Hello there! Before I start, I must apologise because in last week’s post I said that this week I’d be bringing you the post about my recent few days at Ballandean and Stanthorpe, but due to technical difficulties (issues getting photos off my phone and onto my computer – long story that kinda stems from the fact that storage on my phone is full) that post has now been delayed and instead I’ve decided to bring forward a Corona Chronicles update. It’s been typed up very quickly on Wednesday evening (last night) so I hope it makes sense and covers the topic well enough.
You may have noticed I’ve dropped the ISO from the title. It didn’t feel right since not all of us are in ISO and/or Lockdown right now and the meaning of that term differs from one place and person to another, so best I drop it I think.
Ok – let’s take a few big, deep breaths IN through the nose right down deep into our bellies, and then OUT through the mouth and feel free to make as much sound as you want as you exhale! It is amazing how much calmer you can feel when you shift your focus to your breath.
There’s been a lot happening since the last Corona ISO Chronicles post. Perhaps if I summarise very succinctly in dot points. I won’t go into great detail but will provide links where you can find out more if you’d like to.
THE CURRENT COVID SITUATION ACROSS AUSTRALIA
- MELBOURNE & REGIONAL VICTORIA. Things have escalated in Melbourne to the point where a State of Disaster has been declared and they have now moved into a Stage 4 Lockdown for the next 6 weeks and regional Victoria is in Stage 3 Lockdown. Daily numbers of new cases have been as high as 725 and sadly too many deaths every day. It’s been very worrying. You can read more detail about the situation in Melbourne and Victoria here and here. Our borders here in Queensland are firmly shut to Victoria. Anyone entering Queensland from another state must complete a declaration form stating that they have not been in Victoria in the last 14 days. Anyone that lies on this form will receive a hefty fine. I think that the rest of Australia would join me in sending Victorians our love and support. This will be so tough for them!
- SYDNEY & NSW. There’s been a series of hotspots popping up here, there and everywhere around Sydney with an increasing amount of cases that cannot be traced to known sources. Queensland added these hotspots to the need to declare along with Victoria. However, whilst things are not as bad here as in Melbourne, it has reached the point where Queensland will now be closing its borders again to NSW from 1am this Saturday, August 8. You can read more on the current situation in New South wales here and here.
- QUEENSLAND (my State so of course this is the longest summary). All was going quite well here until three young girls decided to travel to Melbourne to a party and to thieve designer handbags and then travel back via Sydney on Virgin Australia flights and lie and deceive on their declaration forms. They then proceeded to go about life, walking amongst the community, for eight days. They did this even though they were symptomatic and were feeling sick, and even after being tested. Their actions have caused a lot of stress, anger, fear, work and expense for the people of Queensland. We know that one of their sisters contracted the virus from them and a 27 year old man who had the misfortune of dining at the same restaurant as them. I believe his wife has now contracted the virus as well. I’ve not kept up with whether any further cases have been detected from this cluster (needed a break from the news). We’ve also had some men coming into Queensland from Victoria lie on their declaration forms that have been fined and put into quarantine. A man in his late 20’s arrived here from overseas on a consular exemption, and he had COVID-19. He was able to fly from Sydney to Maroochydore and then drive to his home in Toowoomba. This is a loophole that the Premier is hoping to close. On Wednesday we heard of a new case, a woman in her 60’s living in Ipswich, and so far they’ve been unable to track where she may have contracted the virus. Despite all these unfortunate events, our numbers are still reasonably low. At the time of typing this we have 11 active cases, 5 of which are in hospital. You can read more about the situation in Queensland here and here. Queensland currently has its borders closed to Victoria and hot spots in NSW, however as from 1am on Saturday 8 August, our borders will be closed to all of NSW and the ACT as well as Victoria. You can read more on border closures here.
- AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY. Things have been good here with 0 active cases at this time. From 1am this Saturday, August 8 though, Queensland will shut it’s borders to the ACT. To be honest I’m not sure exactly why except perhaps the risk of its location squeezed between Victoria and NSW. You can read more about the current situation in the ACT here.
- SOUTH AUSTRALIA. I haven’t heard much about the situation in Adelaide and South Australia on the news and on checking I see that the the number of cases there are reasonably low with 8 active cases at the time of typing this. You can read more about the situation in South Australia here.
- NORTHERN TERRITORY. Numbers are thankfully low here. There’s a high proportion of indigenous Australians in the NT who are said to be particularly vulnerable to this virus. At the time of typing this there are 3 active cases. You can read more about the situation in the NT here and here.
- WESTERN AUSTRALIA. Numbers are thankfully low here with 7 active cases at the time of typing this. Western Australian’s have the luck of being far away from the hotspots on the East Coast. They’ve kept their borders shut to other states for some time and there’s been a bit of debate over that. You can read more here.
