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April 23: Day 29 of living in lock-down…
Three new cases… but two more deaths. It’s a cruel act of Fate that success and good news is tempered with tragedy and death. With each of those deaths, families are left grieving for the loss of someone who has been entwined in their lives.
There are times I wish that those agitating and making shrill demands to re-open the economy, should be made to be in the room with those grieving families. No amount of money and economic growth can make up for the loss of a loved one who we shall never see again, and lives on only in our memories and photographic recordings.
The day starts of as many have in the last four weeks. Drive past the railway station Park N Ride – still three cars in the open expanse of a carpark built for a hundred times that number. (Yesterday there were four cars present.)
On the main road to SH2, the white motorhome is still in place. It’s become a ‘fixture’ my gaze automatically looks for in the first ‘leg’ of my drive to work.
It was a cloudy, mild, autumn day.
On the highway, a Wellington Electricity van; ‘JETS’ van; ‘Phoenix Transport’ van; an unbranded double-tandem truck (unbranded commercial vehicles seem more common than I have ever noticed, previous to the lock-down); ‘Kaibosh’ van; a fully laden ‘PBT’ container truck; ‘Jina’s’ fruit & veg van; a police car; a light truck marked ‘Dandy Candy’ (really ?!); ‘Waste Management’ truck; an unbranded light truck carrying gas cylinders; ‘Placemakers’ ute; ‘Chorus’ ute; ‘Precision’ glazing van; ‘Paint m& Plasterer’ ute; ‘Good Shed’ light truck; ‘L.G. Anderson’ covered truck; ‘Steinlager’ branded covered truck; a firewood truck (company logo not discernible); ‘Gilmours’ truck; ‘Arobake’ van; a fully laden ‘KAM’ container truck; another police car; ‘Coca cola’ branded truck; towtruck wagon carrying a car; ‘Bundaberg beer’ branded SUV; ‘PBT Transport’ truck; ‘Toll’ double tandem truck; ‘Print Link’ truck; ‘Arrow Hygiene’ van; ‘Budget Rental’ covered truck; truck carrying two waste-bins; ‘Commonsense Organics’ van; ‘Enviro waste’ rubbish truck; ‘Dimond’ building ute; ‘Inter Waste’ truck; an unbranded fully laden container truck; an ambulance; a skip bin truck; scaffolding truck; ‘Red Cross’ blood van; ‘Gilmour’s’ truck; ‘Cushman & Wakefield’ real estate services van; a police car; ‘Tip Top’ refrigerated truck…
Traffic on SH2 was light; about half a dozen vehicles around me.
The red ship still lay where it was first spotted;
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Definitely under fourteen day quarantine.
Meanwhile, another large freighter berthed near the Interislander wharf, spotted the previous day, was gone. If mandatory quarantine does not apply to that vessel, hopefully it’s a coastal trader, restricted to Aotearoa’s waters.
The road works gang with ‘Wellington Pipelines Ltd’ trucks and digger in attendance, were still digging up the footpath. Still no sign of any social distancing being practiced.
Meanwhile, ‘Z Energy’ has made itself out to be practicising high levels of corporate bastardry by getting rid of unwanted fuel stocks back on to the world market. The reason? To keep local fuel prices high.
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So there we have it; Z Energy’s chief executive, Mike Bennetts openly admitting that allowing cheap fuel into Aotearoa would result in “too much fuel that will affect us by way of having to sell“.
Anyone still believing that the rules of the free market apply in any way, shape, or form, is deluded. ACT – the so-called party of the free market – made no comment on this blatant manipulation of fuel prices. (Quite the opposite, in fact. ACT has been calling for more corporate welfare – paid by taxpayers.)
The next time David Seymour or any of his ACT cronies bleats on about “market forces” – point them to this story. Then watch them do “mental gymnastics” to explain how/why such a thing could happen in an open market like ours.
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Current covid19 cases: 1,451
Cases in ICU: 1
Number of deaths: 16
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April 24: Day 30 of living in lock-down…
Back up to five new cases *AND* another death. With only three more days until we move to Alert Level 3, we better start hoping that contact tracing is working.
