Being an accounting of the recent and continuing pandemic and its various circumstances, from the perspective of an inhabitant of the regions lately called the Lost Quarter. Dates unknown.

Day Four Hundred Eighty Three

It is now two weeks past my love and my second inoculations, a date I have marked upon my calendar to celebrate, for now we are fully protected from the depredations of the grippe reborn. As protected as one can be, for the dread lord is forever changing, forever seeking out the weak points in our defences. Still, in these parts the tide is retreating; he holds sway over only a few poor souls, and we can allow ourselves to imagine that the worst is truly over. It remains to be seen if that is the case, but for now we can let ourselves exhale and venture out into the world much as we used to.

That is easier said than done, for in the last year I have become used to the defences we have erected, the scaffolding of the quarantine protocols, and it is challenging to venture out without paying them any heed. All protocols were suspended on Dominion Day, though we have mostly continued to adhere to them out of recognition that we were not fully protected by the inoculation. Now that we are, will we head into indoor spaces unmasked? Will we sit inside restaurants close to others? Will we go to the movies? I’m sure we will, though it will take some getting used to in the meantime. It will be nice to allow ourselves the pleasure of those things.

There was much debate about the ending of all restrictions on Dominion Day, which the government clearly hoped to be a celebration, an end to their year of failure. It was not, though largely for other reasons. Those who have chafed against the protocols angrily decry anyone who expresses any doubt about their removal, while for others the only time it would be safe to remove the restrictions is if the risk to everyone was zero. They point to other jurisdictions where cases have begun to rise again and say that could be us.

It may be, but I note that most of those falling to the dread lord in those places have not received their inoculations. Now that the doses are available here to anyone who wants them, it feels unfair that those of us who have done the right thing, followed the protocols and gotten our doses should be made to follow the protocols to protect those who refuse to get doses. It is the height of selfishness, to decline to help their family and friends and community while billions the world over are desperate for the chance they spit upon. If the dread lord should strike them, it is hard to summon up much sympathy. Things are rarely so simple though, for young children as yet cannot get the inoculations and that is why it is so important that those of us who can do so.

The dread lord remains. We shall be forced to pick our way through the minefields he has left until everyone in the world has the opportunity my love and I were blessed with. To take our doses and go out without fear.