 Endings.
Maybe there’s something lovely at the end of the rainbow. I’ve been looking, but I can’t even find the rainbow. How about the light at the end of the tunnel? Even that is hard to see. I’m talking about the end of Covid19. In February of this year, we had plans for a road trip from Queensland to Victoria, taking in some of our favourite places in outback NSW as we travelled. We had arrangements to visit friends and relatives in Victoria and had booked some Airbnbs and cabins for stops along the way. BUT as we were packing our bags, we felt an unease, as news of a horrible Corona virus appeared. Should we go? Should we stay, wait, and see how serious it is? Should we cancel our bookings? Should we cancel all thought of a traveling holiday? And we did – cancel, that is. What a disappointment. But there was worse to come as we realized the severity of the virus and its far-reaching effects. And, now here we are, seven months later, and I’m looking for the light at the end of the COVID tunnel. To be honest, as we live in Queensland, the situation is not as dire as it is in some other states. We must be grateful for that - and perhaps there is a glimmer of light at the end of our tunnel. Victoria’s tunnel has been long and dark, with hardly a tiny glimmer at its end. But just yesterday some of its more stringent restrictions were eased, and so, with that news, the whole of Australia is starting to look a little hopeful, even though the cost has been extremely high. 27,000 people have been infected and, the ghastliest count of all - the number of deaths is calculated at 870. Too sad to contemplate. However, we have a personal worry as we have family living in UK. Over there the infection rate is currently nearing 50,000 per day. Let that sink in! 50,000 people diagnosed with the virus, EVERY DAY! The UK death count, hovers just over 42,000 (so far). How can that be? It should be unacceptable; unacceptable to the people and certainly unacceptable to those in charge, especially their PM. Oh, but Boris Johnson is offering ways to alleviate this. One of the new restrictions is to make pubs close early! Yes, still go to the pub, but please leave by 10 pm. Is that really going to help lessen the numbers of infections? Of course, he has another plan, one that will come into effect by next March – next March! And this plan is to test every person – yes, EVERY PERSON - and those who are tested as COVID-free will be permitted to go about their usual activities, such as work, thereby keeping the economy going. I can only gasp with disbelief. Yes, a vibrant, functioning economy is vitally important, but should it be considered more important than lives? Apparently the answer is yes. Let’s not even go to the US facts. (Seven million infected, to date) and Mr Trump says it’s nothing much and will soon “go away”. Great! So, I guess I shouldn’t be worrying about our holiday plan cancellation. There are far, far worse effects than our little blip.
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