The railway station Park N Ride had the same three cars – but there the similarities to previous days, weeks, ended. In my driving to Wellington, and around the city, there was a marked increase in both commercial and non-commercial traffic on the roads. The fact it was a fine, sunny day – more like summer than autumn – also brought a few people out.
Commercial traffic was definitely higher than before. And whereas there there moments on the open highway when my vehicle was the only one present – today there was a constant flow of traffic around me. Still not as heavy as in normal times – but still noticeably heavier than at any time in the last four weeks.
On my way home tonight, again, traffic at around 8pm was the highest I’ve seen it since Level 4 lock-down began at 11.59pm, Wednesday, 25 March.
People are starting to revert to “normality”.
Meanwhile, the roadworks in Vivian Street, downtown Wellington, had ended; as had roadworks at the Miramar ‘cutting’; and new roadworks this afternoon in William Street, Hataitai. I watched the roadworks gang – at no point was social distancing evident. It was business-as-usual.
If the police fail to monitor holiday ‘hot spots’ as they are promising to do this weekend, it will be a free-for-all for people to be on the move. In which case, Professor Shaun Hendy’s prediction of a “re-invasion” by the virus could become a reality.
Back to square one. Or rather, back to Alert Level Four.
Meanwhile there are the usual click-bait headlines highlighting bizarre ideas. Such as Aotearoa prostituting itself to become rich white men’s “bolt hole”. Or billionaire Trump supporter and founder of data-collecting company, Palantir, Peter Thiel, wanting to offer his services to help track covid19.
That’s a ‘Yeah,nah,piss off” to both those suggestions.
And while we’re about it, could someone in this government look to stripping Peter Thiel’s New Zealand citizenship? Mr Thiel bought his citizenship (the price is unclear) in 2011. Millionaire John Key gave Billionaire Peter Thiel citizenship – even though the latter had only briefly visited this country on a few occassions.
There is no clear reason why this gentleman should hold New Zealand citizenship. Aside from his money, maybe.
The one headline I want to see is not “Billionaires flock to New Zealand and buy up North Island” – but rather, “No new covid19 cases today“. I know which is worth more to us.
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Current covid19 cases: 1,456
Cases in ICU: 1
Number of deaths: 17
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References
RNZ: Z Energy selling fuel back to world market
ACT: News
ACT: Good call, now set clear rules and support Level 3 losers
RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened in New Zealand on 23 April
RNZ: Covid-19 – Three new cases in NZ, two further deaths reported
RNZ: Covid-19 alert level 3 – What you need to know
Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Police checkpoints at the ready ahead of Anzac weekend, Covid-19 level 3
RNZ: ‘The possibility of reinvasion of the disease is very strong’ – Shaun Hendy
Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Rich migrants not solution to New Zealand’s Covid-19 problems, economists say
RNZ: Controversial tech firm Palantir had talks with govt on Covid-19
NZ Herald: Citizen Thiel
RNZ: Covid-19 – Five new cases of Covid-19 in NZ, one further death
Must Read
Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths
The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?
The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately
Elemental: Hold the Line
Other Blogs
Previous related blogposts
The Warehouse – where everyone gets a virus
Life in Lock Down: Day 7 (sanitised version)
Life in Lock Down: Day 8 (sanitised version)
Life in Lock Down: Day 16 – Bad Friday
Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!
Life in Lock Down: Day 24 & 25
Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day
Life in Lock Down: Day 28 – An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern
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Acknowledgement: Slane
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This blogpost will be re-published on “Frankly Speaking“. Reader’s comments may be left here (The Daily Blog) or there (Frankly Speaking).
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= fs =
Yesterday over North Canterbury, a light aircraft (Tiger Moth?) performed aerobatics for an hour or so.
Apart from the wasting of precious and rapidly depleting resources and adding inordinately per capita to the pollution that is causing planetary meltdown, there is the ‘small’ matter of ‘Stay home’ and ‘Only essential services permitted’ regime.
It would be interesting to hear Jacinda’s take for this outrageous and egregious rule-breaking. Or is this another case of they do it because they can? (They being the ultra-wealthy with money to burn while the many of the ‘peasants’ struggle to put decent food on the table.)
