@coracle: Unfortunately New Zealand's great run of 'no cases in the community' has finished, with a single case found in the community, and without knowing where he got it.  It is probably Delta variant, since any cases (all in the Isolation and Quarantine facilities) are now Delta.

Unfortunately we do now. According to the latest news I've seen the bloke came from New South Wales, where else? I hope he wasn't the mysterious limo driver who seems to have started this particular Delta outbreak in East Sydney. in early July, or some of the others who just couldn't stay at home. Sorry, coracle, at least it wasn't me....

@Courtenay: We've been quite fast in rolling out the vaccinations here and it seems to be paying off.

Yes, UK seems to be doing fine, & we could have learned a thing or two in the same period of time from you. Hubby & I got our first vaccinations at the end of May, but we've been in lockdown since the last week of June, & it has been getting stricter & stricter all the time. Three cheers for the Tokyo Olympics which made it all much more bearable, especially as we have now started getting minor shortages in the supermarkets. 

These days we seem to be living in a time warp, afflicted with daleks running around calling out Vaccinate! Vaccinate! Vaccinate! Mysterious QR codes that never seem to work as instructed bedevil the visitor to every shop visited in our nearest shopping centre as we try to check in & check out meticulously.   And though I am grateful for the encouragement from everyone here, , I just wish that there was an increase in the vaccination figures & a decrease in infections, today's figures the highest yet. When we've had the Alpha variant (UK, I understand), the Beta variant (South Africa), the Gamma variant (Brazil) and now the Delta variant (India), I'm just hoping it stops there, & we don't go through the entire Greek alphabet down to Omega.  

I sat and watched the first Hobbit movie this evening.  Interested in the words given to Gandalf:

Galadriel:  I fear this quest has set in motion forces we do not understand. …something moves in the shadows unseen..  every day it grows in strength – you must be careful.  Mithrandir, why the Halfling?

Gandalf:  I do not know. Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I find: I find it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keeps the darkness at bay; simple acts of kindness and love. (Why Bilbo Baggins?  Perhaps it is because I am afraid, and he gives me courage.)

We've been in lockdown for a few weeks  after Delta variant got into the country. Now we are easing restrictions, and this Sunday my church intends to meet in smaller groups. I help in the children's programme, so I need to be there. It's so much easier lounging at home on Sunday and joining in the streamed service!

I'm slightly apprehensive. 

Coracle, I am glad to hear that all is well down New Zealand way. Enjoy your freedom, as ours won't come till 18 October, we have been told. Everyone in my family has been vaccinated at least once. I can't wait until I can get a proper haircut, the way I am going, they will need to bring in the sheep shearers. 

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

I can't wait until I can get a proper haircut, the way I am going, they will need to bring in the sheep shearers. 

Wagga's hairdressers?  

(very famous Aussie painting, for those who don't know — Shearing the Rams by Tom Roberts (1890)  )

Seriously, I'm glad to know things are still OK where you are, despite the ongoing lockdown (my family in Victoria are having much the same) and that restrictions are easing for you, @coracle.

There are hardly any restrictions left here in England and so far there hasn't been a drastic rise in cases, so that's a big relief. I did make it to church in person a few weeks ago but haven't been able to go since then, not because of restrictions but because I've had Sunday morning shifts at work. But I will be able to go this coming Sunday and I'm really looking forward to it. Being able to meet online, for church services and other things, has been a great blessing while in lockdown — I've even been able to reconnect with my previous church in Australia via their online services! — but it's never quite the same as being together in person. Hope yours goes well on Sunday too, Coracle.  

EDIT: Just found out there's been a change in my work schedule (having to cover for someone unexpectedly being away) and now I DO have to work Sunday morning, so no church after all. Oh well... I'll probably listen to an online service in the evening, then.

One thing I notice in myself after a period of lockdown is a reluctance to socialise, a preference for staying home and doing my own thing. The amount of leisure time has fueled my laziness and selfishness. Being in a bubble with people I don't share a house with makes it easy to retreat inside mine.

