Day 47- The Ventilation Squeeze

When I get to the house, Josh is there. He helps me move the rubbish pile so the scaffolders can move the pipes and poles down the side of the house without damaging Lance's amazing paint work. Rubbish tips aren't open yet so the off cuts and scraps of building refuse are still mine. The scaffolders are two cheerful young cigarette-wielding blokes, fresh from the weekend. We banter about how long it's taken them to pick up. Like many others who've been on the building site in labouring roles, they're happy to pose for a pic, proud of their role in the build and stoked to be recognised for the job they do. Lance arrives with his paint brush and I leave for B block.
I take a trip back for a chat with Lance at lunchtime. Time spent is time shared and we exchange stories. The scaffolders have just departed. They've left drink cans and cellophane wrappers but their work took time and is obviously more skilled than meets the eye.
Mid afternoon I meet Lance, the ventilation expert on site. He gets up the ladder and takes a look. The fans are average and there's no ducting to the outside. He can fix it. I apparently also need ventilation in the laundry. Close call with the gibbing. Some delays are lucky. And I need ventilation in the kitchen for the range hood. The extras keep coming. He can't get back till next Tuesday when the gibbers will be starting. A very close call.
Lance is washing his paint brushes on the grass. Tells me this is breaking regulations. I'm sure they'll be a regulation for making a cup of tea soon. On the way home the radio broadcasts a 4pm government announcement about moving to Alert Level 2. It will be staggered starting midnight Wednesday, exactly five weeks since the move to Level 4 on March 23rd. Schools and bars will reopen later and groups will be limited to 10 people. "Why ten?. Simple. If something goes wrong, that's much easier to contain, much easier to contact trace." But retail, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other public spaces, including playgrounds and gyms will be able to reopen on Thursday. Schools will start classes on Monday the 18th, while bars will be able to open on the 21st. Covid count today, 3 new cases- two nurses, one returnee from overseas.
 My last house job is kitchen talk with Nicki. I need to nail down my choice of range hood to get the ventilation ducting right.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a staggered move into alert level 2 starting on Thursday, with schools and bars reopening later and groups limited to 10 people.

She said retail, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other public spaces including playgrounds and gyms would be able to reopen on Thursday, 14 May.

Schools would return to normal classes from Monday 18 May, while bars would have to wait until Thursday 21 May to reopen.

She warned that groupings would also be restricted to just 10 people.

"Why 10? simple. If something goes wrong, that's much easier to contain, much easier to contact trace."