C-Positive Part II

This place just opened on our high street, greatly amusing Dave, who is from Michigan. "What's so special about Michigan flames?" he said. "Do you think they serve venison?"

And then, a few minutes later: "Hey, I'm a Michigan flame!"

Yesterday morning, feeling annoyed at my continued negative Covid test results despite my obvious and intensifying illness, I booked a PCR test through the NHS. I walked to a testing center not far from our flat and navigated a process that involved speaking to people through heavy plastic windows and barriers and swabbing my own throat. (I thought, "Well, if I don't have Covid yet, I probably have it now after visiting this epicenter of infection.") I left the completed test kit there and about 9 p.m. last night I got a text saying my results are positive.

Not that there was really any doubt. I just wanted to be able to tell work that I'm positive so they know I'm not malingering. Now I'm under orders to self-isolate for ten days, so I won't be working next week at all, unless I recover quickly and test negative twice in a row after five days.

This morning my lateral flow test (which I took just out of curiosity) was strongly positive too.

So yeah, there's no doubt. I have Covid. And as I said, I did feel sicker yesterday. Still not terrible, but a bit headachey and sore throatey and tired. My temperature in the afternoon was 99.5º, which isn't much of a fever but it's headed in that direction.

Dave and I lay down after lunch, and after reading "Shuggie Bain" for an hour or two I got up to make some coffee. "Would you bring me water and some paracetamol?" Dave croaked from his side of the bed.

"We're so pathetic," I said.

Fortunately Dave ordered a grocery delivery a few days ago, so at least for now we have all we need to hide out at home while we recuperate. Olga's dog walker is still coming in the afternoons -- I crack open the door and push her outside so he doesn't have to enter the house. He won't come over the weekend, though, so I suppose I'll have to walk her then. I can stick to quiet streets and steer clear of people.

Meanwhile, in our garden, our lungwort is already blooming. It's pretty early to be seeing flowers on this plant, but the other day I was reading an article that said plants in the UK are blooming a month earlier on average than they did 50 years ago. Maybe this is an example. I'm not sure there are any insects around to pollinate that flower yet.

Pandemics, climate change -- it's a brave new world!