Perhaps if I look on it as a sort of holiday break from the usual contacts and voluntary activities I do. Now we're out of lockdown,  but still with restrictions, I have to make good choices.

@ Courtenay: Wagga's hairdressers?

  Good one. Yes, I remember that Tom Roberts painting. 

In the backblocks of Sydney, on the way to the Wiseman's Ferry crossing, there was Tobruk Farm, a nice place for a busload of pensioners on a day visit in those far gone pre Pandemic times. We watched boomerang throwing, & yes the boomerangs came back, there was a demonstration of whip cracking, & there were a flock of ducks that we were told were drakes, which might be nice for a sole duck who wanted males in competition over her. But I fear those drakes might be destined for the table. Plus other farm animals.   , plus horses and the usual kelpies & blue heelers. We also had a barbecue lunch.

The showpiece for the day was a flock of sheep, all huddled together, in two pens, moving in unison, as only sheep can. And the glamour sheep of the day was cut from the flock, ushered into the "salon" for the occasion, for the jillaroo, I suppose she was called, to give us townies a demonstration of how sheep are shorn. The Jillaroo calmly grasped the bemused & somewhat docile sheep, who seemed to rather enjoy the feminine touch, duly parted the animal from its fleece, then patted its cheeks gently, allowing the sheep to see itself in a hand mirror to see if it liked the effect. Now that is how to get a haircut! 

Unfortunately, even with a relatively small flock, it might take too long.   The adventures of Shaun the Sheep might not be suitable though, when I am beginning to look more like "Itt" from the Addams Family, as below. The dummy might do as a substitute for the facemask in public.   I'm having to use heaps of bobby pins to keep my hair out of my eyes, just like at boarding school, when I was a little girl. 

Anyway, on to Freedom Day....

I cried when our mask mandate ended in May because I thought it was too soon. In my opinion, everyone should mask until everyone has the option to be vaccinated. Of course nobody asked me for my opinion. In my yearly review, I was told that my mask interfered with my relationship with my coworkers and students. The reviewer made it clear that she couldn't tell me not to wear but she clearly didn't think that I should since I am fully vaccinated. My mom who does some work in Human Resources about went through the roof when I told her. Luckily, our mask policy at work lasted longer than the governor's mandate. Not that the policy was worth much, teachers only had to wear a mask at the beginning and end of the day and in the hallways, kitchen, and other shared spaces. I choose to wear mine all day. I keep an eye on the case rate and finally felt comfortable reducing my mask usage in July (when our mask policy at work ended). I actually went to a restaurant. Soon after that, the CDC changed their minds and I am back to wearing a mask. The person who reviewed my has left so I fell like I won't be looked down upon for it. I don't want to be the person who gives Covid to someone else, especially children. I have a strong instinct to protect children. Of course, I also want to protect myself from getting Covid and the masks likely help with that or at least I think that is what they are currently saying? I have viral induced asthma so it could be very bad if I did get Covid. I don't think our state or country will do lock down again no matter how high the cases get because people don't want restrictions. Individual businesses are allowed to make their own policies. Luckily the school district where my sister teaches requires masks for everybody.

I have a hard time understanding why people are not getting vaccinated. (The exception being people that have a medical reason not to). Maybe that is because I grew up getting the influenza vaccine (Another pet peeve is people not understanding that the flu shot is for influenza not a stomach virus.). I was jealous when my sister got the pneumonia vaccine. I got mine at my last doctor visit. In my state, they are bribing people with up to $100 to get vaccinated. It is sad that it is necessary but it has gotten more people to do it.

I have been coping with Covid by collecting masks.

Some were gifts, some a friend made for me, and some my mom and I made. Part of the reason it hurt when I was told that my masks interfered with my relationship with my students was because I chose masks that they could connect with and used them as talking points. Best compliment I got on my masks "You are the Ms. Frizzle of masks."

Posted by: @twigs

I have a hard time understanding why people are not getting vaccinated. (The exception being people that have a medical reason not to).

