Day 6: First working day and Covid alert

Working from isolation

We set about trying to all do work today, which was no simple matter. Three people in the one room, with a desk that can take two people side by side and the need to have online meetings presented some challenges. Added to that the wireless internet cycled back and forth between good to very bad.

So we got some work done, but I had numerous meetings with glitches and dead spots, along with minor successes in disconnecting/reconnecting only to then have it drop out minutes later. I discovered at the end of the day that the wi-fi signal in the bathroom was a fair bit stronger, as it probably picks up on the more powerful routers in the outside corridor vs the small thing in our room. The room does have a bit of an echo to it. It also feels a bit weird to be having work meetings from the bathroom, but if it works ...

In isolation the need to have working internet does feel a bit like the need for oxygen!

Covid alert

At about 4:30 pm there was a sudden announcement over the PA system that a person at the hotel had tested positive for Covid 19 and that we were to remain in our rooms while a deep clean took place, along with full contact tracing. That was a surprise and added to the surreal nature of the whole isolation experience.

Minutes later a note was slipped under the door advising of the same. They are obviously well set up for this eventuality ...

While waiting in a state of suspended reality we started wondering who the infected person was. Could it have been someone from our arrival group that had been tested the morning before --- the timing  would certainly match up. Could we have shared an airplane or bus with the person? Just before posting this, we heard through the grapevine that the infected person had been on a flight from Sydney that got in on Thursday night. There were two flights that evening and we were on one of them. The other flight got in just before us and we don't believe they came to his hotel, so it is highly likely the infected person had indeed been with us. We haven't been informed that we're a close contact of the person so more than likely we aren't considered at risk. Nevertheless, the virus suddenly felt quite close. 

An hour later we got the announcement that cleaning had been completed and we could leave our rooms. We'd had images of being stuck in our room for the rest of the day so it was a relief to be able to get out for a walk in the garden area while the sun was still shining. Throughout the hotel there are no communal touch surfaces so even though we were almost certainly safe walking around we still had a sense of unease. While sitting on the grassy knoll in the garden we did wonder if the virus can survive on grass, but surely this was unlikely?

Daily checks

Every day we get a call from the nursing staff to check in on our health. Are we feeling OK? Any symptoms of Covid? Most days also involve a temperature check at the nurses station, which is set up in one of the meeting rooms of the hotel. Thankfully we're all still feeling OK!

We still haven't received our Covid result yet from the test the morning before, so we're looking forward to that.


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