Dark Days for Victoria

A few minutes ago the latest figures for new COVID 19 cases were released. These showed a staggering increase of 270 new cases in the last 24 hours. Each time there is even a small decrease in the new cases, we are inclined to look at it as a step in the right direction. When yesterday's count was announced to be "only" 177, it almost seemed like a cause for celebration, now it is apparent that the trend line is still steadily getting worse.

Perhaps even more alarming is the rapid increase in the numbers in intensive care and on ventilators. This might be due to the fact that many of the latest cases are in nursing homes. We well know that the illness is generally far more serious for older people, hence when outbreaks occur in nursing homes the consequences can be disastrous.

We have already been told that, for most students, their education will revert to remote learning. Cafes and coffee shops are closed again, our group rides are nothing but a memory. A really worrying development is that there are now several outbreaks starting in NSW. These mostly are due to irresponsible behaviour of people attending pubs and clubs. Queensland has just announced that residents of 77 Sydney suburbs will not be refused entry to the sunshine state.

And all of this is happening at such a rate that we can just watch in amazement. I think the next couple of months could be a rather bleak time.

On a personal note, I am happy that my back pain is very much less. I am able to move about and ride my bike without much discomfort. I will be visiting the osteopath again tomorrow, and it might be my final visit.

Yesterday Maggie and I took advantage of the fine weather to do a hilly ride around the northern part of Pakenham. In fact it would have been really hard if we had not had the advantage of two ebikes. Even with some electrical assistance, the climbs still had us gasping. On the way home we stopped to buy a couple of cakes to enjoy with our coffees when we finished. The shop looked forlorn as it has had to revert back to takeway only. We were the only customers in sight.

Yesterday Qantas announced that it would not be resuming international flights unil at least March 2021. According to my original plans for this year, I would have been leaving for Europe in just 4 weeks time. I might just as well have been planning a trip to Mars. The only travel we can look forward to now will be within a couple of km of our own home.

At least we have food in the pantry and sufficient toilet paper for the next few weeks. Most important of all - our family is still well and safe.Read more