Week 47 - Back in Stage 4 Lockdown

 Just when you think its looking like we're heading back to something like normality, COVID has a trick up its sleeve (or should that be in its DNA). After a number of cases of the UK variant linked to hotel quarantine have surfaced in Melbourne, the whole State has been put in Stage 4 (the highest) lockdown for five days from from the beginning of the weekend.

So my plans to go out and have lunch with my aunt went out the window, thankfully she understood why I had to cancel meeting up over the weekend.

The news did really hit me on Friday afternoon and especially since I had just started going back in the office one day a week, which won't be happening next week.

The trip into the Central Business District was fine, apart from the need to change trains since the introduction of new timetables which means none of the Frankston line trains now go to Parliament station. The train was reasonably quiet until it got to Richmond station, when my carriage got a little crowded.

The office was very quiet, I only saw a handful of people. I did go out to coffee with one of my colleagues and was happy to see that places were open (so I didn't need to use the microwave meal I had brought in).

I also easily did the most walking that day, so I was looking forward to continuing to do that the following week, but that won't be happening.

I do have plans and have booked to have high tea at an hotel early in March, so I hope those plans don't get interrupted by COVID, I need to cancel that booking two days out to avoid a charge, so I will need to make a decision early in March if I am able to enjoy it.

It's difficult to plan trips at the moment, at least outside the State, as border and and quarantine requirements keep changing. I think at the moment, basically Victorians can't leave the State. I hope my planned trip to Sydney in October is safe being that far out, but at the moment, its hard to tell where we will be by then.