I've seen a variety of reasons people have given for not taking the vaccine, a number of which are medical even if they aren't necessarily tied to a specific condition. Off the top of my head, they include the following:

-Wanting more data on the long-term effects of the vaccine to make an informed decision
-Concern over reactions to the vaccine
-Natural immunity from previously having COVID
-Lack of trust in the pharmaceutical companies due to their previous safety records (and a lack of liability in the US)
-Ethical/religious reasons connected to the use of fetal cell lines for development or testing

Hope that's helpful in explaining why some people are not choosing to get the vaccine at this time.

@valiantarcher 

I have heard some of those reason. The last one was new to me. The sad thing is from what I have seen on the CDC's site people who have had covid and get the vaccine are extremely unlikely to get it again and thus if I remember correctly not able to spread it to others or very unlikely to.

I can acknowledge their right to make their own choice and list off reasons why people don't chose to get vaccinated. However, the concept of not wanting to get vaccinated is totally foreign to me, especially once the FDA has fully approved a version of the vaccine. 

To end on a somewhat humorous note, I came across this image.

@twigs thanks for the picture - and for your signature! I have only just noticed that.

@Twigs, if this helps to explain it better, I think a lot of it comes down to risk assessment, both of the risk that could come with getting COVID and the risk that could come with the vaccine. So, for any given person, do they feel the potential risk of developing heart inflammation or arrhythmia greater than the risk associated with a potential case of COVID? Is the potential risk of developing hormonal issues and/or infertility greater than the risk associated with a potential case of COVID? Is the potential risk of developing neurological problems greater than the risk associated with a potential case of COVID? Is the potential risk of developing cancer greater than the risk associated with a potential case of COVID? And so on and so forth.
In all instances, someone can - and people have - said that the risks associated with the vaccine are insignificant or unlikely and the risks associated with COVID are much greater. But everyone's personal risk assessment is different and so their decisions are different, and someone else's risk assessment doesn't necessarily inform theirs. Also, there can be a difference between "not wanting to get vaccinated" and believing it's not the best choice for someone's health given the information available at the time (which seems to be constantly changing). I think it's important that both (all?) sides of the issue can understand the other side(s), even if they don't agree, so I hope this has helped somehow.
Also, just a note on FDA approval: that is a compelling argument for some instances and cases, but not so much if the person is waiting for results from two-year or five-year tests - time can't be hurried.
That is a clever Delta variant 'ad'.

@valiantarcher The risk assessment you mention I grouped under medical reasons. Basically, I don't understand situations such as where my coworker doesn't want to get vaccinated and doesn't explain why yet complains that she won't get paid if her room is shut down for covid. If she is vaccinated she can still work or get paid if she catches covid. She was also paranoid about getting sick at the beginning of the pandemic. That's it! What I really don't understand is the drastic shifts in people's views on Covid. When they start out very nervous and then don't get vaccinated because they have decided covid isn't a big deal or are just lazy.

When a virus has the potential to have no symptoms to serious symptoms that can cause death, I always assume I will be closer to the severe symptoms because with my viral induced asthma I have been severely sick in the past. Obviously other people tend to assume the opposite. I am very Puddleglum like in respect to Covid- assume the worst and then put a bold face on it.

Anyway, @valiantarcher thanks for your explanations. I think I have a better understanding now.

And to end on a note of cuteness, when covid first hit, my students made pretend vaccum cleaners to vacuum up the germs.

Anyone else have stories about kids and how they deal with Covid?

@Pattertwig's Pal: No, sorry, I don't have stories about actual children, only about how my 3 grown children are faring. The oldest daughter can walk around unaided now, but still limps a bit, if she has been walking or working an extended period of time. She has been staying for a while, whilst that broken leg healed. Covid-19 or not, Hubby & I are not going to have an Empty Nest Syndrome any time soon.    

The middle daughter lives close by, so as her Hospitality job is in limbo, due to the continuing Pandemic lockdown, she joins the family bubble by day, going home before the 9.00 pm curfew for this area. The result is that we have become somewhat more professional about how we cater for ourselves, including menus, cooking, shopping, rotation of stock etc. What a change from the picky eaters of their childhood, when I nearly tore my hair out about what they refused to eat.  