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Indeed, AFKTT. I struggle to see as “essential” (in a pandemic crisis) several activities. Pest control? Firewood supply (not winter yet)? Road works that don’t seem to fit any definition of “emergency”, such as road markings at Arras Tunnel in Wellington. And where roadworks *might* be essential, there is no sign of any of the workers keeping to a 2 metre distancing rule. (Maybe ten big, boofy, blokes all flat together?)
What galls me is that those business that followed the rules and stay closed will be penalised whilst those who flout those very same rules survive.
I have yet to see Simon Bridges or David Seymour bring up this problem in their precious “Epidemic Response Committee.)
Mind you, Mr Bridges’ time is taken up with 520km drives between Wellington and Tauranga. And Mr Seymour… f**k knows what he does with his time.
Here’s an example of a business “trying it on”. One of those people for whom the rules apply differently (or not at all, ‘cos, y’know, yada yada yada)…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/121180751/beach-lodge-offers-discount-getaway-accommodation-during-alert-level-3
Clearing the Confusion Over CV19 (3.39)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqqN0S8BNsI&feature=em-uploademail
Keep up the treatment all is not lost
Shit Frank you counted all mthe truck movements arouund your bubble, but no rail movement?
Anyway you can also count the amount of flies on the wall each day to check if the ‘rotting rubbish’ is being picked up?
I thought the link you posted up ,,, where it was claimed no virus had ever been found to cause disease ,,,was funnier .
I would have laughed at your latest link ,,, but the disinfectant I gargled on Dr Trumps advice made my throat sore ,,,
I recommend people listen to Dr Fauci ,,, he gets quite frank and to the point in this Jimmy Dore video ,,, he gets to the point about 1min 30 secs into the video,,, talking about Trump: ” he tied our hands, he tied our feet , he may as well as tied our balls to our ears ” https://youtu.be/fAjUcPIlqrs?t=115
More seriously ,,,A couple of good informative articles ,,,, although it could make anti-vaxers heads explode
https://www.linkedin.com/content-guest/article/you-still-dont-understand-how-china-succeeded-stopping-mario-cavolo/?fbclid=IwAR1BpwQq-flDsO_Um2P50tVmgHYMUwITwt0GTw-a7IjxB_OvBLqNBD6refE
Coronavirus: The Basic Dance Steps Everybody Can Follow
Part 2 of Coronavirus: Learning How to Dance
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-basic-dance-steps-everybody-can-follow-b3d216daa343
my above comment was in reply to Helena ,,,, although I really feel Dr Fauchi was speaking for this posts author ,,, Frank ,,, at about the 2 min 30 secs mark ,,,, the curfew breakers https://youtu.be/fAjUcPIlqrs
There are times I wish that those agitating and making shrill demands to re-open the economy, should be made to be in the room with those grieving families. No amount of money and economic growth can make up for the loss of a loved one who we shall never see again, and lives on only in our memories and photographic recordings.
Pharmac seemed as though it was about to fund Keytruda, a lung cancer drug. Now it has “postponed” funding due to “budget constraints”. Five people die each year from lung cancer. The Government appears to have consigned these people to an early grave. Of course, the decision to spend so much money fighting Covid-19 means that the cupboard will be bare elsewhere. What do think the effect of the Government’s apparent obsession with Covid-19 will be on the physical and mental health of NZers?
Five people die each year from lung cancer.
That should read five people each day die from lung cancer.
People die we all accept that . If the government can help stop unnecessary death or injury that is accepted by most as a valid use of their power . Medical intervention saves many lives but it all costs money for drugs and equipment . Health is a bottomless pit and at some stage the line has to be drawn and the money runs out . So those on the wrong side of the line will die . Where that line is drawn is decided by the economy at the time . The decisions made now by the government will effect the physical and mental health of NZ people for many years to come . To make those decisions all sides of the arguement need to be heard and weighed up it should not be driven by political stance alone
People die we all accept that . If the government can help stop unnecessary death or injury that is accepted by most as a valid use of their power . Medical intervention saves many lives but it all costs money for drugs and equipment . Health is a bottomless pit and at some stage the line has to be drawn and the money runs out . So those on the wrong side of the line will die . Where that line is drawn is decided by the economy at the time . The decisions made now by the government will effect the physical and mental health of NZ people for many years to come . To make those decisions all sides of the arguement need to be heard and weighed up it should not be driven by political stance alone
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