- TASMANIA. I haven’t heard anything on the news about Tassie for some time which can only be a good thing. After consulting Mr Google it appears numbers are low over there which is good to see. You can find out more here and here.
If you’d like to get a better picture of the whole of Australia statistics, news, updates and advice you can see that kind of thing here and here.
THE EFFECT OF THE SECOND WAVE
So the vibe here in Australia has definitely shifted since my last update. We were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves and complacency was starting to creep in. That has changed now. There is no room for complacency – even in the states or territory with low numbers. This could go on for some time and we are learning as we go. We will need to learn to live with this thing until there is a solution – hopefully a vaccination.
Sadly, Victorians are suffering the most at this time. Though some states are doing better with numbers than others, I think we all feel for Victorians and are on tender-hooks for where the next outbreak might occur. There is the anger and frustration at those that do the wrong thing and put everyone at risk and increase the workload for those that already have such a load on their plates. There is the pride and admiration for our politicians (yes politicians) and our health care workers who are working so hard for all of us under enormous stress. There’s the fear and anxiety and increased depression and of course, financial strain for many.
No matter where you live in Australia (or overseas) there would be some degree of fear, stress and anxiety in these times of Coronavirus. We need to recognise the effect this ‘situation’ (I am so sick of the words ‘unprecedented times’) can have on our mental health and our bodies. A good start is being kind and gentle with ourselves, giving ourselves the space to be able to look after ourselves as we need to during these times.
BE KIND TO YOURSELVES
On a personal note, I’ve definitely felt an increase in anxiety and fear and I’ve had some very down days. I am very fortunate that my family all have secure work and have not been financially affected. That is something to be very grateful for.
I’d like to share something fabulous I discovered just recently that I’ve found very helpful. It’s called INSIGHT TIMER and it’s a FREE APP for sleep, anxiety and stress. They believe that everyone deserves access to a free daily meditation practice, which is why they publish the world’s largest collection of free guided meditations. Isn’t that fabulous?! I downloaded the app and now whenever I feel my anxiety or stress levels elevating, I’ll go off somewhere quiet and do one of their meditations. It really does make a big difference. I’ve also started listening to their sleep ones at night and I’m loving their morning meditations too.
Being a very ‘sensitive/feeling’ kind of person I’ve realised that I need to be a bit kind to myself during these times. I put a lot of pressure on myself to ‘achieve’ every day – be it house work, painting, crocheting, the blog, and the zillions of other things. I’ve recognised a need to lighten my load and ease the pressure I put on myself somewhat so will be trying to take steps to enable that. This might mean I miss posting here on the blog some weeks and I might be less active across social media (this has already been the case).
I’ll end on this quote:
Be kind to yourself, then let your kindness fill the world
…cos you and the world sure do need kindness and love right now!
What could you let go of to free up some mental and emotional space for yourself? How could you be kinder to yourself? Wishing you good health and safe days ahead.
Ciao for now,
24 Comments
Hi Min, I’ve been following the news in Australia as I have cousins who live in Victoria. I hope the case numbers will be under control soon. Thanks for sharing the Insight Timer app. I do meditation every day even before covid-19 as I find it helpful for me. Have a wonderful week! #lovin’lifelinky
Hi Natalie, I never knew you had relatives out here. I hope the numbers are under control soon too. All going well we should see the numbers go down in a week or two. Fingers crossed! I am so impressed with the Insight Timer app that I had to share. xo
We are so lucky here in WA, life is pretty normal. I just hope it stays that way. I feel for my family and friends in Victoria.
You are lucky over there, as are we here in Queensland. I feel for family and friends in Victoria too. I have a cousin in Victoria and know quite a few people who live in Melbourne and rural Victoria. Fingers crossed that things improve there very soon.
I hope Victorians know we’re thinking of them. I am pleased the QLD borders are being closed again as I will feel safer. I’m hoping nothing comes of the clusters of people who have lied on their border forms.
I hope they know too! There’s been so much feelings of divide across Australia that I’ve seen on social media (mostly in comments) but that is not how I feel at all and I’m sure it’s not how the majority of Australians feel. Yes borders need to be shut to try and contain this thing and protect humans but we still all care about each other. We’re all Aussies after all!
I have a number of dr friends in hospitals who say this is actually the first wave and we didn’t really have it before…so that’s depressing. I hope the Eastern States can keep it together and I really hope the Vic death count, and ongoing physical damage to recovered people is low. It’s pretty heartbreaking.
Oh dear – that’s the first time I’ve heard that. It is all heartbreaking isn’t it. Let’s hope 2021 is a much better year for us all.
Hi Min,
Very hard days. I heard on ABC News about the unprecedented lockdown in Victoria. And also your PM saying that the economic impact would be up to six billion. That’s huge.
