Omicron

 Today was the last day of isolation but not until midnight after this post is written. Its been a bit strange and a bit quick. I didn't mention it last time as it only occurred after. Around 10 days ago I suppose I was sitting alone at home with the dog on a Sunday and meanwhile my wife was up North taking her dad to a Christmas thing at the Church and the two younger kids were with them up in the choir loft. All good. Except sometime between then and Friday past someone tested positive for the new Omicron strain and that person was in the choir. My wife and kids being in close proximity had to isolate for 10 days from the event and so did I and the oldest being in the same household. But we only found out on Friday so its not been a long prison term. Thankfully although we have isolated we developed no symptoms. I think we avoided that one and thankfully my wife's dad avoided it too. He didn't have to isolate as he had covid within the 10 days (not sure of the official timeframe) prior to the incident at church. We have definitely been lucky on that score. 

This new variant is a big concern though. I said it to my wife last week when a couple of cases became 5 then 11 and then 25 and so on. Its how it went with the original Covid19 outbreak and this is supposed to be more contagious. That is a big worry. A big worry for the health service who are already under enough pressure as it is and for businesses who could be heading again into a period of closure they may not survive this time. I see the lockdowns at differing degrees in Austria, Germany and Holland mainly through football it has to be said but cannot help thinking we should be doing the same now. In fact last week it should have been done or earlier. We are not learning from this. If its 1 on day 1, 2 on day 2, 4 on day 3, 8 on day 4 then by the end of the week 1 is 64 and a week later its 8192, and so on. You have to stop at source surely! This weekend in Scotland we have a football cup final where over 50,000 people will attend. At the Hydro venue there are big events with lots of people attending. Restaurants, pubs, clubs and other venues like the Irn Bru Carnival which will be starting soon will see droves of people mingle. Airports will condense people of varying biological states into small places to spread around the country while trains, taxis, ferries and all the rest with do similar. Am I missing something? I know its not the popular thing to do and that is the probable reason the FM (that is First Minister rather than Fanny Merchant but those lines are as hard to define as the difference between an alligator and a crocodile) doesn't want to make the right call. Do we wait for it to get too bad to ignore before we do something? 

Time will tell. I do hope my concerns are false and soon we go back to normal. Not for me but for the kids who can seem to get a run at life without some sore of covid obstacle threat. The kids need a clearer future when what we have at present. For me its no different really. An excuse to stay indoors is an excuse not to be different for once. Its what I do and what I have done but even at 50 hope it won't be forever. But who knows? I have just lay out on the sofa reading books mostly and noting world events. Sorry to read of the deaths of both Mike Nesmith and Anne Rice who had impacts on my life in different ways but that is the way of it. At midnight tonight the cell door opens again and I must start getting out again more regularly and looking for a life before it passes me by.