Today is Workers’ Day which I think, is celebrated in many countries in the world. South Africans have been looking forward to this day for another reason too. It marks the first day of Level 4 in the Lockdown series! The big thing we were all looking forward to was the chance to get outdoors for exercise. However, in their wisdom, our government decided that there would be a three-hour window of time in which everybody would be allowed out and that would be between six and nine in the morning! It was a beautiful morning and after five weeks of not having had this privilege, it was not surprising to see so many people out and about.
Everybody and his dog out for a walk
Usually, at this time of the year when I’m out for my daily walk, I seldom see a soul. But today was different. It was great, it was fun but was it healthy? Surely it would be better to stagger the times allowed out so that there would be more social distancing?
These twins were masked but delighted to be liberated at last!
The earl was the first to head off from our house just after 8 am and of course, his destination was the harbour! What a disappointment then, to be stopped at the entrance and told, “Sorry, you may not enter.” The crowds were furious but they were told that the area was too small to allow the public in.
No Entry!
I followed soon after and met my beloved as he staggered home. I told him to continue a little further with me but he said his muscles were too sore – he’d had enough exercise for one day!
Very disappointed that the harbour was out of bounds
I continued on my own and was delighted to see friends and have a chat from a safe distance. I headed to the beach hoping it would be open. It was! There were scores of people walking and jogging and a few were even in the sea for a swim! Those were the young and brave – it’s too cold at this time of the year to be in the water!
My first glimpse of our lovely beach
We all had the same idea!
The brave took to the waters
Lollz took a different route but we both made it back home just on the deadline of 9 am! It is amazing how just this little change to our freedom made a huge difference to our morale. We are also now allowed to buy clothes and as winter is approaching, Lollz felt the need to get some new warm clothes so she went off to Bredasdorp to shop. I decided not to go with her. I have given my aching back a rest for a few days but today was the day I needed give the house a good clean instead. So now all the laundry is done and the house is sparkling!
After a wonderfully happy start at Level 4, we had bad news this evening. The first case of Covid-19 has hit our area. A local policeman has tested positive for the virus as has one in Bredasdorp! The two police stations were closed and the staff moved to temporary premises while the buildings were sanitised. They will be closed for two days.
For the first time in five weeks, we can now order in! Yesterday I put in an order for sushi from Agulhas Seafoods and they were supposed to deliver at 6pm this evening but it was after 7 when our order arrived! Everybody is taking advantage of these new privileges and so it took a while to get to us all! I am sure they will get better at it as the lockdown proceeds!
Adventuring into Retirement 
I find it interesting that your beach is open – it is out of bounds in other places, such as in Port Elizabeth. Glad you were able to get out though and that the weather was good to you.
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Yes I have heard that Cape Town beaches are closed too. Our beach is 17km long and we have a small population. This might be why it is open.
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It would defnitely seem that the whole of Struisbaai headed for the beach!
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Yes indeed!
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What an exciting moment to walk out the complex front entrance. Lovely walking in the beautiful fresh air. We were lucky not dozens of people but kids skipping and dogs so joyful to get out. From Simonstown to FH the pavements were crowded and so was the beach which was supposed to be out of bounds. Sadly people take no notice until they get sick. Came home happy.
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Ag, hoe lekker! Ons het in Bredasdorp se berg gaan stap, het eers 8:30 begin stap en seker 2 ure later tuis gekom. Gelukkig is ons nie gevang nie! 😁
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Ek is so bly julle kon Agulhas Seafoods ondersteun. Suidpunt Potpourri lewer ook weer etes af. Bly vir hulle almal. 😀
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Wow, it is amazing how different it is there! We have never been restricted from going outside, although when people flocked to forest preserves, the government closed the parking lots to reduce the number of people! We are lucky to live in a senior community with a large campus that we can walk around every day. Some businesses at our “level 2” have been allowed to open and golf courses opened with some restrictions. Only one case of C-19 in your area?? Perhaps due to stringent restrictions. Here in the USA we have had more than a million c-19 cases and almost 100,000 deaths, many in nursing homes and factories where people work close together – they didn’t want to close meat plants because they provide food for society. In Illinois, we have nearly 100,000 cases, and the governor has divided up the state into regions, so the areas with few cases of the virus can move to a higher level. Even though the worst epidemic here is occurring in the Chicago area, the governor has been pressured to let us go to “level 3” which means opening up some more businesses, including hair and nail salons (good – I need a pedicure because finally it is sandal weather!!), but restaurants are still closed to in-house seating. So we continue to order by phone or online, pick up or delivery. Here our meals are brought to us, but we still order from restaurants sometimes because the menu here has gotten very repetitive and not always very good.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, just to the north of us, the governor there tried to extend the stay-at-home order, but was overruled by the conservative majority in the legislature and Supreme Court. Because of this, all restrictions had to be immediately lifted and within hours, people were jammed together in bars without masks! A “hotspot” waiting to happen…
Our federal government has done a very poor job of managing this pandemic and explicitly told the state governments to deal with it themselves. Some states have better governments than others. Thanks for sharing how it has been for you in South Africa!
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Thanks for stopping by here, Amorealegria. It’s great to compare what’s happening in other countries. I am grateful that our government acted swiftly but now it seems that some of their measures are a bit extreme. Everybody is quite willing to do the social distancing and sanitising thing but we are annoyed by the illogical rules and the damage that is being done to the economy. There is a great deal of poverty and in some of the townships it is simply impossible to follow social distancing. However, I am impressed at the things that are in place to sanitise public transport. Most hospitals are also prepared to handle the pandemic but in the rural areas it is not too good.
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