Last Monday, I woke up feeling crappy with a headache and the start of a cough. I did a self-administered COVID antigen test that came back with a faint ”T” line, which was enough to indicate a positive result. At this point, I’m one of the few people I knew that hadn’t had COVID yet (at least to my knowledge), so I guess my number was finally up.
There has been another wave of infections in the past weeks in Ireland (as in the rest of Europe and the U.S.) due to the BA.5 omicron subvariant that is even more transmissible than previous strains. My friend S. had come down with symptoms and tested positive for COVID the week after visiting Dublin for Pride weekend, which could have been when I was exposed, although that would have been a long incubation period given that I didn’t test positive for a week later. Another possibility was that I picked it up from my driving instructor on June 30, when I did my six hours of mandatory lessons all in one day. At any rate, my symptoms were relatively mild (dry cough and fatigue), but I still took off three days from work to rest up. I followed health guidelines and self-isolated at home for 7 days, emerging only today. I’m still testing positive so I’m wearing a mask in shops out of an abundance of caution. Needless to say, it’s been quite a boring week so I don’t have much to write about.
Today is the warmest day of the year so far in Ireland, with highs in the low 80s F / high 20s C. Despite the warmer temperatures, the skies have remained stubbornly overcast on most days. I’m not complaining, though, given that other parts of Europe have been experiencing scorching temperatures of 100+ F / 40+ C. Many people are taking their holiday vacations, and things at work have slowed down considerably. As soon as the work day ended, I headed out for a walk to St. Stephens Green, eager to escape the walls of my apartment. Tourists are ubiquitous in the city centre. I stopped into a couple of cafes for a refreshing drink but that had run out of ice. It actually doesn’t feel that warm out given the overcast skies and a gentle breeze, but it’s definitely shorts weather.
It’s been an eventful week in political news. In the UK, Boris Johnson finally announced his resignation. Given his administration’s threat of unilaterally abandoning the Northern Ireland protocol that had been negotiated during Brexit, he will not be missed by many in Ireland. Meanwhile in Irish politics, the opposition party Sinn Féin is calling for a no confidence vote in the current Irish government this week, although the three Coalition parties – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens – have enough votes to block it. Inflation will be a huge focus of budget discussions this autumn.
Until next time….
