Day 19 / Day 5- Stepping into a new week

The city feels quiet. I go for an early morning ride and see the early morning exercisers, including six year old Batman in cape and mask. This time with his Mum. Having done this route for a couple of weeks now, I am beginning to recognise faces. There's a camaraderie with hill exercise- people smile and encourage, especially on the uphill slog. I garden in the afternoon. Life has a sameness about it. I imagine if we turned the clock back 150 years, it would show striking similarities.
On another note, it's evident looking at signage in the mall that we still need English teachers.  And I'm wondering what's happened to all the sports women of New Zealand. Never well represented in sports bulletins, they've now disappeared completely. Instead we're given a daily update of the impending tragic demise of rugby, rugby league and football competitions. It begs the question, how realistic was their business model anyway? Vast sums spent on men whose celebrity status rose in direct proportion to their ego. Another gender equity issue long overdue for an overhaul.

Covid- 19 new cases, 15 confirmed. Our total is 1349 with 546 recovered, an increase of 75 from yesterday. There are 15 people in hospital. 47% of our cases involve contact with a confirmed case, 40% have a link with overseas travel and community transmission accounts for 2%. The rolling 7-day average of testing is 3230 tests per day. Total testing is 62, 827.

There is one more death, a man in his 80's, from the Rosewood Rest Home, a cluster from the dementia unit of the home. Of all our confirmed cases, 101 are health care workers... and, a trivial factoid, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Director-General of Health, front man for the Ministry of Health, is acquiring cult hero status. Unlikely competition for the Kardashians, but these are strange times.