We have 6 cases of coronavirus in the village which moves us into a higher band. Given that any more than a quarter of a person with coronavirus moves us into a higher band, it was sort of inevitable. But given that the % of people with the virus is only one factor that's looked at, there aren't any additional measures at this point of time.
The Spanish government issued a state of emergency yesterday which allows principalities (ie Extremadura) to set overnight curfews and to implement local measures. There are a number of criteria that are taken into account before a town or village gets locked down - the % of beds in the ICU taken with coronavirus patients, the % of cases which are found through track and trace (the goal is 70%, if the number of confirmed cases which are not found through track and trace is less than that, this triggers a worry warning as it means there are 'rogue' cases out there which can't be tracked) - and of course the % of cases in a hospital area.
My guess is if there are many more cases in the village, we will be locked down insomuch as we won't be allowed out for non-essential visits. After our mega lockdown earlier this year this doesn't fill us with much concern as we got very much into the swing of things. Time to order another few tonnes of flour... ;)
As we found in the first wave earlier this year, communication continues to be excellent and really can't be faulted. We received notification as soon as one person was confirmed in the village. We were told that the person had received a positive test - but not told who the person was for privacy reasons. Four people were tested positive at the weekend and again we received notification - and we are also given updates as whether these cases become serious and need hospitalization (which is thankfully no at this time). This helps very much to keep things in perspective while also making it very clear that the virus is here and part of life.
We were a little shocked to find out that Bobbins has canine coronavirus. She had had extremely volatile diarrhea and was being treated for gastroenteritis, but the treatment wasn't working so we had to go back. The vet said she'd run some tests and I thought I was hearing things when she said she had coronavirus. Often at the vet I need to listen carefully for words, as although many medical terms are similar, they are pronounced differently. I thought that my mind had played a trick with the coronavirus, but it transpires that poor Bobbins has the canine version. It is highly contagious, so we are currently trying to keep her quarantined.
Our follow up with the vet will be via email. This is a first and I think it's where they are trying to cut down on in person visits where possible.
In other news, our internet connection has been updated. No longer do we have speeds reminiscent of a hamster driven 1998 dialup and we are now definitely in the 21st century. While my clipart has been selling quite well over the summer, I had not published any new clipart as it was taking forever to upload - and often the upload would fail and I would find it difficult to work out what had loaded and what hasn't - so I am looking forward to getting new clipart sets done and uploaded in a painfree manner!
Oh - and lovebird update: They are both in the same cage and while they sleep in food bowls (most odd - why...?) at either end of the cage, they do seem to be relatively comfortable together!
