Gold, Frankincense and Anti-Bacterial Wipes. Saturday 28 March - Australia 3573 cases - 140 per million population

Some of our kids and their husbands are like many others, employed in industries deemed to be essential or support services.  This is a bitter-sweet state of affairs, as their employment appears to be secure for as long as the current crisis endures, but at the same time they mix daily with a wide variety of people, greatly increasing their odds of actually coming into contact with someone who is carrying the invisible enemy.

As it happened a pair of them had to be in our neighbourhood today, so we all conferred as to what was the best way of seeing them without putting ourselves and our few weeks of isolation at risk.   We settled on a quick lunch out of doors with a very conservative several metres between us, trying to cram weeks of conversation into an hour or so (despite being in almost daily telephone contact), followed by an emotionally awkward departure, devoid of hugs or kisses, and an even more awkward fully gloved disposal of all they had touched.  

We'd had a wonderful time of course, but the strangeness of the times perhaps should be measured by the gifts they bore.   Flowers are always a nice touch, especially just a few days after a birthday when they add icing to the metaphoric cake, but the most precious gift of all, certainly the most appreciated:  a packet of anti bacterial wipes.