Hamilton City Council this morning announced it was closing
down community facilities as it was unable to trace people if the need
arose. These facilities include swimming
pools, libraries, museums, the zoo, and my favourite themed gardens at Hamilton
Gardens (the wider park area will remain open).
Our country borders are now closed to all except residents
and citizens and essential freight.
Domestic travel is being actively discouraged. Bars and restaurants are being required to run
a guest register so they can trace people if needed, and also help keep their
clientele to below 100 people.
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| Our national carrier, Air New Zealand, is receiving government support to stay afloat |
Private functions like funerals and weddings are being
encouraged to use video transmitting instead of being physically present. Even the local cemetery has closed its
chapel, although it is allowing graveside services if people will keep their
distances from each other – which in such circumstances sounds barbaric. It is human nature to hug and comfort those
who are in deep grief.
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| Celebrations, like my parents' golden wedding anniversary in 2003, must now be put aside |
Late last night we discovered we were out of milk. Bad planning.
Son was at work (he works from home but cannot leave) and grand-daughter
is at her mother’s this weekend. So I
made a mercy dash to the supermarket. It
was interesting!
It was late evening but there were still a few people
around. The atmosphere was friendly
though, with smiles and joking at the same time as avoiding getting too close
to another person. A security guard was
stationed at the door, which was not normal.
There were noticeable gaps on shelves as I walked through to
the back of the store for the milk (why do they always put consumables right at
the very back?). There was not a loaf of
commercial bread to be seen, although the bakery department still had some, and
all the flour was gone from its shelf.
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| No flour on the shelves |
There were also signs up about rationing. I was in Pak’n’Save, but Countdown
supermarkets had earlier announced a limit of two similar items for each
customer.
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| Thankfully, fruit and vegetables are not rationed |
Today we had fog that eventually lifted to let in some
sunshine before giving way to clouds.
For some reason I have been very tired today, and actually had a long
sleep this afternoon – usually if I need a nap it is only for 10-20 minutes and
I am up and about again. Feeling much
brighter again now, thankfully.
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| Something to make you smile and brighten your day up a little (the bucket is for baling purposes) |
We are planning on homemade hamburgers for tea tonight. Should be yum!
Stay safe and keep well,
Margaret.
We haven't seen that much up here closing down, mind you we are in a tiny small town but people are being mindful of others which is positive.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to see communities pulling together and helping each other as much as they can. Long may it continue :)
DeleteYes! Now that you mention! I went to SUBWAY and had to register for take-away!!!!
ReplyDeleteNo security guards here, but dumb people. Though! In the news they showed customers at the cash out who thanked the staff.
Hmmm, hamburgers! We still have self made frozen Aussie pie :-)
To health!
Registering for takeaways! We haven't reached that stage yet :)
DeleteStay well and keep healthy.
Gosh 6 per person is quite generous, it is only 3 here. Shame they have to do it though isn't it?!
ReplyDeleteStay safe
If people do not stop panic buying they will reduce it. They keep saying they have enough, but cannot keep up with the demands of supply.
DeleteMost countries are shutting down. I am surprised that gatherings of a hundred are permitted. Here the maximum is fifty and in many venues ten. I suspect that the effects of COVID-19 are going to be felt longer than most of us might realize. I have a trip to Australia planned for July, but Parks Victoria has already cancelled our reservation and returned our money. Doesn't look good.
ReplyDeleteI think they will probably reduce our gatherings again at some stage - we are 2-3 weeks behind a lot of other countries in the rate of our infections.
DeleteWe are slowly being fed information that things could be in upheaval for 12-18 months so your trip plans might be put on hold. I was planning to visit my daughter next year (she lives in Arizona) but that may not happen either. Only time will tell.
We are not on lock down here in Uk, but most places are now closed, and gatherings are banned, we live just outside a big city, so the effects are now closer to us. Most of the family are now staying at home. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteA lot of small businesses are now having to shut their doors and lay off staff as people stay at home more and we have closed our borders to the entry of all tourists. Tough times for a lot of folk.
DeleteYour shelves look a lot like ours... restaurants here are doing more take out than eat in.
ReplyDeleteI believe that is happening a lot in restaurants here as well.
DeleteI've been wondering if some form of govt rationing will be set in place. I found a local 4 square with nearly all it's shelves full (lucky me). Many years ago, I lived next to Lake Whangape, and one of the things that I loved the most was the morning mist of the Waikato region. So beautiful, so mystical.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I used to drive around Lake Whangape (loved the kowhais when they were in bloom), but when I did so last year there were so many houses built around it that it had lost its lovely feeling of isolation.
DeleteMist rising off water always looks mysterious - sometimes I have sat and watched as it lifts up off the Waikato River in the early morning. A very calming experience :)
Love that last photo especially.
ReplyDeleteThis experience is the same around the world as Covid is transferred among us. Take care, Margaret.
Covid-19 is actually uniting the common people around the world as we are all experiencing the same things. It looks like it is even playing a part in brokering some cease-fires around the place!
DeleteThat is how our stores look...I guess we are all experiencing about the same thing. I have only not been able to get two or three things so far. I wonder how it will be once we run out of bread. And milk. And eggs. We on't use a lot of milk or eggs....well, both of those are things that maybe one week will go through a lot, and other times they sit forever. But we do go through bread pretty steadily.
ReplyDeleteWe don't use a lot of bread, and our egg use is sporadic like yours, but milk we do seem to go through fairly quickly. It will be very uncomfortable if these basics run out, so hopefully there will always be enough to go around everyone.
DeleteIt is amazing how it is similar the world over! It is scary but we carry on. I hope that your hamburger was indeed yum!
ReplyDeleteHomemade burgers are always yum! :)
DeleteWe are being encouraged to stay at home and all facilities which are places where people can congregate (from coffee shops to stadia) are closed. People were still coming to Scotland and congregating at camp sites and ski resorts etc. That will have to stop. Fortunately being a small population living 'in the middle of nowhere' it is easy to go walking and not see people. Keep safe.
ReplyDelete