Remember when I posted that I was finally able to get some library books? Well, now I can't anymore because one of the librarians got COVID19. I'm not sure when the library will ever be able to be open again. (Happily, I was able to get more books besides the original five I mentioned.) And that's not the only person in the area who has come down with it. Two staff members at the local nursing home (or the local hospital; I'm not sure) also have the disease. You can imagine how worried everyone is.

It's horribly selfish of me but I feel less sorry for these new victims and more...annoyed at all the inconvenience this creates for me and my neighbors. It felt like life was finally starting to get back to normal for us. I'd hoped we'd have a larger breather before the next wave. I'm just not an empathetic person and we hear about so many people getting COVID19 that I'm tired of trying to feel sorry for them. Maybe if I knew them personally, my response would be more appropriate. (The library has self check out so I don't interact with the librarians much, I only go to the nursing home for caroling, and I never go to the hospital.) As it is, I'm less sympathetic and more just disgusted and frustrated. 

Nothing wrong with feeling annoyed when something prevents our being able to do something we expected to be able to do.

The fact that you also know that it is not really what you ought to feel, shows you have a good conscience.  Of course it's annoying, and you can't blame them - which is also annoying, because that would help you direct your feelings!

Hang on in there, Col Klink! Can you access books online, or use a Kindle? Have you tried searching online for other possibilities? And can you write things yourself, to share regularly with others also stuck at home?

I can get ebooks, at least some of them, and there's actually this site called scribd.com, which gives its members access to lots of books and documents. But I find I'm getting tired of entertainment on a screen. I want paper! ? 

If we are talking silver lining, one thing I can say about the quarantine that turned out in my favor was that the library renewed my items for over three months. The sad part is that I don't recall finishing a single one of them.

My uncle has been in a coma due to COVID-19 for the past few weeks but he has awoken and is feeling better. He's already posting on facebook from the hospital bed! ? 

That's wonderful to hear, @mm1991! Good on him.

After 100 days with no new cases in the community in my country, we have a new outbreak,  a cluster (all linked) of at least 30 so far. The virus is slightly different from previous cases, so it's not thought to be a 'smouldering ember' of a virus still hanging around for all this time. 

Authorities are still trying to find the original source. 

The only other people here with the virus are individuals in quarantine or hospital who tested positive while in the required 14 day isolation when they returned from overseas - they are tested on day 3 and 12 (limited to residents only). 

So? The whole of our biggest city is back in lockdown and the rest of the country in the next level down, eg social distancing, no gatherings over 100, and QR codes at all businesses to record on our phone apps where we have been, for possible contact tracking. 

Most of us have accepted it with good grace, but it's disappointing. However the head of our Health Ministry has been saying we mustn't assume it was over, and that a second wave was likely. 

I am out of work, so my life will change very little. 

It is sad you are out of work, but it isn't much better here at the moment. I've heard that this NZ version is slightly different from earlier episodes.

Two nice things have happened: A new vaccine is about to be produced. It is free but not going to be mandatory. We have had quite some experience of people wanting to do the exact opposite of what is compulsory. Sometimes managing humans is like herding cats. The SMH said two days ago that when the weather is humid the Covid-19 shrinks. It has also been said that the rates of normal flu are right down by comparison, probably because everyone made some effort to get vaccinated.

The state borders are closed. Meanwhile, Victoria's troubles with the COVID-19 seem to be easing finally, with lower rates of infection. It did get up back into Sydney which was disappointing. The worst of being told what the symptoms are, is that they are little distinguishable from normal hayfever/asthma/ sore throat. My husband got a croaky voice so in the end I got him to get tested & went myself, but we are COVID-19 negative. 

Glad to hear you are both negative. I've had really good health since I came back from UK last October, not even a proper cold, only some hay fever. I had a swab test done while I was still in my 14 days isolation in early April, and have lived quietly at home ever since, not getting a lot of exposure to cold viruses as I once did in my workplaces.
If you follow what's happening here, there has been quite a big cluster and a few unexplained cases in the last 10 days, and Auckland is isolated - police checkpoints on all roads in and out!

