Day 2 of this ad hoc diary. I’m not sure I’ll write every day but we’ll see.

Notable today is the quiet. It’s like a Sunday. There’s noticeably less traffic noise. I assume this is because people are staying home. There are also no sirens. That’s one good thing that’s come out of this so far. I hope it reflects reality.

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From ABC News this morning, regarding four new Covid-19 infections recorded in Perth yesterday:

“Three of the cases had travelled from overseas — one from the UK, one via Bali on the way to and from the UK, and one from Austria.”

My partner is in Vienna, having not returned to Bali, thank goodness. She’s more or less confined to her apartment since the authorities there have imposed quite severe restrictions on crowds. She says they are not supposed to gather in groups of more than five people. Luckily it’s spring and the weather is warming up, but the temperature yesterday was only about 10degC. She’s in quite a central area of the city, close to the Danube and I think if you have to be confined somewhere, Vienna in spring and summer would be one of the nicer places to be. But since all the concerts and operas have suspended their performances, and the museums and art galleries have probably closed, there may not be much to do after all. Books, books, Netflix, DVDs, computer, plenty to do.

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I heard on the radio, ABC Radio, so I trust it, that there’s a new scam going on. The scammers have got the phone numbers of some people like me who have home help coming to clean weekly or whatever.

They phone the target and say, “Hi, this is Silver Chain [or whatever], your regular cleaner is sick today so we’re sending a replacement. Could you please just confirm your address?” So the trusting elderly person gives out their address, and soon after a big guy arrives and ransacks the house for money and valuables. How nice.

I’m never an advocate of capital punishment, but it’s time we brought back public caning for scum like this. Or public shaming – the stocks, or shackling them to a lamp post in the street for about 8 hours with a sign to say why they are there.

I have someone I know in the USA who has been writing quite often on Facebook lately. But she’s writing and repeating things that are mostly just hearsay and unverified “medical” advice. She’s emphasising how this pandemic is nothing compared to all the deaths from other annual events and diabetes etc. That’s not what the health professionals are saying. The point about this is that we’re only just at the beginning and it could get away from us in a big way if we’re not careful enough.

So I feel she should pipe down and stop spreading rumours and pseudo medical advice. But I’m not sure if I should write to tell her so. I don’t know her that well, even though we’re related. I’d only do it in private anyway.

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I did decide to go out yesterday, to a local auto parts shop to buy some power steering additive for a leaking power steering pump in Vera, the Verada. Were any of the staff wearing masks? No. Was I? No. I did buy two pairs of gardening gloves as substitutes for the thin rubber ones that tear when I try to put ’em on.

I have my regular podiatrist appointment at the medical centre tomorrow, so I’ll be interested to see how protected they are when I arrive. I intend to ask if this year’s ‘flu vaccination has come in and book an appointment if it has. I have it every year and it doesn’t worry me. I don’t get ‘flu either.

I read the other day that when real ‘flu hits you, it happens within about 90 seconds. One minute you’re feeling OK, the next you’re feeling as if you’ve been hit by a bus, with body aches and pains and headaches. And you feel you can’t get out of bed, even to eat.

I can honestly say, I’ve never had this happen that I can remember. That’s why I feel pretty safe right now.

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So much for my idea of driving North. The government are saying, “Don’t”. Broome was specifically mentioned and there are two sides, two views about it. The first is that Broome depends on the winter crowd for most of their annual income to see them through the tropical summer cyclone season. The other is that they, and the government, don’t want visitors possibly bringing the virus into the town, which sits quite isolated from the world.

Anyway, I’ve decided the safest place to be is right here.