Lockdown 10/28 – Bubble Angst
Day 10 of my diary of a LOTR Fan Museum owner during our 4 week national lockdown - in NZ we’re uniting as a country to beat Covid-19 to break the chain and save lives, but …
In this new job, STAY HOME, be kind, there’s some national anxiety going on about “bubbles”. I wish this were the Champagne variety. But no, it’s the term we use for the only people we’re allowed to socialise with.
I’m lucky to be in a very close family. When we were preparing for lockdown, I wanted to make sure none of us was on their own. I invited my sister who lives alone nearby to lock down with us for the duration. Then it was announced by our PM that those who lived alone could interact with one other group and be in the same bubble. This solved the problem - my dear sister could live in her flat but be part of the Fan Museum bubble. (OK, she’s not a LOTR fan, but we’re a zone of tolerance. And, come to that, the beloved isn’t a fan either so I’m outnumbered during lockdown - aghhh!)
Bubble sorted … or so we thought. Yesterday there was a “clarification” about bubbles because the Police had to sort out a case where a man met up at a house with two others. Someone dobbed him in. Angst ensued.
The Government spokesperson on the Covid emergency clarified in response to questions as exactly what we’d understood - a single person could bubble with one other household. Phew!
But I wanted to make sure my close neighbours knew the score (we’re a small and very communal, friendly street), so I emailed about my sibling bubble member. One neighbour came back saying that a single could only bubble with another single. I set that to rights in a friendly way and was glad I’d emailed. There had been confusing messages from the Government and they had to clarify the situation.
I love it that as a country we’re doing this hard thing of staying home - but I hate the idea of a dobbing culture, and I also hate any heavy handed response from the Police to cracking down on breaches of the lockdown.
Fellow NZrs, we need to do this right, but this is where the kindness kicks in. We all have to remember that this is a key part of the job description. And, I’m sure JRR would totally agree. We’re in frightening times, but for everyone enduring this, I hope there’s kindness in your lockdown. Best wishes, Kathy x
