Covid Found Us

Well hello there, great to be back, great to see you! How have you been? Surviving in this crazy world that we call home? Good. 

It's been an interesting year so far, especially living in New Zealand. Covid has finally hit us! And when I say hit us, I mean Rocky Balboa came along with his boxing gloves and went to work. We went from thinking a hundred cases a day was insane, to above 20,000 cases in a day becoming the new normal. The more we get covid though, the more freedom we have! (Please don't make me try to explain the logic in that one, because I don't even have it myself). Basically, at the start all those years ago, we locked down. Then we locked down just the capital. Then we isolated anyone for ten days who came within breathing distance of a covid case. Now we're at the stage where if you've got covid or someone in your house does, you stay home. Anyone else, go about your daily life. Even that they're reducing from ten days to seven days after midnight tonight!

The fact that covid is everywhere now, means that the fear of covid going rampant is non-existent. It's happened, we've joined the rest of the world in being diseased. Which also means the fear of those diseased travellers coming in to our country is non existent. We can finally have kiwis come to New Zealand and they don't have to isolate when they arrive anymore! No more two weeks in an MIQ facility, no more self isolating for a week when you first arrive. Just hop that plane (with a negative test of course) and come on over! After that, will be the different specific visa's they're letting in until October, which is when anyone can come in and be a tourist again - just in time for summer! 

It's definitely a difficult time for businesses; we've not seen sickness rates on this scale yet. The isolation requirements are putting out multiple members of teams at a time, to a point where things are closing. I was at the airport last week and there were four flights departing the whole day, so the cafe was closed due to lack of staff and flights. Even around town, you can see it in the supermarkets being emptier, businesses are closing an extra couple of days a week to make sure they're not spreading out their remaining staff too thin. It's a tricky situation to navigate and one that is everchanging! But at least for the first time in two years, it actually feels like we are heading in the right direction. 

We can plan things and look forward to them a little more. My mum's coming back from Australia to visit for a while - the first time she's managed to leave Australia in sixteen months. Then there's the holidays abroad later in the year which we've had postponed for ages! We might actually get to leave Kiwi soil without the fear of not being able to return. As someone who has been away from home for two and a half years in what was meant to be a six month adventure, it's been a struggle.

But the light is at the end of the tunnel - is it finally coming to an end?