And here we are again - in lockdown!

It's now Friday 20 August, and we have been in lockdown at Alert Level 4 since Tuesday night at 11.59pm. The dreaded Delta variant escaped somehow from MIQ and as is its wont, has spread rapidly. The first case was notified on Tuesday and we were in lockdown that night, with just one known case. However, the first case tested for, a man aged 58, was not the index case. It turns out that his employee also has it, as do the employee's flatmates, 

• one of whom is a teacher, so the pupils (3000 strong) and teachers at Avondale College are all in isolation, and testing has been set up for them
• one is a nurse/healthcare worker at a hospital
• one is a uni student

Since then the places of interest strike fear into the heart: bars, pubs, the casino, a lecture theatre at the AUT, cafes, supermarkets, malls, playgrounds ...

And this morning it was announced that two pupils, each at different colleges, have also tested positive. So that is two more large school communities going in to isolation.

And at lunchtime we heard that there are now three cases down here in Wellington. So it is likely (my surmising) that any students at AUT or others who had been close to any of the cases while they were infectious and then came back to Wellington - either returning home from business or holiday or coming back from uni to see out lockdown at home with the parentals - has brought it with them. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

The good news includes:

• David and I are wearing our masks EVERYWHERE when we go outside the house
• David had his penultimate and last radiation sessions without any impact of the lockdown - that was a stroke of luck really, as there had been a slip that blocked the railway line and the state highway below it on Tuesday. Because we knew that getting home again after his Tuesday session would be problematic, we booked him a room at a hotel across the road from the hospital. So in the morning, he stayed in his room having been granted a late checkout, then went over for his treatment and his appointment with the radiation oncologist, and I picked him up to bring him home. I brought a Bounty Bar for him as a treat - bloody hell, they are excessively sweet!
• even though it wasn't medically indicated, for his peace of mind, David arranged and paid for a post treatment PSA test. As we expected and hoped for, the reading showed as undetectable, i.e. <0.03, which is what we had been wanting to see, but didn't, after the operation last year! He also had his testosterone level tested - that was also very low because of the Androgen Deprivation Therapy (hormone suppressant). The one piece of bad news is that he STILL ISN'T DUSTING!!! 
• the pantry is full and we can exist happily on current supplies for some weeks if necessary
• mostly, people are being sensible and kind and thoughtful. Mostly we are being good members of the team of 5 million. We have a few virulent anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers - I think they have been learning from the dumpster's faux noise idiots in the US how to think their rights to be stupid are more important than the health and wellbeing of the communities they live in.
  
  
  
  
  
• we have plenty to do 
• baking sourdough - I've got it sussed now apart from the hiccup of earlier this week where I kneaded all of the air out of the loaves before putting them into the fridge to prove overnight. Not a good idea to deflate them at that point, Marilyn. But the sparrows and blackbirds have been happy to eat the pancake loaves. The loaves did have to be chopped up so the birds didn't get beak strain trying to fight their way into the solidity ...
• collecting driftwood off the beach for the garden and walking on the beach avoiding the Portuguese men of war that have washed up on the tide.
• reading
• listening to podcasts
  
• teaching David some recipes
• mexican tomato soup - really just a question of emptying lots of cans into a large saucepan...
• a vegetarian Tom Kha soup: assemble the broth ingredients and put them on to simmer, then assemble and chop a variety of suitable vegetable chunks, remove the broth bits that are not appetising (lemongrass stalks, coriander roots, chunks of galangal, kaffir lime leaves, ...), add the veg chunks and fish sauce, taste, adjust seasonings and serve.
• watching Netflix and Acorn
• preparing nice food to eat, in particular a graduation dinner for David as he had completed his radiation sessions
  
  
  
  

  

  Vegetarian fresh spring rolls that I made - tasted yum with a mix of sweet chilli and soy sauce, but I need to learn to fill them more and roll them tighter!
  

  
  

  

  David ready for fizzy wine and food.
  We had planned a graduation dinner out with friends, but lockdown prevented that so it was a tete a tete dinner chez nous instead!
  

  
  

  

  Fresh spring rolls, vegetarian Tom Kha soup and lemon cheesecakes.
  

  
  

  

  Drinking fizzy wine, not chardonnay ...
  

  
  
• walking virtually with my friend Ann who is in Nelson - our arrangement is wonderful in lockdown because we are over 100 miles apart and talk on WhatsApp as we walk. Lots of laughs and interest.

Soon we will find out what is to happen about lockdown levels - now that there are cases in Wellington, my hunch is we will be all staying at Level 4. Just have to wait till after the Cabinet meeting for that info.

 I will keep you posted!