Released from prison

Trail on Crackneck from Julie's run this morning

New South Wales took its first step towards easing COVID-19 restrictions yesterday, allowing two people (plus their children) to visit other people in their homes.  It doesn't seem a big step, but walking along the Terrigal Promenade after this morning's run, there was a palpable sense of social emergence.  People were gathering and walking in small groups, not always the required 1.5 metres apart, and many were sitting on the walls and beach steps chatting and drinking coffee.  A policewoman strolled along smiling and talking to people, while turning a wilful blind eye to the many obvious breaches of state social-distancing rules.

The view south from Crackneck on Julie's run this morning

Though it was a little brisk, it was a beautiful and sunny Saturday morning and that may have helped the "released from prison" mood.  The announcement that the New Zealand Warriors rugby league team will be allowed to fly into Australia to take part in the season revival scheduled for the end of May has only confirmed the public's perception that the worst is over and we are on our way back to normality.

It will be hard for the genie to be put back in the bottle now if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.  If there was a resurgence, I do believe the Australian public (as opposed to the US public) would accept the need for restrictions to be re-tightened, but the impact on the public's psyche would be significant.  Confidence in the future and in the judgment of the health authorities would be severely shaken.  We would lose that sense of control that has gradually emerged over the last month.

Bateau Bay beach on Julie's run this morning

On the balance of probabilities, I think a significant resurgence is unlikely to happen in Australia.  I base this mainly on trust in the judgment of our health authorities.  So far they have been over-achievers.  However, I do have a fear that the easing of restrictions will now take on a life of its own and, coupled with the looming winter, we will see a reemergence of the virus in Australia.

I ran a very slow 9.6km this morning with the hip hurting more than I would have liked, but the main problem was lethargy that I'm blaming on yesterday's flu vaccination.  But it could also just be psychosomatic.