there are three new cases, bringing the total to 1479. This total includes three health-care workers at Waitakere Hospital who have tested positive, related to a nursing home cluster in Auckland. The three new cases represent one from overseas travel, one related to a known case, and one still under investigation. There doesn’t seem to be asymptomatic community spread here. It will be interesting to see, as things are opened up again, just what happens with Covid 19.

Anecdotally, people are pleased to be back at work, to be able to buy barista-made coffee, and to buy takeaways again, despite the limitations.

The library have extended loan due dates again. I wonder how safe it will feel, though, to borrow books again, and to use libraries again. They used to be such havens! I am debating whether it will be safer to use the Book Depository, or buy from Unity Books in future. Goodness knows, I don’t need any more books, but I have a list I’d like to read, and would formerly have borrowed from the library.  The NZ Film Festival says it will show films at home. I’m looking forward to that!

Overseas, here is some of the news from the UK:

• the search for a vaccine looks promising
• The promised number of tests (100,000 per day) has not been met yet
• There is still a lack of PPE
• Masks not mandated yet
• Somebody quipped that in London, during lockdown, mainly brown people can go to work.
• Keir Starmer, the new Labour Party leader, has been grilling the government i.e. the ruling Tory Party about the number of deaths.
• Rest home deaths are now added to hospital deaths from Covid 19.
• Amidst all this there has been talk of lifting the lockdown because people are finding it really hard. I suggest they’re not seeing much gain for their recognised pain.

There has been recognition that the death rate in many countries was higher than usual from January, and so, probably, people were  dying from Covid 19 before the first deaths were officially recorded.  This is being used to suggest that the death rate is perhaps lower than thought.  It adds to the many perplexing facts about this disease. It puzzles me that if people were dying from it earlier than thought, why weren’t they showing the symptoms of Covid 19 that now seem to be fairly common?

In the US, there are the following additional facts that caught my eye:

• In addition to damaging patients’ lungs and kidneys, the virus may do heart damage too.
• In New York city the smell of dead bodies has been disturbing.
• In the US, health workers, although praised, have been denied paid sick leave.
• The US President has signed an executive order mandating meat processing plants, a main source of infection, to stay open.
• In states where businesses are unwisely opening, workers feel unsafe but desperately need their pay.
• In Michigan, there was an armed protest that went inside the Capitol; meanwhile the governor there has extended the stay-at-home order for another month.
• There are still all kinds of problems with testing. The federal government has said it’s the states responsibility. There seems to be little control over how this is done. It seems chaotic.
• This virus, once targeting poorer workers, is now targeting the middle class.
• There is a huge risk that it will be so prevalent as to be extremely difficult to control.
• Polls show that the American people generally support controls.

The figures for the US and the UK are increasingly alarming:

As at midnight 1^st May, the US has 1.1 million confirmed cases, and 63,746 deaths, well past the total lost in the Vietnam War. The UK has 171,000 confirmed cases. And has had 26,771 deaths.

In Russia, the toll of those infected is going up in leaps and bounds. The Prime Minister has tested positive for Covid 19, and the big military parade set for May 8 has been cancelled. Meanwhile, there is concern for their “closed” secret nuclear cities. If they’re so secret, how did the virus get in there, one wonders.

Trump has been sending out lots of tweets. One of the funniest ones was where he criticised the “lamestream” media, and said journalists should give back their Noble prizes. I’m sure some of them wish they had received Nobel prizes; I’m afraid it’s their Pulitzers they should be returning!  We’re very grateful for the work journalists do. While we have fun criticising some of them, we appreciate them very much, especially during such interesting times.

To divert ourselves, we have been watching George Smiley on television, the old BBC series of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”, so much better than the later (2011) 0film. The music from that keeps going round in my head, the “Nunc Dimittis”.

That’s it for now. Nga mihi nui.