After the silence

Cold crisp evening

 It's almost a week since I posted. I've not been feeling well. I thought I might have caught Covid as I was coughing alot with a sore throat. I could not walk over 200 meters nor climb stairs. Some students help me along but I just cannot breathe. I consTantly feel faint due to lack of oxygen. But the tests were negative and I really think it was due to the change in weather with the low temp. hitting us, together with dry air and a sandstorm 2 days back to add to my misery. There were moments of drizzle but the air nevertheless was very dry which hurts the throat when you breathe in. I've been drinking lemon and orange juice since and it has helped alleviate the pain. I just my heavy dosages of asthma medicine daily have pre-empted any Covid infection. Still it's not a joke when 100,000 infections a day are recorded. I wear the mask everywhere and clean my hands with alcohol swipes. Not taking any chance. Outside most people have stopped using the mask. Anyway I'm slowly recovering and hope to get back in shape relatively soon.

The govt will remove the Green Pass requirement for entering enclosed buildings on March 1st. That includes restaurants, shopping malls, gyms etc. But indoor events such as concerts still require the Green Pass. I'm not sure how this applies to church services though. Or libraries for that matter. Nothing has been said about it in the news.

Bethlehem: Roadside
coffee seller

I had gone to the MC convent in Bethlehem last week to bring medicines and clothes to the poor. In that Palestinian town, nobody wears the mask. And I read from the newspapers that Palestinian hospitals are 85% full and reaching crashing point in the next week. People crowd all over the place with no regard for hygiene - coughing and sneezing into others' faces. It's pretty scary. 

As the temp hovers between 1 and 8 degrees everyday, most people avoid going out and there's been a significant drop in violent clashes and terrorist attacks. Let's hope Mother Nature will keep this up.