To bus or not to bus, that is the question
OPINION: It is one thing to write about Covid-19 issues from the outside and quite another to be on the inside – in my case living a week as a ‘‘close contact’’.
My daily life changed on a Sunday evening when a bright orange message popped up on my smartphone.
‘‘You have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19,’’ said the alert from the tracer app’s Bluetooth feature.
Details were skimpy at first. It told me the moment was three days earlier but not where or when.
Those details are irrationally important at that moment.
If I am being grounded, surely I deserve to know what I did that got me there?
So began my relationship with the wonderful people on the Covid Healthline and the local drivethrough testing centre in Massey.
Healthline can’t give details of where and when the encounter happened, for privacy reasons, which irked me at first but the following day the ‘‘locations of interest’’ listed my Thursday morning bus ride. Aha!
The orange message changed everything. I could not leave the house for 10 days after the encounter (three had passed already). Nor could my wife leave the house until I cleared the dayfive Covid test.
I was lucky. I could work from home and could separate from my wife within the house, as recommended. Simple moves for us, probably a huge upheaval for others with children, dependants or work that requires a physical presence.
Then came daily phone checks with the Healthline. A list of questions including checking that no-one else was impacted by my isolation and did I need help with shopping etcetera.
My favourite symptom check: ‘‘Are you irritable or confused?’’
No, I replied calmly. While inside my head another voice was shouting: ‘‘Yes, why wouldn’t I be?’’
The calls were not tick-box routines. At the end, there were usually a few questions to check I had understood what I am meant to be doing.
I felt well cared for by kind and patient people, calling from their homes around the country, sometimes with dodgy internet connections. Always ready to answer my sometimes silly questions.
The three tests were executed at the very efficient Massey drivethrough, with results back the same day. I know this will change as daily numbers grow but I am also sure the testers will maintain their calm and caring attitude.
On day 11, I am officially clear, following the final call from the Healthline.
And now the real questions begin.
I am a big user of public transport, not just for commuting but also to get to work appointments.
I have also reported on the impacts of Covid-19 on patronage and whether the slump in use is a blip or, more worryingly, a more structural shift that could put back by years, the required shift out of car use.
Now I find myself unsure whether I can resume my bus commute yet. One more unwitting close encounter, one more ping from the tracer app, and it is back into isolation for the two of us.
Or should I work from home? An idea which, if multiplied across the thousands who find will themselves in my isolation shoes as Omicron spreads, will hit the downtown economy – though in my case, not by much.
Many others will find themselves in similar circumstances in the coming weeks and months, and many will have bigger issues to deal with than I did.
I wish that all will find that those whose job is to help keep us well and safe are the good people I encountered.