November. It’s all about NANOWRIMO, isn’t it?
For some - it is. Given the state of the world, I’m tempted to lose myself in a mad orgy of writing too. If you are doing it, then go for it. Have a ball.
Meanwhile, once Halloween is over, the USA will declare its election results, and the losers will dispute them, and the whole story will take weird and bizarre turns. How it will end, who knows?
The pandemic rages on. As does the reaction. As I type, France, Germany, Spain and Italy have declared imminent versions of lockdowns. The UK is doing some sort of weird tiered system, further complicated by different systems in each of the home nations.
The UK has announced that individuals returning from Cyprus will need to self-isolate for 14 days. This will decimate incoming traveler numbers, which in turn, will lead to cancelled flights. The Cyprus government will be able to introduce a raising of the drawbridge, without actually having to do too much.
Unilaterally, I declared a circuit-breaker lockdown at the mountain hideaway, a few weeks ago. Covid case numbers are the highest they have ever been in Cyprus. Many locally see my approach as over the top, and I fervently hope they’re right. However, the virus spreads from one person to another, and the less contact I have with others, the more chance I have of avoiding the infection for as long as possible. So, no, I’m not coming out for dinner, and if I do, I’m not sharing a table with you. No offence.
In any event, we are already under curfew, and must wear masks pretty much everywhere, inside and out.
Currently, Cyprus has 2,500 detected, active cases. 100-200 per day are being added to that number. In common with the rest of the world, daily infection numbers are accelerating. I find it difficult to work through the statistics. There are so many variables. However - one number sticks in my mind. The Health Minister, in March, stated that at a push, Cyprus could muster 126 ICU beds. That’s not many.
Lots of UK citizens retire to Cyprus. Many of my friends here come from this group. Retired people tend to be at the higher end of the age spectrum, who conveniently, are the people most likely to need an ICU bed if they become infected.
Nothing confuses me more, than when people, in full possession of new information, make no effort to consider how that information pertains to their own actions.
November is going to be another interesting month - hang on tight.
