Covid-19 RATs and PCR tests calls

It kind of feels weird saying this, but I never thought I'd be contributing in a small way to contain the spread of covid-19, if it can be considered that. I am taking calls to place orders to send out one or more RAT(s) and one or more PCR test(s) or DTS test(s) to the relevant address.

I am fully aware it's not frontline work or advising any government or being part of any government decisions whose goal is trying to keep up with and contain covid.

However I am having an effect on a human and/or emotional level and possibly decreasing the workload on all frontline workers who have been going full tilt. It is strange to think what I say could have a real impact on a human life but I suppose in a way you get used to it; even though I just started. It brings covid to me on more of a realistic and tangible level when I'm talking to people and placing orders to send out tests to them.

So far none of the callers have sounded extremely concerned about their health and most if not all are living with others.

I don't know how long I will be receiving these calls but it is definitely a bit surreal and a shock to the system. I never really doubted covid was real, I actually know two people who have been infected with it and they're close to me. But the simple act of speech from someone who is infected is another level and this is the first time I have directly heard it. My close friends didn't speak to me, they messaged me. I feel comfortable saying I have never had covid unless I have without realizing so I have no personal experience (to draw on).

It feels a bit like an out-of-body experience but for me I'm not that surprised - I always seem to be connected to 'big' events or places or situations or I myself seem to impress: the Christchurch earthquake, I was in NZ for the Rugby World Cup 2011 and 2015, I was at Heathrow when they had tanks there (I think it was soon after 9/11), I saw Adele live, I've been on an A380, I was in Hong Kong and Viet Nam during SARS, I've been to the Auckland Lantern Festival (Auckland’s largest annual festival and New Zealand’s largest Chinese cultural festival), I've been on the TGV several times and the bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai, I have a connection to France and so the 2015 attacks and when Notre-Dame was on fire in 2019 it hit me, hard; among other 'big' events or places or situations or I myself am interesting.

I'm tired mentally too because you're 'waiting' for the call and when/if it does you spring into action. And my normal routine has been 'scuppered' and I think the word discombobulated, which Chris Hipkins used, applies here.

- A.M.

Happy Valentine's Day New Zealand ... again

One year on from my last post on the same date and in two days, 365 days, one calendar year, my first ever post was published here at highonlifeandtravel.com . Whoop whoop.

New Zealand is trying to contain the covid-19 variant of Omicron, and had pretty much just got through Delta. On an international scale, it has been pretty unscathed compared to the US, France, Italy, Fiji among others. It's also highly vaccinated and immunized and the government wants as many people as possible to get their booster. A very different practical and mental living from most of 2021 (and most definitely 2020).

At the same time, a protest on the Parliament grounds in Wellington will have been there for a week tomorrow.

One media person who is generally present for the post-cabinet update has had a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) return a positive result.

New Zealand will be going into phase two of the omicron covid strategy at 23 hours 59 on Tuesday the 15th, tomorrow. This is not a change in the covid protection framework which remains at red.

I predict the 15th February media covid release will have over 1 000 community cases. Not only is it covid, it is omicron. The only thing the general population can do is protect themselves as much as possible and the governments chase as hard as they can. There is no getting ahead of omicron, you just need to bring out as many big guns as you can to isolate and contain.

Even I have a problem typing "fight" because you're really trying to catch up with covid. 'Contain' is ok, I don't think the definition indicates time at all.

Kia kaha.

- A.M.

The impact of covid-19 and/on you

What has covid directly impacted in your life on a practical level?

Your employment

Your salary

Your spending

I have to say I have not had any employment problems, in fact my salary was increased in 2020 and it looks to have been in 2021 too (I'll believe it when I see it). I have not altered my spending and I save every month, which should amount to a few thousand at the end of a calendar year.

Your planning

Your relationships

Your time outside the house

My planning hasn't been impacted, I'm just waiting to fly so I can check off my travel to-do list. I haven't lost any relationships because of covid and the time I spend outside my house hasn't changed, I still go to the movies, get takeaways, have a massage or two, go swimming. Covid doesn't stop me going out, but it does stop me doing activities if restrictions are in place.

