Miraz Jordan

Ugh, today is my least favourite day of any year: April Fools Day. I hope there’s no stupid stuff this year, of all times.

First full day of my partner working from our 70 square metre home was revealing. I thought her job was a lot of writing papers and some meetings. Turns out it’s 95% or more meetings and calls. 😲

This is our temporary new neighbour. Sadly, she's alone in her paddock, but she seems very calm. Someone told me she's an elderly horse.

Passionfruit flower.

A tranquil river on a peaceful day.

Well, Aotearoa New Zealand has had its first Covid-19 death: an older person with underlying health vulnerabilities. 😒

This is great news for the future: Virtual consultations very effective - doctor

A family doctor using virtual consultations … says it works so well he hopes to keep using the method.

He …was able to diagnose a rib sprain with an online video check on a patient.

Fascinating. See what happens in an epidemic if more or less people self-isolate. Even a few breaking the rules can prolong everything hugely.

Simulating Many Scenarios of an Epidemic

what if … people still occasionally go to a central location like a grocery store?

With pouring rain and a cold southerly, today I lit the fire for the first time this year. Just a little one, for an hour or so, but it sure cheered things up.

How many times can the media, on behalf of the public ask if it’s “alright to drive to the beach or park for a walk” and for the PM to say “Yes, but keep it local”? Local is local is local! Meanwhile, folks over the road had visitors today… !!!! 😡

This pandemic lays bare the anatomy of our society.

Our response to the imminent threat of mass deaths from Covid-19 is to ask: What is essential to sustain life? In Aotearoa New Zealand the answer is food and medical help. We are at a Level 4 Alert, which means the country is shut down and we are to stay home, leaving only for those two essential reasons (or a health-supporting walk in the fresh air).

But there is also an essential support layer that requires people to be out of their homes: we need governance and security, we need a supply system for the essential goods: trucks and drivers, and people who maintain our ports, electricity, water, sewage, Internet, media. We need people who care for the vulnerable. We need a banking system and those who staff the supermarkets, cleaners for the offices of those who cannot work from home. We still need systems and people to deal with the dead, ensure animal welfare, to remove rubbish. Who grows and harvests the food?

And it goes even further: who produces the medical supplies such as protective masks, and where do the raw materials for them come from? Who repairs the supply trucks and where do the spare parts come from?

It's fascinating to see how our society is knitted together, how all the parts are ravelled together.

Our government (and all the policy analysts and scientists and communicators behind the scenes) have decided for us as a country what is essential and what is required for our welfare.

We all as individuals too are confronted by this question of What is essential to sustain life? We each need to map out for ourselves what is most essential in our own lives.

The social dimension is also being revealed. There are those who have two houses: town and country. If they decide to wait out the shutdown in the country there's a risk they bring the virus from a populous place to a remote location, then adding stress to perhaps already inadequate medical services.

Some folks live in overcrowded and perhaps underresourced accommodation. Some have no home and live on the streets. And then there are those for whom home is not a safe place at all, but instead a locus of violence.

And what about all the many visitors and migrant seasonal workers? With travel massively disrupted perhaps they can't get home. Where do they stay?

And on the other hand thousands of Kiwis have returned from overseas to wait out the pandemic in their own country.

It seems that every aspect of our society is being brought under scrutiny. All its inner workings are being revealed, and questioned.

This is a huge social anatomy lesson for all of us — on a macro and a micro level.

I had a very anxious 10 minutes this morning when I went to wake up my MacBook Pro and couldn’t get it going. It was plugged in and asleep overnight. After a bit I tried a different power point and the problem was solved. It had run out of juice. 🔌

What great news! Christchurch mosque attacks: Gunman pleads guilty to all charges

The man [accused of 2019] Christchurch mosque attacks … pleaded guilty to all the charges he was facing … admitted 51 of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one under the Terrorism Suppression Act.

Recently added items at the Department of Obsolete Phrases:

• Cooee, anyone home?
• While you were out…
• I was hoping I’d catch you at home.

When World War 2 broke out my parents were in their early 20s. Dad was sent off to war and ended up in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp for 3+ years. I can't imagine that's what he expected for his life.

Mum stayed at home in London, England, working as a typist for the government. Mum endured rationing, blackouts and bombings.

That's pretty much all I know about their lives at that time, though I also know there was rationing for years after the war ended.

The point is everyone at that time endured straitened circumstances, and the horrors of war.

Now, some 80 years later, the world has gone sideways again, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries are handling it in their own different ways.

Everything has changed though: most travel has ceased, we're all advised to keep our distance from others and wash our hands a lot and thoroughly. Events huge, big and small have been cancelled, churches closed, hotels emptied of their visitors who have been going back to their own countries. That means that everyone involved in any tourist industry has probably lost their job.

I'm lucky enough to be in Aotearoa New Zealand where the government has taken swift and effective actions to prevent and control the spread of the virus. They restricted entry, used self-isolation, contact tracking and information campaigns. Now that there is probably community transmission we have entered Alert Level 4 and we are all expected to stay home unless we are a worker in an essential service or are getting food or medical attention.

Everything has changed, almost by the minute, over the last few weeks. Everyone in the world is vulnerable to this virus and stats from some other countries have been horrific.

This is a time where absolutely everyone is uncertain about pretty much everything.

Our government is a coalition of the Labour, NZ First and Green parties, under the leadership of Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. They have exhibited the most stunning leadership in this time of crisis. Their actions have been humane, science-based and authoritative. Their messaging has been a model of excellence.

They have come up with and implemented sensible and far-reaching policies with enormous speed, and released vast amounts of clear and accurate information. Their first concern has been the welfare of people, without forgetting the systems of our society, such as business, trade and the economy.

And while I'm no fan of the current opposition, the National Party, even they, after a bit of a stumble at first, have been sane and sensible in their support of the government's measures.

Our country is united in its determination to stop this virus from devastating our population.

Our Prime Minister is clearly exhausted, but at every press conference she remains unfailingly calm, clear, authoritative, friendly and patient. I can't imagine how she can possibly do all that.

Tonight we received an Emergency Alert about the conditions that take effect from midnight. Separately and together we'll do our bit to keep all of us safe and healthy. My parents had to do their bit in the war. Now it's my turn to do my bit for my country. At the end of this we'll be different, stronger perhaps. We'll definitely have a different perspective on our lives. I hope we use this time to figure out how to do better than we were doing before this crisis.

Ah, finally someone has broached the subject we don’t want to think about. In Aotearoa New Zealand we always expect an earthquake. What say we have a significant quake while in Shutdown? The excellent answer: we’ve thought about and are planning for that.

So very pleased to hear our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, switching from the word ‘lockdown’ to ‘shutdown’. Lockdown connotes house arrest and probably contributes to panic buying. Shutdown also clarifies that people can actually go out if they need to.

Capons! Who knew I knew that word!? One of the things I love about @danielpunkass Black Ink - Solve Crossword Puzzles With Style is that it drags these extraordinary words from the most profound depths of my brain. Also, it makes me actively love English every single day.

Aotearoa New Zealand is now pretty much in lockdown. Level 3 alert, but in 2 days time, Level 4 where businesses are closed and we must stay home. These are very good measures.

Supermarket limits.