Yesterday the Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern announced a level system for Covid-19, and told us that we were at Level 2, having previously been at the rough equivalent of Level 1. The day before yesterday, New Zealand closed its borders to all except citizens, permanent residents, and their children and partners (with limited exceptions). We are clearly living in the middle of a historic event of some magnitude, one that is going to impact on everyone's lives quite directly. I saw a woman on the BBC the other day complaining that her university experience has been compromised by the pandemic, because she's having to do her final year from home. In the scheme of things this seems like a rather minor complaint — yes maybe you miss out on some student parties and lunch on the campus lawn but you'll be able to say for the rest of your life that it was because of a pandemic, a moment you share with everyone else alive today. Living through a pandemic is a different experience, probably a lot more notable than a typical final year! A colleague (with whom I am no longer friends, apparently, having beaten her in an axe-throwing competition) agreed with me, saying that she's encouraging her students to document their experience by e.g. taking photos. Thinking about it, it's not a bad idea, so I started to log it. (HTM) https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/412280/coronavirus-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-gives-address-to-nation-on-the-covid-19-response (HTM) https://thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin/20-03-2020/the-bulletin-new-zealands-border-is-now-closed/ ________________________________________________________________________________ Gophered by Gophernicus/3.0.1 on Debian/10 x86_64