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Date
Diary of a Quarantinee
DAY 1 Wednesday 25 March 2020
At Darwin Airport I line up with other travellers, all of us spaced a metre or so apart, some wearing masks. at the official window I'm inquisitioned: Do you have a cough or cold? Are you able to isolate for fourteen days? Fortunately I'm allowed to isolate in my small unit, where I live alone.
DAY 2 Thursday
Isolation soon turns into mandatory quarantine. Now reality hits: no more walks lest I face a steep fine.
DAYS 3 to 4 Friday to Saturday
Each day is much like the other.Why bother dressing when there's nowhere to go? Much easier to stay in night attire.
DAYS 5 to 6 Sunday to Monday
I try not to add too much gin to my nightly glass.
DAY 7 Tuesday
A week in quarantine. My world is confined to the parameters of my small unit, which I keep cleaning and tidying with relentless monotony verging on OCD.
DAYS 8 to 10 Wednesday to Friday
I begin to see advantages in my enforced isolation. At last I have time to work on my novel. Only I don't.
DAYS 10 to 11 Saturday to Sunday A strange restlessness besets me; a kind of guilt for being cut off from nearest and dearest
DAYS 12 to 13 Monday to Tuesday Dare I say I’m quite enjoying it? I can have icecream for dinner and go to bed at midnight. I have control of the remote. What's not to like?
DAY 14 Wednesday
Do I want to be part of the madding crowd? This is my ideal life, I realise. I think I'll stay in quarantine forever,
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DAY 1 Wednesday 25 March 2020
At Darwin Airport I line up with other travellers, all of us spaced a metre or so apart, some wearing masks. at the official window I'm inquisitioned: Do you have a cough or cold? Are you able to isolate for fourteen days? Fortunately I'm allowed to isolate in my small unit, where I live alone.
DAY 2 Thursday
Isolation soon turns into mandatory quarantine. Now reality hits: no more walks lest I face a steep fine.
DAYS 3 to 4 Friday to Saturday
Each day is much like the other.Why bother dressing when there's nowhere to go? Much easier to stay in night attire.
DAYS 5 to 6 Sunday to Monday
I try not to add too much gin to my nightly glass.
DAY 7 Tuesday
A week in quarantine. My world is confined to the parameters of my small unit, which I keep cleaning and tidying with relentless monotony verging on OCD.
DAYS 8 to 10 Wednesday to Friday
I begin to see advantages in my enforced isolation. At last I have time to work on my novel. Only I don't.
DAYS 10 to 11 Saturday to Sunday A strange restlessness besets me; a kind of guilt for being cut off from nearest and dearest
DAYS 12 to 13 Monday to Tuesday Dare I say I’m quite enjoying it? I can have icecream for dinner and go to bed at midnight. I have control of the remote. What's not to like?
DAY 14 Wednesday
Do I want to be part of the madding crowd? This is my ideal life, I realise. I think I'll stay in quarantine forever,
§