School finishes at 10.30 and I stop off at the shops to buy a few things. People have started to go a bit nuts and trolleys are piled up. Some people are wearing masks and gloves.
The phone rings:
Sian: When are you coming home?
Me: I won't be long. I'm at the shops.
Sian: You've been away a very long time.
Me: I'll be back now. Who's that coughing?
In films, as soon as someone starts coughing, you know they are a gonner, especially when they say, 'I'm fine. Just a little cough. Nothing to be worried about.' Usually, it's just when they have found the person of their dreams or had a promotion or discovered the secrets of the universe which makes their demise even more poignant. In films, no one ever just coughs for no reason.
That is how it has become in real life since the start of this virus so now when Ellie starts coughing, I cannot help but feel a little twinge of panic. I buy honey and lemons and something called fire cider which is made from Kombucha vinegar, garlic, ginger, tumeric and onions. I'm going to sort that cough out.
News is that the coronavirus victim in Harare has died. He wasn't even thirty and he was a government minister's son. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to be transferred to a private hospital from Wilkins, the government infectious diseases hospital as private hospitals are not yet allowed to receive patients. I am sure he had access to huge amounts of money and it is ironic that he should die in a government hospital, especially as his father is on record for saying how good the Zimbabwean health system is. Some may call it bad luck and some may call it karma; either way, it has got all of us who depend on private health care very worried indeed.
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