Isolation diaries 24: Here we go again

By Andrew Johnston

Jan 7, 2021

TEMPTING fate is never a good idea.

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I wrote my last iso diary at the very start of December, celebrating the fact that everything was fine.

At that point we'd gone more than 30 days in Victoria without a case, and even though we were opening back up to hotel quarantine - which as we know had essentially caused the state's issue to begin with - we were feeling good.

I was planning a trip to Wagga Wagga to see my family for Christmas, and considering I hadn't seen them for more than a couple of hours in months, I was quite excited for this.

Even as the number of cases on the Northern Beaches in Sydney rose slowly, I wasn't worried they would reach Wagga.

Which brings me to New Year's Eve.

I was planning to get into the car the next morning and drive back to Echuca and get some things done around the house in preparation for going back to work on Monday.

Then the news came through that the Victorian Government had ordered every Victorian in NSW to come home, giving about 10 hours to get home to get tested and isolate until the results came back.

What did this result in?

Eight hour waits on the Echuca-Moama bridge.

The next option - get home before midnight the next day and do 14-days in isolation at home.

Well, it beats hotel quarantine.

So, that was me, getting in the car on Friday morning and driving for the border.

I got back to Echuca, went to ERH and waited for a test.

Then, I went home.

And here I am.

Sitting in the home office (at the kitchen table) getting back on with my job.

I'm one of the lucky ones in the grand scheme of things.

I was able to get back in time, I wasn't in a queue for hours on end, and I'm able to set up at the table and go back to work.

Some weren't so lucky.

And I really feel for them.

There has been a certain group of people on social media (you may know the kind) who have gone to the "well, you shouldn't have gone to NSW. You were warned.”

Although it's rarely in as few words, and rarely as kind.

It's a nonsense argument that I absolutely do not subscribe to.

The world hasn't stopped, we need to continue to live our lives.

People want to see their families at Christmas.

They should not be stopped from that.

And, for that matter, they weren't.

The Victorian Government had a "green zone" they created themselves.

And then changed the rules on people with almost no warning.

Now I'm in quarantine and that's fine, you gotta do what you gotta do and I more than accept that.

But I absolutely feel bad for those who got caught up in this.

And I think a little bity of empathy could go a long way here too.

Alas, it is what it is now. We are back where we desperately didn't want to be, watching from the edge and desperately hoping that the number of cases in Melbourne stays low.

We've been here before, so the fear of what could happen is completely understandable.

But it would go a long way if we could show a bit of kindness to one another, because Lord knows this is stressful enough as it is.

Isolation diaries

Isolation diaries 23: Goodbye, farewell and amen

Isolation diaries part 22: Across the river

Isolation diaries part 21: Step out, face the sunshine

Isolation diaries part 20: Border bonanza

Isolation diaries part 19: On the road again...soon

Isolation diaries part 18: This is home

Isolation diaries part 17: Cleaning up the mess

Isolation diaries part 16: This life-like dream

Isolation diaries part 15: And now we wait