Diary of a House: One Week In

I'm genuinely confused what day of the week it is. The routine of reading in bed, breakfast, working on my computer, going for a bike ride, lunch, house stuff, reading, dinner, TV/ odds and ends is circular and undifferentiated.

Day 7. Corona virus news in New Zealand
There are 61 confirmed and probable cases since yesterday. This brings our total to 708. However, as testing widens, this will go up. One percent of cases are community transmission. As testing increases this will go up too. As of Monday there were 49 cases in Canterbury. Clusters so far have been from the Hereford conference in Queenstown, a wedding in Bluff, a St Patrick's Day celebration in a central North Island bar, but none from Womad, go ahead with it on the weekend of March 13th-15th was a massive gamble. No cases in the Papanui community.
Global attention is also focusing on the other crisis playing out at a slower but equally inexorable rate: climate change. It seems the lungs of the world are getting temporary breathing space as industrial manufacturing slows right down, people park their cars and consume less.

I ring John at AFS NZ. I need to update for Kahu. He's getting very little intel from the organisation in the US. John tells me international passenger flights in and out of New Zealand have stopped, leaving only cargo flights. Looks like Kahu will be staying put in El Dorado for the foreseeable future. Mother/teacher advice: tell his teachers he's still here. He hasn't got much else to do as school is closed for the forseeable future. John tells me he is hosting an Italian host student who is still here and is looking after three boys currently eating him out of house and home.
I extend my hill ride over the top. A farmer in a Toyota with two dogs overtakes me. It's semi-rural up here. The sun is out and so are people. As I head to College Ave, the roads seem busier but it's all relative. I get stuck into my garden. As I'm leaving I see cat fur on the grass. I'm sure it's Pierre's. I haven't seen him since before Christmas but it appears he is defending his territory. I hope he won.
I video message Tammy and Kahu. About to eat their courgette slice. Yusei, Kahu's Japanese homestay bro, is going home via Chicago. Japan is not in lock down, and someone has organised a charter plane to get people home. AFS NZ has only 3 students left outside: a girl in Massachusetts and one in Argentina which locked down early. Their status is sheltering in place.
I ride to Sherry's house, getting lost twice, and watch from a distance as she tidies her garden. Back on the lane, Chris's mum and sister, Paula, are chatting in the late afternoon sun. We're hoping for a more relaxed, 2 metre deck chair gathering in a week.