I would say my situation is due to luck, the general population, a competent government and an employer who values and cares about its employees from the top of management to my direct manager.

I also note I have seen new employees come and others go because they have another job. Of course each situation is different but it seems the job market here is not full of unemployed people from jobs that don't depend on movement and disposable income. Jobs that do are airlines, hospitality, hotels, musicians, singers, but that is the case everywhere, not just here. There are millions of people who have desk jobs, work in supermarkets, public transport, banks, healthcare and yes, they might make cuts, but you do need at least enough to function.

- A.M.

Categories of people to enter New Zealand, Aotearoa

Jacinda announced dates and times when certain categories of people would be able to fly into NZ, "reconnecting New Zealand". So technically I can enter my home at some point this year. It remains to be seen if the dates change.

I think the ones I feel for most are the international students: they can in theory be in country for semester 2 and nothing more. I wonder how many will just fuck it and plan to be there for February 2023? It fits better if they're coming straight from school in the Southern Hemisphere to try in February 2023.

Current international students and future international students are and will be paying for many of the costs incurred by their University/Polytechnic/Institute etc. as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

As for me, I will return, nothing will stop me, not even covid. I'll take my time, spend time with people, buy what I want/need, check off the unfinished business, enjoy everything New Zealand has ever given me.

Will it be 'changed' by covid? Maybe. But it's also late and so much less impacted than, say, Viet Nam, Spain, Argentina. I'll probably find it amusing and 'light' compared to my own experience and that of my contacts in some of the worst affected countries.

- A.M.

The relentless grip that is covid-19

I knew every place affected by covid-19 was struggling but when you actually realize just how badly, it is scary:

One reason isolation times have been reduced in some places is so essential workers can keep working because otherwise the cog of life isn't as smooth or it goes around slowly. Food, toilet paper, drink (not alcohol) etc. are important so governments have to do everything they can to not have a supply chain which isn't consistent.

And it's not just about having a or more products: if you don't have the products but they're on the way, then you end up with too many and a backlog which isn't good.

Nurses leaving their jobs because the toll is just too great, they're run off their feet, not paid enough and there have never been enough of them, not to mention the impact on their personal lives.

I am not saying you should or shouldn't get the vaccine but the fact many governments have made or are making it mandatory for some workplaces and some customers demonstrates that it's better to have, along with public health measures.

The atmosphere covid has created where someone in government can make the headlines and even lose their job for breaching measures to contain covid. A Hong Kong government employee has basically had that happen.

Mixing vaccines which has never happened before. Why? Because there are not enough.

Even before you get to making and distributing vaccines, accelerated trials and then emergency approval?

Protests are not in the same category, but people reacting in that way as a consequence of government decisions to contain covid-19.

- A.M.

The public holiday mood

Isn't there something lovely about public holidays where lots of places are closed, even supermarkets, and there's a lot less people? If you happen to go out it feels like the place is yours.

It's freeing too because you're less conscious of yourself because you're essentially on your own. In high density places it feels odd too, because it's gone from super busy to almost silence. In places with low density it's nice but not as surreal.

You can feel the atmosphere too: it's a comfortable, lazy, resting atmosphere, not a panicked or worried or scared or stressed one. And if you do see someone, it's a bit weird.

Whilst we're on the subject of less people, have you ever been out at like 2, 3 a.m. in the morning? I have, it's quiet, it's black and it very much feels like the place is yours. It's also a completely different side that you're not used to seeing. It's a nice experience, at least for me it was.

- A.M.

Tonga and covid-19

What no one wanted to happen has happened. People asked how help and support could get to Tonga without exposing it to covid-19. Covid-19 has now reached Tongan soil via the relief efforts after the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcano. It was one of the few places that had never had covid at all on its shores.

The eruption and tsunami have left physical and emotional scars in its wake, and it might sound awful, but luckily only three people died; but the impact of those who died is not to be dismissed. Now a second problem and potential slew of infections could seep through the population and not only make it harder to recover from the eruption and tsunami, but change the landscape of Tonga forever.

