COVID diary 2021

 

27 June, 2021

 

It’s 2021 and the COVID pandemic hasn’t ended. In fact, it’s getting worse globally now with the Delta variant. Life in Sydney had been pretty normal for us from August 2020 until two days ago. There was a short lockdown last December in the Northern beaches but that did not really affect us. However, my husband is getting so used to working from home that he no longer shaves. Nowadays his moustache is dropping into his mouth when he speaks and he has to spit it out. His beard is 4cm, longer than anyone of Chinese ethnicity I’ve ever seen! He looks like a Ming Dynasty man!  If this working from home thing continues for him, I wonder if he will accidentally choke on his moustache one day?

 

Now Greater Sydney is in lockdown for two weeks starting from 6pm yesterday, because of the infiltration of the Delta variant, and the Australia-New Zealand travel bubble has been suspended. The infiltration occurred on 17 June, when a limousine driver got infected. Then, pretty soon, from a CCTV footage at the Bondi Westfield, we saw how the virus spread from one person to another in a two second encounter as two people walked past each other 60cm apart without masks. New cases increased by 2 everyday until 21 June, and by then I was already getting pretty nervous, as I am working in a high risk setting as a GP, pregnant and had not been vaccinated against COVID yet. And by then, I already had a feeling that lockdown would be inevitable and already started topping up on the food supply from the supermarket before people made their last minute rushes, and ordered 25 boxes of My Muscle Chef ready-made meals. But I don’t understand people’s obsession about the toilet papers – that’s definitely not on the top of our shopping list. Then the daily case numbers started increasing rapidly: 5, 10, 18, 11, 29, 30.

 

The situation in Taiwan, my home country, is not good either. Community outbreak had already gotten out of hand by May, and my grandpa who has dementia got kicked out of the motel he was staying in. Luckily, the relatives found social housing for him, but his dementia deteriorated rapidly. Now Delta is in the community as well. Unfortunately the death rate in Taiwan is too high in proportion to the number of people diagnosed, which means there are lots of undiagnosed people around. I think they should stop mucking around and just lockdown! The annual Taiwan Association of Family Medicine conference has been changed into an online conference for the first time ever, which meant I could actually join this year’s conference online and collect CPD points for my Family Physician specialist registration in Taiwan.

 

I think Sydney’s lockdown had happened too late. Can only pray that things will be good enough for reopening in two weeks’ time.

 

The Keys of Heaven

There is a prayer movement happening in Taiwan. The organisation that’s helping with this is the College of Prayer International, and the pastor helping Taiwan is Rev Donald Young:

https://www.collegeofprayer.org/our-team.html

 

Here are some videos related to the movement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjNv30Ir1T0&list=PLaeSz8m8MXVUroc4gt_JugaZMLocfSYvl

 

Here is a compilation of songs that in one way or another relates to the Holy Spirit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GGFb6LcX3U&list=PLaeSz8m8MXVXuFLWFgbultFplYeyDiZNo

 

 

The way down south

 

Did the first half of our south coast trip right after my wedding last year with relatives and friends visiting from Taiwan, 9-12Sept, 2019. Got to Mogo and didn’t have time to go further south, because we already booked accommodation in Canberra on 13Sept, even though I really wanted to go all the way to Merimbula/Pambula/Eden where I did my GP training ten years ago.

My husband actually made a trip down to Pambula/Eden while I was doing GP training there, but we “just missed each other.” We were attending the same church in Sydney at that time, but we barely talked to each other and he changed church even before we had the chance to get to know each other. Therefore, neither of us even realised we could have met up in Merimbula at that time.

Here's the link to the photo album from the two trips: https://photos.app.goo.gl/bC33fJer5iLyN5zf8 

25Dec, 2020

 

With border closures due to the recent COVID19 cluster in Sydney, we could only travel within NSW this Christmas (and we still haven’t diagnosed anyone with COVID in our clinic yet this year). Decided to complete the rest of our south coast trip. Passed through places like Batehaven, Broulee, Moruya, Narooma, Bermagui, Tathra, before arriving in Bega.

 

Checked out the Bega District Hospital where I did one week of locum during Christmas 10 years ago, and saw it was desolated! Turns out it had been replaced by a new hospital, the South East Regional Hospital! Everything was closed in Bega on Christmas day. Not even MacDonald’s was open! The kind motel receptionist gave us two boxes of frozen meals and a bag of cherries.

 

26Dec, 2020

 

A walk down memory lane, visited the places I used to live, walked on the main streets in Merimbula. There seems to be a lot more shops than ten years ago. Woolworth has been shifted to a much bigger building. First time eating at the MacDonald’s in Merimbula and the view was wonderful. Also ate some yummy local oysters.

Went down to Pambula and had a look at the places I used to work: Pambula Medical Centre and Pambula District Hospital. Also went down to the Pambula Beach to see if I can find the lazy kangaroos that lay by the beach. There are still many at the caravan park. I saw a Surf Life Saving rescuer use a drone to search the sea! Didn’t realise they utilise drones in their operations!

 

Went further south to the Curalo Medical Clinic in Eden where I used to work, and suddenly realised I never went further south than that place! I’ve never even visited the main street of Eden! So we decided to go further down along Eden. Had a $34 meaty lobster in the Eden Wharf. Went to Boydtown before turning back north.

 

Went to Tura Beach and realised there is also a large Woolworth. Went past a place called Jellat Jellat which had a strange metal fungus-like statue before returning to Bega again. Again, Bega looked like a ghost town and we were not impressed at all about the 50 minute wait for our Kebab at Master Kebab Bega!

 

27Dec, 2020

 

A blessed day today! The sunshine allowed me to see that beautiful aqua colour of the waters of the Merimbula Boardwalk, which I enjoyed walking on from time to time as a GP registrar ten years ago!

 

Had to hurry off though, because my husband wanted to see the Cooma Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre which closes at 2pm. Got to the Brown Mountain via B72 way, which is a easier drive than the Candelo way I used to drive as a GP registrar. But the Brown Mountain drive is still as difficult as it was back then!

 

Got to Snowy Hydro in time. Also went around town, had a nice lunch at the 123 Coffee House, checked out the Nanny Goat Hill lookout and the Mount Gladstone look out, before moving on to Queanbeyan. There is nothing much in Queanbeyan, but we had to book this place as the ACT border is closed to Greater Sydney.

28Dec, 2020

 

Woke up pretty early and went to the Googong Foreshores. Luckily the weather was still beautiful, even though the weather forecast said there was going to be a thunderstorm. Drove back to Sydney via some smaller country roads instead of the Federal Highway. Stopped by Bowral and had a look at the Dirty Janes Antique Market. Bumped into a good friend there! The weather started turning bad in the late afternoon, as we continued our way back to Sydney.

 

This marks the end of our Christmas New Year road trip. We probably won’t be going out much until the current Sydney COVID19 cluster settles.

 

Listened to a Christian speaker on the car during the road trip and began to understand why I have gradually been feeling distant from God: There’s been a lack of quiet time spent listening to and connecting with God, free from personal agendas. In other words, wanting to connect with God out of a true desire to connect, and not because I want to ask God for something. And despite knowing that I am nothing apart from God, who is the source of all living, that knowledge seemed to be in my head knowledge rather than a conviction in my heart. In retrospect, I realised I have walked across many “desert roads” due to my rebellions against God, where I thought I knew better than God about what was the best for myself and others around me, and tried to solve problems using my own ways. My own voice was too loud for me to hear God. Glad that I didn’t “miss” my husband in the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti6eJosPOtk&list=PL3F52B8EC7E050087