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Hey, remember back at the beginning of Covid when the USA was unilaterally confiscating all of the medical supplies they could get their hands on?
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Yâall are welcome to keep her for as long as you like.
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To paraphrase an old polka:
I donât want her
You can have her
Sheâs too bats for me.
Sheâs too bats for me.
Much too bats for me.
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My stepdaughter didnât get the booster. I doubt her husband even got the vaccine, heâs the type to not do it. And they didnât vaccinate their son because âthey donât know if the vaccine is dangerous for kidsâ. Yet after the Christmas break, they sent him into the petri dish called school. All three tested positive today.
A couple friends who came over and cooked Thanksgiving dinner for us had to miss Christmas quarantining due to a covid exposure at work, although good news, they tested negative.
People at work are getting it left and right, mostly those who have kids in school or daycare. News from where I used to live - they closed schools for two days (yes, two whole days) due to all the infections. Theyâre 200 teachers short, but in two days, the whole pandemic should be over and everything back to normal, right?
My little household stays covid-free so far. But weâre switching back to curbside pickup or delivery to get stuff and canceling appointments that would require us to go somewhere.
When my wife called to cancel her hair appointment, they told her theyâd had 8 other cancellations this week from people who either had it or were waiting for test results. I moved my doctor appointment to the next available date, which is in July. (So lucky we donât have those long wait times like places with single-payer healthcare do, right? They must wait more than 6 months for a routine appointment, right? 
)
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It never endsâŚ
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WowâŚjust wow!
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Reminder that every traveller who brought Covid into Tasmania was double-vaxxed.
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Journal of the Corona Year â Ermahgerd Omicron!
Sunday, 01/02
New symptoms have arrived this evening â exactly one week since the original symptoms emerged. I have an odd sensation in my nose and I can smell a faint trace of industrial cleaner. Itâs a sensation I have experienced before but canât quite remember where.
This is happening mainly in my right nostril. The same nostril where I first noticed something last week. There must still be a deeply-rooted infection up there.
Monday, 01/03
I wake up this morning and I realize what this sensation is â I know it from having lived a number of years in Minnesota. Itâs the feeling when going outside on the coldest of cold days. Air enters your nose like a sharp knife. Soon nasal passages feel like a vast empty void and phantom smells are experienced.
The phantom smells I am currently having range between:
- Ammonia
- Dust
- Peanut butter
- Beef and barley soup
I can only assume the virus is causing a numbness in my nose like cold air does. Does this mean I am losing my sense of smell? Itâs hard to tell, but I donât think so. This sensation has remained consistent all day.
This is also my first day of working remotely due to my isolation. The rules for isolating have been relaxed. If you caught the disease in 2020, you were basically stuck in your apartment for two weeks, unless you had to go to the hospital. Now I can go outside for exercise and visit local stores for necessities, as long as I wear a KN95 mask and stay 6 feet away from other people. Basically, thatâs how I lived all of 2020. Feels too familiar.
I get a text message around 11:00 from my manager. He has now tested positive.
Tuesday, 01/04
Today the odd sensation in my nose is diminished, and sometimes not here. Throughout the day my right nasal passage either has that cold air sensation, is stuffy, or is running.
I have no symptoms at all other than the battle royal taking place in my nose.
I feel like my sense of smell is stronger today. But, of course, that is very hard to evaluate.
Wednesday, 01/05
No noticeable symptoms today. My only hardship is using the system my company has set up for remote working. It is not healthy to shout at inanimate objets. Well itâs not healthy to shout at anything, really.
Thursday, 01/06
As was the case yesterday, I finished working at 8:00 pm. Strange to think I was sitting at that desk for almost 12 hours. I go out for a walk to try and regain my composure. I decide to get mouthwash at the local Walgreens. They now have boxes of rapid at-home Covid-19 tests behind the counter. Each box has two tests and cost $23.
The cashier asked me how many boxes I wanted. I donât know what the maximum was. I bought one. Thatâs all I need for now. If I need more in the future, I now feel confident they will be available. Now I have to figure out when and what to do with them.
My tests were manufactured on December 15, 2021. They will expire on November 23, 2023.
I also stopped in a grocery store to get some necessities. They had a different brand of at-home tests at the registers. One test for $19.99. I didnât get any.
Friday, 01/08
Late in the afternoon I update HR on my symptoms. I will be returning to work in the office on Monday.
I am now certain that my senses of smell and taste were reduced on Monday. But now they are back to normal.
Saturday, 01/09
Today is the day I have decided to take my rapid test. I waited a few days after my symptoms disappeared to make sure the virus was out of my system.
The instructions were very simple. But were they simple enough for me?
Apparently I did it correctly and got the one blue line. So Iâm 85% sure Iâm free of COVID-19. What an interesting two weeks itâs been. Can I redo my year-end holidays now?
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Yes. Yes, you can.
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A couple weeks ago:
Now:
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If I were to become ill, the government recommends that I ride my motorcycle for an hour into a major population centre to do this:
And then I should go home, and if the test is positive I should enter my details on a website, and then if Iâm lucky in a week or so I should get an automated message telling me to stay at home and drink lots of water.
If Iâm too ill to ride, the government recommends that I walk three hours to the bus stop, ride the bus two hours to Launceston and then stand out in the weather for an hour before my return trip.
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Better to make more urine than to drink moreâŚ
Note that if youâre allergic to mint, you may not be able to get it without mint.
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I just got an email from my local hospital system (when I do need a doctor, I go to someone in their system, luckily itâs not that often). It included this:
Wellness and routine appointments currently scheduled in the next 30-45 days could be rescheduled.
and this
In recent weeks, we have served more than 700 patients per day in our urgent cares, up from 350-400 daily visits at this time last year.
In the coming weeks, we expect busy hospitals, Emergency Departments and urgent cares. We are asking for patience and understanding as we manage the surge and work to meet the needs of our communities.
There is a lot of incompetence in the world, but this entity has been forthcoming about information on the actual situation and what individuals can do, from the beginning.
It feels like panic, but Iâm going to continue my once a week grocery pickup, and keeping out of all buildings (except home) as much as possible. Once a week I have to go to the post office, but at least itâs a little one with only one or two other people in the building at a time.
On the bright side, the unvaxxed person in my life has gotten their first two shots, and is waiting for the booster. They were never anti-vaxx just really afraid, but in that very American way that wonât say it was actually fear.
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