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April 29: Day 2 of Level 3…
It really was a good day today. Two new cases (ok, one confirmed, one probable) and no – zero! none! – deaths!!
The two cases is a fall from yesterday’s three, and the previous day’s five. It’s like a tantalisingly slow count-down, but with each number dropping day by day.
If those clowns at fast-food takeaways (and other workplaces, but we’ll get to that in a moment) don’t spread the virus, it will be our good fortune to have beaten the little bugger.
Interestingly, there are only three cars parked at the local Park’n’Ride carpark. Unusual because the roads continue to be full of commercial and non-commercial traffic;
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The commercial traffic is heavy. Building sites are a hive of activity. At one site, I counted three concrete mixer-trucks parked on the roadside. It’s difficult to believe Treasury forecasts that GDP will contract with all the activity in evidence.
On the motorway I glance to my left; a gang of workers are busy on the rail line between Melling and Petone. There are about a dozen men in their ubiquitous hi-viz orange gear. None of them are even close to being two metres apart from each other.
It’s a bright, sunny autumn day. There’s a noticeable chill as a weak sunshine tries vainly to warm the air. This may be a saving grace for us all.
Oriental Bay’s two beaches are mostly deserted except for a few souls willing to endure the brisk temperatures to sit on a luke-warm sand;
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Also at Oriental Bay Parade, another gang of workers – this time on road-works;
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Social distancing? Hah! Real Men don’t social distance!!
Not only were they not two metres apart, I’d doubt if there was even a metre between them.
So never mind groups of fast-foodies at burger joints getting close up together and potentially sharing their micro-organisms – what is it with males in physical occupations that closes down their minds to the concept of social distancing? Do they think they are immune to viruses, protected by their hi-viz orange gear?
Oh if only it were that simple. Like green kryptonite to Superman, does covid19 shy away from the colour orange? No wonder Trump is still unaffected.
Further along Oriental Parade, as it approaches the bend where it becomes Evans Bay Parade, the ultimate sign in return to normality awaited: road works with lolly-pop signs and queues of traffic;
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Five weeks of minimal-to-non-existent road works had come to an end.
Meanwhile, NZ First Leader, Winston Peters, had kicked off his party’s de facto election campaign by disclosing Ministry of Health advice that Aotearoa New Zealand should’ve been closed to returning New Zealanders so as to prevent the incursion of covid19.
The headline;
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But compare the headline on Collette Devlin’s article with the headline on the Stuff Politics directory-page;
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The article’s headline refers to Health MINISTRY. The politics directory-page; Health MINISTER. Big difference. (Hat tip: @nealejones) Either that was a bit of sloppy work by a Stuff staffer (try saying “Stuff staffer” quickly, repeatedly!) – or a bit of juvenile mischief-making.
On the way home tonight, more traffic on the road. Not as busy as last night.. though… road works were in more evidence on SH2.
Only two days, and I’m already yearning for the Good Old Days of Level 4 lock-down.
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Current covid19 cases: 1,474
Cases in ICU: nil
Number of deaths: 19
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References
Bloomberg: New Zealand Economy Gets Back to Work as Lockdown Is Eased
Fairfax/Stuff: Coronavirus – Winston Peters says Health Ministry wanted to close borders to Kiwis
Fairfax/Stuff: Politics Page
RNZ: Two new cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand
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
Resources
Johns Hopkins University: Coronavirus Resource Center
Ministry of Health: Covid-19 – current cases
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
Life in Lock Down: Day 29 & 30
Life in Lock Down: Day 31 & 32
Life in Lock Down: Day 33 & 34
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Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson
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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 =
“If those clowns at fast-food takeaways (and other workplaces, but we’ll get to that in a moment) don’t spread the virus, it will be our good fortune to have beaten the little bugger”
Again…..how would they Frank? There is NO community transmission…and you call them clowns!
You can not know there is no community spread in New Zealand Ross M ,,,
We have tested less than 2 people out of 100 in New Zealand ,,,, if I wanted to hide something among our population ,,, searching / testing about 2 people out of every 300 ,,, would make it very hard to find what is hidden.
I’m a bit alarmed and disappointed at the lack of mask wearing in NZ ,,, even if they do have to be hand made ,,, https://twitter.com/i/status/124623074962531942 ,,, its the top video in the thread
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-basic-dance-steps-everybody-can-follow-b3d216daa343
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-how-to-do-testing-and-contact-tracing-bde85b64072e
Cant see any comments about the family and Whanau at the tangi, being clowns or idiots. Selective outrage, when it suits I guess.
Good on them, let’s hope for many more acts of civil disobedience.
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