Coronavirus Update #8
Here we are in week 8 of this madness. New Zealand seems to be heading in the right direction, and it is in stark contrast to the US, which seems to be a chaotic mess of coronavirus, media storms, and poor leadership. A global pandemic wasn’t on our radar when we decided to move here, but I am grateful every day that we did!
April 17 - It is a mixed bag of news today: 9 new cases! 2 more deaths. This is the first time we’ve been in single digits in a month, and I really hope this means we can start thinking more and more about getting out of this lockdown. There is more random-tests-at-the-supermarket going on today. So far, all of the tests have been negative, which is a good sign for no community spread.
April 18 - The new case number went up today to 13, but there are no new deaths. There is also more supermarket testing going on, this time in Auckland. A Stuff article posted on Facebook revealed that there was one unexplainable positive in the random Waikato testing that happened the day before. However, when I went back to look for the article, I couldn’t find it. Perhaps they found a connection through contact tracing? I’m not sure, but it was scary to read.
Today was also my daughter’s birthday and our first big celebration in quarantine. Before lockdown, I took stock of my toy stash and purchased another couple of items to gift her on her birthday. I wanted to make sure we had something special as there would be no big party given we’re all living in our bubble. I did, however, manage to find a bakery that was miraculously open for business and deliveries. The Little French Pastry somehow was deemed an essential service (maybe because they make bread?) and was up and running with deliveries three times a week. They put together a little chocolate caramel cake with a chocolate 5 and pink macarons on top. It wasn’t the most gorgeous cake we’ve ever had, but it was delicious and made her feel extra special. Side note - unlike in the US, there is not take-out, no food delivery, no drive through at the moment. Under the current Level 4 lock down, all of that is closed, so getting a cake delivered was extremely unusual.
April 19 - Only 9 new cases today! And unfortunately the home death last Tuesday that was most likely related to covid-19 was confirmed as a coronavirus death. Fortunately, there are no other deaths to report. There are now 1431 cases, 912 of which have recovered. The low increase in cases the past few days is making people more and more excited about the government possibly lifting the lockdown tomorrow. There is going to be an announcement as to what our next steps are. Will we stay in Level 4 (like many people want?) or will we move to Level 3 (like a few people want?) There is a lot of speculation.
April 20 - Again only 9 new cases. This announcement comes at 1:00 during the government’s daily coronavirus update. The big announcement - are we staying in lockdown - comes at 4:00. I go for a walk around that time, but tune into the press conference to hear first hand what Jacinda’s decision is.
She handles herself well, giving updates on numbers, condolences to families, and accolades to the healthcare system and Kiwis in general who are banding together and staying home. It is an informative and uplifting message. She then announces that we will be staying in Level 4 through next Monday - the 27th, a public holiday - to give ourselves an even bigger buffer against further spread. However, she says that workers can start going back to prepare for opening business next week if they can do so safely. This includes schools, which can open up if they are ready and if necessary next Wednesday, the 29th. She urges people to continue to stay home for work and school if at all possible and that dropping to Level 3 does not mean we can all go crazy. Level 3 does not open up social opportunities. It only opens up economic opportunities.
The public response is almost overwhelmingly supportive. Simon Bridges, the National Party leader, gives a response that leads to equally overwhelming bashing by the public. People are not happy with his dollars-over-lives statement. Some of the comments were absolutely scathing by Kiwi standards, though they would probably be considered tame by US standards.
April 21 - 5 new cases today, but one more death. There is a noticeable uptick in cars on the roads today as people start going back to jobs to prepare for opening next week. It’s actually a little bit sad. It’s been wonderful to see so many kids learning to ride bikes on the near-empty streets.
The schools are trying to get a handle on who is going to need to send their kids next week. It is interesting: one school basically said, “We’re not opening unless absolutely necessary. Email us if this applies to you.” The other kid’s school sent out a survey to figure out who was planning on coming and what wrap around services (i.e. bus and lunch services) students will need. Not surprisingly, the not opening school is the one that has done an amazing job setting up a distance learning program while the school that has struggled and received a lot of criticism for its lacklustre program and planning is assuming it will open back up. I don’t think many parents will send their kids back from a long time if they can help it.
April 22 - 6 new cases today, and another death from the biggest eldercare home cluster. We’re now at 14 deaths, 1451 cases, 1036 recoveries, and 16 clusters around the country. One more positive piece of news is that there are only 2 cases in April that they can’t positively identify the source of. This, combined with all of the community testing, indicates that there may not be community spread.
In true Kiwi fashion, one of the biggest things to come from the excitement of the return of take out (or “take aways” as to-go meals are called here) is the community disapproval of UberEats. People are very upset that UberEats charges around 30% and cuts into restaurants’ margins. There is a community upwelling to order directly from restaurants and bipass UberEats altogether.
April 23 - Only 3 more cases today, all connected to existing clusters. Unfortunately, there are 2 more deaths, including one from the Rosewood rest home that has been the location of so many of New Zealand’s death count.
The traffic is slowly getting heavier as more people return to work to prepare for pseudo-opening next week when we drop down to Level 3. I notice as I wait in line at the grocery store that there are new signs advertising delivery and click and collect options beginning on Tuesday. I even saw one person inside the children’s clothing store near the supermarket. It was strange. I can’t believe how accustomed I’ve gotten to seeing everything closed. The new normal is already starting to feel, well, normal.