I am sure that this will pass and we will all be on the happy road to recovery. We just have to hang in there patiently and with hope.
Pradeep
Hi Pradeep, it’s heartbreaking across the globe but we have to have faith that it will eventually pass and life will return somewhat to normal and hopefully many lessons will be learned from this pandemic.
Hi Min – thing here in WA are still good and our borders are still closed – despite Clive Palmer being a pain in the butt over it all. If he’d filled out the exemption forms properly (instead of letting his incompetent pilot do it for him) he may have avoided all the pus and pain. This pandemic seems to have brought out the absolute worst in some people – all those who have tested positive and refuse to isolate properly, those who think the rules don’t apply to them (Clive and those idiot girls who lied when they returned to Qld!), and those who can’t even wear a mask when they’re told to (Bunnings Karen!)
I’m so relieved to be here and away from it all – being 2 hours from the city is an added bonus. But that 2nd wave is always one (or two) idiots away from surging – so I’m not complacent – but also relieved that I haven’t had to make myself a mask yet.
Hi Leanne – I don’t blame WA for keeping their borders closed. It’s the smartest thing to do in my opinion – at least until things are much better on the east coast. I agree that the pandemic has brought out some awful sides of humans – starting way back in the beginning with the pushing and shoving and fighting and stockpiling of toilet paper etc. And there are all the selfish people who don’t consider others and yes the Bunnings Karen’s (sorry to all the lovely Karen’s out there). Like WA, Qld isn’t doing too badly but it doesn’t take much to change that and so we are always on edge. I’ve bought some masks but they’re one use ones and far too expensive so I’ll need to get some fabric/washable ones. I like to be prepared! There’s the girl guide in me again! lol xo
So you have idiots down there too Min, just like we have in England.
I would say this to your idiots. If you want to end up with over 66,000 dead, some who will be your family and friends, then carry on. Look at us here in England.This is where you don’t want to get to.
To all you Aussies doing the right things, i wish you well. Be lucky. Be safe.
Typo in my message Min. should be over 46,000. Not 66,000. Sorry about the inflated number and i am happy to correct and only wish i could correct downwards by a heck of a lot more.
Glad I’m not the only one guilty of a typo Mick! Very awesome to see a drop of 20,000. I wish you drop more off that number too! Keep in touch and stay safe!
Hi Mick – Yes we have idiots too! They’re everywhere! The numbers over in the UK are heartbreaking and it must be so frightening. Even your PM got it and nearly lost his life. You and your wife are in my thoughts a lot. Hope you’re doing well. Take care and stay safe!
Thank you for adding the importance of being kind to ourselves during these times, Min!
I’m a bit weary of it all but trying really hard to still enjoy the hidden blessings the pandemic has given me.
SSG xxx
I think being kind to ourselves is important. This all has more of an impact on us then we might understand and so we need to be gentle and kind to ourselves as we would to someone else that we saw going through this. Take care & stay safe SSG! xoxo
I was furious when I heard about those people falsifying border disclosures. Don’t they get it? My heart goes out to Melbournians, the vast majority who have complied with all the requirements. The consequences are huge. Having said that, I’m actually doing ok. Be kind to yourself.
I was furious too Jo. In fact it took a toll on me all around – the rage, the anxiety, the worry etc. My heart is with the Melbournians too! I love Melbourne and Victoria and I feel for them so deeply. I hope this Level 4 restriction gets those numbers down and they can start opening up and getting a bit more normality happening again. The numbers are starting to steady and go down so it’s looking promising, but the death toll every day is breaking my heart. xo
Oh, this virus is so tiresome. Our cases are still in the triple digits in my city with daily deaths. Thankfully, our hospitalizations are down a bit, but I am so concerned for what the cooler temps in the fall and then winter will bring. I had wondered how the second wave looked in Australia, so sorry to read your report of increased cases, closed borders and quarantine. What is the general consensus on wearing masks in Australia? We are still mandated to wear masks everywhere once we leave our home. My masks have become another accessory. Thank you for sharing the meditation app.
I agree Leslie – it’s awful. I hope the numbers go down in your city very soon. It’s so worrying isn’t it, and the daily death tolls, so heartbreaking. We are in mid winter here in Australia. I don’t know if that has got anything to do with the second wave or not. Melbourne/Victoria is particularly cold. Not so cold in Queensland where I am. Mask wearing is mandatory in Victoria, it’s highly encouraged in New South Wales but not mandatory … and anywhere else in Australia it’s up to the individuals – not mandatory. I hope you give the meditation app a try – it’s fabulous. xo
Yep, deep breath in through the nose ….
gotta remember to breathe.
Been having to remind myself at times.
Amazing how even just a few minutes of focussing on our breath and breathing deep into our bellies can calm us right down.