@coracle, yes we do see the New Zealand situation here on TV. How could we not do that here? At the moment we seem to be coping, but despite its rigid border closures, Queensland is starting to get cases so I guess they will be keeping its border with NSW closed. On the worldometer, we had caught up with Austria, but they got an outbreak & now have more than we have. Meanwhile New Zealand is way down the list.

Last night on TV there was a program on COVID-19 in USA trying to analyse its experiences as compared with South Korea, Iran, China, Italy etc. But it didn't say so much as a dickybird about this part of the world which I thought was a shame. It was followed on SBS by a BBC program which was somewhat more explanatory about the disease, itself.

I hope that you &  everyone else here is okay, My daughter says that maybe we did better than other places in the world due to a higher rate of people taking up flu shots this winter, to reduce people from getting even normal flu. 

Hi all. Don't know but that this might be a bit late. I did a little riff on the Lentiest Lent that ever Lented, when the wheels were starting to come off. Whoever said it first said it best: "Honestly didn't expect to give up quite this much for Lent."

But I also tried to sprinkle it with hope, as our Lord promised to all who persevere.

We've been fortunate in my tiny corner of the world. The worst thing that has touched us personally is bills we don't know how to pay. That's a blessing,really.

One of the things my friend in Melbourne is doing, with a 10 yo and a 6 yo, is going on virtual holidays, a different place each time. So far there was Japan and Hawaii. This weekend they are visiting India and NZ.  Their activities vary depending on weather, but she's posted some great photos. My favourite was the sumo wrestling, which seems to have mostly been everyone having turns at dumping Dad on the mattress in the backyard!

Living in Middle Earth as I do, I sympathise with people who post online about how they wish they could get to Hobbiton. My suggestion is do it virtually for now, which is easily managed by scrolling through the photos and videos on the Hobbiton Movie Set page on Facebook. 

While we are not in lockdown (outside Auckland), our gatherings are still limited to under 100, so no theatre or church for me.  We hope this will change in about 2 weeks. In the meantime, gardening and good long walks are my most important activity, although a wee voice in my brain says it likes sitting at the computer or watching dvds more!

One blessing the NSW government restrictions have given us is "peace & quiet" for the road construction works to get on with turning what has been a 2 lane goat track of a road into a six lane highway because of this new Nancy Bird Walton airport we are getting at Badgery's Creek. Since this road intersects with the nearest road to our place, watching the progress it is making has been a major "entertainment", as the new developments unfold, & local roads reconfigured. We are already benefitting from some of the improvements. It is a pity we aren't going anywhere much, ourselves, for some time.

Other construction works are gathering apace, too. One television station even runs a program featuring the modelling of our new Sydney metro system, in Sydney itself. We never knew so much about TBM's (Tunnel boring machines) as we do now. Hubby has never been so delighted. We are really going to have some fun & games when a train line promised between St Mary's, 10 km from here and Campbelltown allegedly starts soon.

Question is, will any planes visit the new airport when it is finished?

Well, if this isn't the year 2020 in a nutshell.

No one was hurt. Everyone prudently scampered.

The very ice is on fire! (actually a Zamboni).

After being one of the few states that had a decreasing number of new cases, somehow all of rural Kansas got hit at the same time and the numbers are flying back up again. Where my parents live, in very short order, schools went from being in-person, to being a hybrid in-person and online, to being online only. So sad and so frustrating. 

A few months ago, the state of Kansas decided they were no longer going to record recovered cases. I understand why.... it's because so many people are still struggling with the long term effects of having the virus. But I wish they'd just change the terminology from "recovered" to "no longer contagious" because I like to know many people are actually sick. 

What are my fellow Americans doing for Thanksgiving? For myself, my husband's side of the family opted to cancel. We were trying to figure out ways to make it work, like getting an asymptomatic test and quarantining for two weeks, but it was just too much of a hassle an his side of the family have a large number of high risk people. 
My side of the family is still trying to decide what to do. We were still planning on it until cases started to spike rapidly. But the other factor is my sister is due with her first baby a week and a half after Thanksgiving, so we may hold off and have a big celebration around Christmas instead.