Cases are increasing, lockdown has been extended

 We are on Day 7 of lockdown and yesterday, after the Cabinet meeting, our lovely PM announced the following:

• lockdown in Alert Level 4 for NZ would be extended until Friday at 11.59pm with information provided on Thursday at 1pm whether that 
• needed to be extended, 
• could be reduced in level, 
• would be regionalised based on risk profile of particular areas of the country
  
• lockdown in Alert Level 4 in Auckland where the biggest majority of cases currently are (we had 107 cases as at yesterday morning's count, and 7 of them, I think, are in Wellington, with the remainder in Auckland) is extended to Tuesday 31st August, with information provided after Cabinet on Monday afternoon, whether that
• needed to be extended, 
• could be reduced in level.

David and I are unsure what will happen in the rest of NZ, but we are fairly sure that Auckland's AL4 will need to continue.

As Jacinda (world famous PM) and Ashley Bloomfield (DG of Health) both stated, the peak of infections is still to come, even though we locked down hard and early. Last year, in our first surge of COVID-19, we had up to 89 cases a day at one stage while in AL4 before the case numbers started to drop. There is no reason to suggest that the delta variant, which is much more transmissible, will deliver fewer cases! 

I am interested to read in British media that our elimination approach is being slammed (by Nigel Farage and others of his ilk) as unrealistic and is making NZ an unwelcoming place because we are only letting NZ citizens and residents return to the country. My use of 'interesting' is the English variety, i.e. it means I hear what you say but I think it is absolute bullsh*t. 

Because of course, the British response, most particularly the response in England, has been so inordinately successful, hasn't it? Remind me how many deaths in the UK?

Harsh but reflective of the Farage, BJ and Rees Mogg attitude, I think. Yes?

And before anyone says but NZ is a small island with a small population, and it's remote and at the bottom of the world, I acknowledge all those things are true.

But here's the thing: we have a similar sized population to Scotland, and the First Minister of Scotland has invoked tougher rules on the Scots than in England, and yet sadly Scotland has lost 10,000 people to COVID-19. NZ lost 26. Until this delta outbreak, we had fewer than 3000 cases, and I don't know how many Scotland had or currently has. And our grandsons live there and it makes me anxious.

So I will stand by our response of going into lockdown hard and early, and we will be getting our second vaccinations tomorrow, and I will be out exercising (walking, I am 70 after all) wearing a mask and making sure I stay more than 2 metres away from others, and I won't be panic buying toilet paper. 

I'm an energy saver - I walk, not run ..

 

One of the rhododendrons in our garden - just starting to flower. We don't usually see this happen, because we are most often in the UK on the boat at this time. And we are also seeing the most beautiful magnolias in bloom around the neighbourhood here in Waikanae.

This kereru (native wood pigeon) was in a tree across the road the other day when I came back from my walk - it waited patiently while I took lots of photos, turned obligingly so I could get a variety of shots and then flew away when I walked into our driveway.  Lovely!

And I won't be moaning about an extension to lockdown if/when it occurs, because I am fairly sure that we will stamp out this outbreak. And if another one occurs later, I will support the government's approach because 

• it is based on advice from scientists and health professionals, 
• it is focused on the wellbeing of the country in terms of health and financial security, 
• it has worked in the past, 
• it has been refined and planned ahead for, and 
• it will work again,
• it will save lives, 
• it will ensure our health system can cope, 
• it will allow our economy** to recover quickly, as it already has from the first outbreak last year.
  

There may come a time when we have to live with the virus, but that time needs, for the wellbeing of NZ and our world, to be when enough people are vaccinated that the virus mutations are few because there are not enough hosts for it to develop and change in.

In the meantime, I am staying home, staying in touch with friends, looking after David (who needs no looking after but I enjoy it and so does he) and feeling fine!

We usually go out for Saturday breakfast with Gary, Bruce, David R, John and Leith, but we cannot at the moment. So I made a Saturday breakfast for us at home. I had spinach and cheese omelette, breakfast potatoes (cooked with garlic and salt) alongside a solitary mushroom and tomato half - you will see why I was rationed when you look at the next photo ...

See David's vegan brekkie platter: multiple mushrooms and tomato halves, plus, red onion, spinach, capsicum and potatoes - I forgot to put the corn kernels on. But don't worry because they got added to the Mexican tomato and bean soup later that day!

 

** PS I know there are sectors of our economy that will struggle to survive this - tourism that tends to rely on high cost experiences for overseas visitors is the main one. In the hiatus that we had (over a year since our first outbreak back in March 2020 with only 2 minor outbreaks until last week) NZers have been exploring their own country instead of travelling overseas. When our tourism operators come to the realisation that NZers, even when overseas, do not spend the kind of money that overseas tourists do here, and reduce their prices to make them affordable and attractive to NZers, then once this outbreak is over, even more NZers will be out and about spending money seeing and experiencing this place. (Sorry, that last sentence is clumsy in its construction, but you get my drift.)

OK, rant over. 

Some things to make you smile while I recover my equilibrium ...

This look is the one I use on David - but somehow he doesn't notice it so I am making a headband and a sign on a stick that says FO-IR. I'm sure you can work it out...

 

Dogs are so clever...

This made me smile!

 

Our son Tim and his partner Dana had the boys and dogs with them on a holiday somewhere on the south coast of England.  It wasn't that warm apparently - so not a bad summer not to be on the boat, I gather.

Olek (16.5 years old) and Storm

Karol (11.5 years old) with his paddle board

Kai and Storm at the beach in England - Storm now has a poorly tummy because she will eat whatever she scents ...

Now it's time to make a veg curry and cauliflower rice for dinner - if I do it now the flavours will have time to percolate nicely through the veg. I've already baked two loaves of sourdough this morning so it hasn't all been ranting ...

Even though I am grumpy at the moment, never forget that this is true. Mxx