Our fully vaccinated youngest daughter has been able to continue working, except for a few days, but has suffered bouts of IBS (Inflammatory), for which she has had to be hospitalised again recently, a weekend or so ago. But this last time we could not visit her due to the COVID-19 barriers between one part of Sydney from another. Fortunately she can still attend her regular blood treatments at our own local hospital, to stem the anaemia that has plagued her for a decade. This last time she had to go under a process called "Swabbing" at her local GP surgery,  to ensure that she wasn't transmitting any germs from her own suburb to ours.

It was interesting to look at your masks, which I realise must be washable. We ended up with a lot of Made in China disposable masks which got used & used all the time, when out within our 5 km shopping & exercising area. But as we stayed at home otherwise, they were only discarded when the strings break & they can't be decently used again. Youngest daughter bought herself a reusable mask but it is still in its package here, since she isn't allowed to visit family members more than 5 km away, so it isn't of much use to her. When we are in any shops all employees are masked up, as we must be ourselves. I've seen some very nice masks being worn by those employees who are able to stay in work, including on the tills at Woolies. Within our shopping centres workers have to wear masks all day. One of the staff I saw in a chicken shop, wears a mask with unicorns on it. I wouldn't mind getting one of those for myself.   

On a very nice warm spring day last weekend, a former Australian Prime Minister went to a Sydney beach for a keep fit swim. He lives there, so I guess Courtenay will know which one he is. He came out of the water in his trademark red swimming togs & headed for the beach kiosk for a takeaway cup of coffee. Only to be slapped with a $500 (Australian) fine for not wearing a mask, even though he socially distanced himself, etc etc. and it is allowed to remove one's mask to drink coffee out of a disposable papier maché cup. 

Reading the preceding discussion, it seems that we are a good deal more regulated than what is the case in USA. We have nice little certificates to prove that we not only have the  vaccinations but which dates we were injected with them plus what type of vaccine. The government (State) says that once the city has 80% with at least one vaccination we might open up & remove some of the restrictions of movement that are keeping us at home. Now people are screaming about big businesses demanding the two COVID shots not only in employing staff but also from regular customers as well. If anyone wants to enjoy life here, it is best to get the vaccinations, or else be shut out.

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

On a very nice warm spring day last weekend, a former Australian Prime Minister went to a Sydney beach for a keep fit swim. He lives there, so I guess Courtenay will know which one he is. He came out of the water in his trademark red swimming togs & headed for the beach kiosk for a takeaway cup of coffee. Only to be slapped with a $500 (Australian) fine for not wearing a mask, even though he socially distanced himself, etc etc. and it is allowed to remove one's mask to drink coffee out of a disposable papier maché cup.

Well, there's more than one former PM who's lived in Sydney, but your mention of the trademark red swimming togs gave away who it had to be even before I looked up the news!! (Now there's a quirk of regional Aussie dialects — what are called "togs" in NSW and Queensland are "bathers" or "Speedos" in Victoria, where I come from. And a "swimsuit" or "swimming costume" to the rest of the world.)

Glad to hear your oldest daughter's leg is getting better, Wagga — and I hope your youngest daughter is on the mend too. 

As for masks, I have several reusable ones made by my dad, who during last year's lockdown set up quite a cottage industry, using Mum's legendary Husqvarna sewing machine that she's had since before she had kids (possibly even before she got married, I'm not sure). My favourites are the two black ones with "meow meow meow" written all over them in white (everyone in the family has one or more of those — we all love cats) and the blue one with flying pterodactyls all over it.  

It's no longer compulsory to wear masks in shops over here, but I always wear one anyway, since I work in a care home and it's vital that we follow all the recommendations. We wear the blue disposable PPE masks at work. It's not nice on hot days (yes, we do get some of those even in northern England) and it gets a bit tiresome, everyone walking around with half their face blanked out. I do miss seeing people's smiles. But we're all keeping safe and the situation is still gradually getting better in the UK, so hopefully this is... well, probably not the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. (To paraphrase Churchill. )