It's cold and the rona's back

We had 101 days with no new community infections in New Zealand. Our last new infection was 22nd May 2020, On 8 June, the last active case was declared recovered and at midnight we moved into Level 1, which meant no restrictions on gatherings, everything back to normal, the shops opened back up, restrictions were lifted, students went back to school. Border restrictions did stay in place. Only returning New Zealand citizens and a few exceptions have been allowed in. All arrivals go into quarantine for two weeks .People got tested on day four and twelve of their quarantine, and must test negative to be able to leave quarantine. At first it was self-isolation but then it was quarantine facilities, mostly large hotels. A few people escaped. Some people will have to pay for the quarantine, causing outrage among ex-pats 

Worldwide, outside our border, the virus has still been raging. Worse than ever. For 101 days our cafes and bars open and noisy, our schools full, public transport crowded. But worldwide on 22nd of May there were 5,252, 237 cases recorded of Covid-19 and 344,446 deaths. 101 days later, on 11th August there were 20,489,472 cases and 743,417 deaths. Huge and deadly outbreaks in Australia and the United States. Latin America became a new hotspot for infection. News reports like Victoria's deadliest day yet. On 17 July, the New Zealand Herald reported that the US had broken its daily record of new cases six times in a month, including that day where more than 75,000 new cases were recorded. On 30 July, India recorded a daily record of more than 50,000. More than a million cases in Africa, 

Over the last week the Director General of Health, and the government amped up warnings saying it was only a matter of time before there would be another community outbreak and bam, on Tuesday just gone, 11th August, four cases of community transmission were announced. That night the PM announced Auckland would go into level 3 (schools closed, non-essential workplaces closed, social distances no gatherings of more than 10). and the rest of New Zealand to level 2 (maintain social distancing, no gatherings of more than 100). Everyone advised to wear masks. They have been contact tracing and testing like mad.23,000 test carried out in a single day. Since Tuesday another 33 community transmissions have been found. 

President Trump's brother is sick but they're not saying what with yet. Russia is deploying a vaccine that scientists in other countries are saying is not safe. There's a fear a bad vaccine in another country will put people off using one here. 

It's been really cold the last few days. Joe and I both grumpy and warmth deprived.