I seem to keep talking about my dreams in all of these posts. I don’t know why. Maybe my dream world is more interesting than my real one? It could be. I do remember having weird dreams last night, but other than my CPAP mask hissing a little at times because it was pulled too tightly, I can’t remember any of my dreams this evening, unfortunately.
I do remember it raining this morning, but it was clearing by the time I woke up.
I ate breakfast quickly, took my pills, cleaned out the dishwasher, and played Final Fantasy XV for a while. One of my colleagues called about a work-related issue, so I went step-by-step to help sort it out. Hey, fuck, it’s Sunday, but then again, we’re living in weird times.
After playing Final Fantasy XV for a while, I took a shower. I played a little more, but then said to my husband that I needed to get out of the house, so we went on a walk. Not the super longest walk ever, but enough to get out and get some fresh air.
I’m not getting out of the house every day, and it has been about a week since I’ve been out of the house, and I can’t believe how quickly the trees have changed color and dropped their leaves in that time.
My Mom and I usually talk on Sundays, but she didn’t get in touch, and I did after the walk, but she decided we could talk later in the week. I know how hard this is for everyone, so I’m being more understanding in the time of COVID-19.
We had 9 cases of COVID-19 today: 4 confirmed, 5 probable. There were 45 recoveries, and 1 confirmed fatality that happened last week but the cause was confirmed today. 912 out of the 1,431 cases (63.7%) have recovered in New Zealand as of today. Most of the cases now seem to be related to known clusters.
Out of all the random samples the Government has taken in supermarket parking lots throughout the country, all have returned negative. There are still some outstanding — 25% of Auckland tests — but Waikato, Christchurch, and Queenstown tests have all come back negative. It appears there is no massive community spread going on.
Tomorrow, around 10:30 AM, New Zealand Cabinet meets to discuss whether to stay in Alert Level 4 (the highest) or to downgrade to Alert Level 3 (which is slightly less strict than Alert Level 4). So many people have so many opinions about this. For me, work will not be very different. I will still be working from home, I will still be creating online learning content for students, and students will not be attending classes on-campus as far as I know.
There are rumors that we will have another week of Level 4, which is contradicting one Government Minister (the Minister of Finance) stating these are all issued in 2 week blocks: one cycle of the virus.
Someone else states we’ll have two more weeks of Level 4. Another source says we’re shifting to Level 3. Some say Level 3 could last days, no two weeks, no a month, no 6 months.
Others are saying one scenario has us at Level 4 for 6 months, and Level 3 for another 6 months. Another claims that Level 4 will end, but we’ll be at Level 3 for at least a month, and then Level 2 for 10 months, and Level 1 for another 10 months.
No one knows. Honestly, this rumor mill is crazy, and we need to just calm down and let the Government do what they feel is best based on scientific advice.
So tonight, I go to bed not stressing about what level we stay in. It is very much the same for me for now. I would rather be safe than sorry. And, honestly, New Zealand is handling the COVID-19 crisis a lot better than many other countries at the moment.
Stay safe and stay strong. Be kind, and stay in your bubble.
Beam Me Up, Scotty 