Covid impacts every corner of society, whether stopping parts of it completely or making it go one step at a time, and always at least one step behind its infectious spread: the healthcare system, teaching, supermarkets, supply chains that is to say freight and cargo, the economy, flights, public transport, luxuries like eating out and going to the cinema.

Tonga is not a large place. It is not developed like France, Germany and the Netherlands for example. It has limited resources and a small population. Developed countries and populations in the millions are struggling to contain and stop covid spreading so by logic how does Tonga stand a chance if cases explode? By God, foreign help should be provided. NZ, Australia and maybe Japan and France like they are currently.

Not to forget the damaged underwater cable.

One thing I know about Tonga is it has a rugby team. I don't really know how good it is but if I remember correctly it's passionate and tries.

Tonga, may covid not impact you much and may you recover as soon as possible from the eruption and tsunami.

- A.M.

Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev, Tennis Men's singles Final in the Open Era of the Australian Open 2022.

I'm not a tennis fan, I'm not a Nadal fan, nor a Medvedev fan, but I ended up getting involved enough to write this post. I DIDN'T watch the game, but I have watched tennis before and I'm familiar with some names.

It seems like Nadal's comeback was really just that, and an explosive one. With Federer not playing at all and Djokovic too, Nadal's pathway was clear to get the 21st Grand Slam men's singles title at the age of 35. He is the third oldest man to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era. Ken Rosewall was 37 at the 1972 Australian Open, Federer was 36 at the 2018 Australian Open; in other words, he is the youngest out of Rosewall, Federer and himself.

In addition, the game was in the context of the covid-19 pandemic, and Melbourne was the most locked down city in late 2021, 262 days, which translates to 37.4286 weeks or 8.61369 months. Nadal also contracted covid and also had had surgery. He himself said he had not practiced much and was unprepared and the win was unexpected and the most emotional he had ever played.

I'm glad Nadal and Medvedev were given chairs to sit on pretty soon after the ceremony started; I remember years ago after a game that lasted around 6 hours (I can't remember which), the poor tennis players, for some unknown ridiculous reason, were left standing on their aching feet until sense kicked in and both were given chairs. One of the poor men was trying to lean against/sit on the net.

I remember asking at the time why they couldn't just stop the game and start again the next day and was told you just have to keep playing, that's tennis. I was also coming from the point of view of the players health, they're tired and what do you do, just play when it's dark.

Out of interest I looked up the time limit or time limit rules for a tennis game and came across this, https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/longest-tennis-match-history-grand-slam-record : interesting and explains a bit more about what can be done for long tennis games.*

Reading about John Isner, I suppose one good thing about being recorded in general is if you have kids, you can show them proof you were a tennis player, the level you were playing at, the length of the game or whatever is being recorded, your music concert, your ballet performance etc.

It also got me thinking of a tennis player who helps others when they're injured and I found out he's Grigor Dimitrov.

Information on the final of the Men's singles in the Open Era of the Australian Open 2022.

Tennis tournament: Australian Open, Open Era, Men's singles

Year: 2022

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Date: 30th January until 31st January

Duration: 5 hours 24 minutes; start time: 7:30 pm, end time: 1:11 am

Players: Rafael Nadal vs Daniil Medvedev

Age: Nadal, 3 June 1986, 35 years old; and Medvedev, 11 February 1996, 25 years old; Nadal is 10 years older

Australian Open history: 21st year

Tennis history: Nadal has won the most Grand Slam men's singles titles, that is to say 21

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Sources: https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/rafael-nadal-21-stats-for-his-21st-grand-slam-title#:~:text=At%2035%2C%20he's%20the%20third,Australian%20Open%20at%20age%2036.

At 35, he's the third-oldest man to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era. Ken Rosewall won the 1972 Australian Open at age 37, while Federer won the 2018 Australian Open at age 36.

https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/longest-tennis-match-history-grand-slam-record

- A.M.