Actually, thinking back, my daughter was almost three when I noticed that there could be a problem, she could 'hear' me when I was facing her but didn't hear me when we were in the car and she was in the back seat behind me. She had 'glue ear' and had her first grommets just before her third birthday. She had them several times after that, then one came out suddenly, leaving a permanent small perforation. When she was about five or so the ENT surgeon told me that to all intents and purposes she had one ear, one had high tone loss, the other low tone loss.

My daughter had mumps, measles and rubella within about 2 months, she also had an overdose of paracetamol (don't ask) during that time. She had the measles vaccine, the other two were not available at that time. I only discovered that she had measles as she passed them to her younger brother. He was very unwell so I took him to the doctor who diagnosed measles, this confused me as he had no spots and had had the vaccine. The doctor said that having the vaccine had prevented the spots and made the measles less severe. It was then that I realised, and the doctor agreed, that the bad cold my daughter had a couple weeks earlier was in fact measles - I sent her to kindergarten with them as I hadn't realised. She had picked up all three illnesses there anyway. She passed her mumps to me!

My hearing aids were free to me, our health service pays for them, just not the batteries and the bits that go into the ear although they subsidise those for us. They are just not the very expensive 'hidden' ones but are still a decent quality.

On the covid-19 front, another person arriving by boat has been tested positive. They now have a huge backlog of tests awaiting results which is increasing daily.

Pending results - 924 (they haven't tested as many as 30,000 yet since it began)
Known active cases - 2

I understand exactly what you mean - my aid was adjusted perfectly but unfortunately it just did not help. it was also very painful after about an hour because of pressure in both my ear canal [which is apparently extremely narrow] and external pressure on the tragus, giving me a permanent headache. It was checked numerous times and was told that I would just have to put up with it hurting - even suggesting that I get some numbing cream to put on it before wearing it. A suggestion was also made that I was embarrassed to be seen wear it! Me? Embarrassed to be seen wearing a hearing aid which could not be seen by anyone unless they were standing six inches away from my ear?!

My main problem is the fact that the sounds, not so much the words, of spoken Ivrit that tend to sound jumbled. I am obviously fluent in Ivrit after 35 years here but even accented English can be difficult to understand at times, so it obviously helps if I can see the face of the person who is speaking. I do not have a smart phone, just a small mobile, but I find that as long as that, or my landline phone, is touching my skull just above my ear I can hear OK - as long as people do not speak too quickly.

I do have someone who has legal Power of Attorney in the event that I am unable to look after myself. He also has legal power regarding any health matters. All my legal affairs are in order and he will adopt Tikva, who adores him [little flirt] when the time comes. So any problems I might have he sorts out for me. He is also a friend of my lawyers so I have three young men who make sure that I am OK - how much luckier can I get!

The sooner major infection areas here are put back into full lockdown - preferably the whole country the way this second wave is spreading - the better. The situation is almost out of control in many places.

Yesterday the number of confirmed cases here was 150% higher than the number in the UK and considering that Israel is only about one twelfth the size of the UK it shows how bad it is here now.

There just seems to end to it and the invisible fence around my home seems to be closing in on me daily.

I really feel for you, it must be very scary. Theoretically, if people go into lockdown and they close borders for three or four weeks that ought to stop the spreading, assuming everyone follows the rules.

It really seems minor, in comparison, to moan that another couple of people have brought it in by air here. We were told that we could expect 1 imported case per 7,000 passengers which is way off the mark.

That's the problem, 'assuming everyone follows the rules'. In the US, many people didn't bother then when things started opening up it got even worse, but because people were so mad about being locked down, there wasn't the stomach to sit at home for the three weeks and kill it at once. Now we're going on month five like this when we could have done three weeks and been fine.

Next Monday it will be five months since I left my home, and even then it was only to go 50m to the little macolet and then come back home because they did not want me to go in. And that was even before we went into lockdown. I cannot even go across to the mailboxes to get my mail but have to wait until I can ask someone to get it for me.

I have been living inside this ever-encroaching fence for so long now that I have almost forgotten what my home looks like from the outside, let alone what it is like to actually see and speak to people instead of just watching them walk past.

I live in Arizona which is currently one of the US's "hotspots". My husband and I are considered essential workers so we haven't been able to home quarantine. My mother has COPD, but is in otherwise good health, voluntarily self quarantined on March 6 before it was mandated anywhere. I take my parents their groceries and any other essential items and either leave it on their porch or take into their garage, where my dad then takes the items and disinfects them before taking in to the house. We visit occasionally, but only across the patio or garage, keeping at least 10 feet apart. It's been difficult since my mom and I are very close and are huggers. Since she's also a very social person, she's going stir-crazy being locked away. My heart just hurts for her. When my husband and I are not working, we are staying home and haven't eaten a restaurant meal in months. I don't mind staying home as I have lots of projects I can work on.

So now Virginia is on the list of place where New Yorkers shouldn't travel to, even though the problem is just south-eastern Virginia... My parents are supposed to travel again in September and they think they will come, they will just self-quarantine when they get home to New York. My area keeps either plateauing or going down, and we didn't go anywhere when they came to visit (I don't feel as bad not doing anything and my mom needs a hip replacement, so we couldn't really do anything if there wasn't COVID).

Our pediatrician has been doing a Facebook live every Friday morning and, especially as a parent, the news from these have calmed me down somewhat. Some tidbits from this week's:
- Article in this month's Pediatrics has a conclusion that kids are not transmitting the disease, they are generally getting it from family members. Children - especially younger than 10 - don't get it at the same rate as adults and don't spread it at the same rate as adults. (Flu does the opposite: kids get it and spread it to their families). Kids can have high viral loads, but they aren't transmitting it.

- Seeing a new symptom in kids: COVID toes. Previously it was very rare to see this in a pediatrician's office. It was usually seen centuries ago in cold climates. But apparently COVID is damaging the vascular system in the feet. It does NOT indicate a current infection, it just shows the kid had it at some point.

- Masks are going to be around for a while. Get good cotton ones you can wash and that are comfortable.

- We should get faster turnarounds for testing as they start doing batch testing. (By me, the turnaround is approaching two weeks! At that point, it's why bother?)

- Some of you may have heard Fauci recommend eye coverings - that was specifically for the workplace. But for the lay person, if you want to, it's just another layer of protection so go for it.

(If you want the link to the video, PM me and I will pass it on.)

As for me, I got a call from the director of my son's school. He goes to a Montessori school near our house and we hadn't heard much about their plans for the fall. His teacher wasn't comfortable returning, so the teacher who was there before her will return and they will begin 5 days a week at the end of August. Because they're Montessori, there's a lot more individual work and they're going to put plexiglass between each child on the tables, with the kids sitting at the end of the table. My son will only be half days and the only people allowed in his room will be the teacher and assistant, who will wear masks. I'm going to try and get my son to wear a mask just in case - when we take walks, he won't wear one, but is good about going to the very edge of the trail to stay away from people. I guess there's that

My daughters daycare has been back on operation for two months, and they’re not doing too bad. She has 3 - 5 year olds, and they’re pretty good about kinda sorta distancing. Kids this age are all about The Rules so they’ll remind each other. I’d rather be teaching little kids right now than teens ! Because teens are all about NOT following the rules!

Thank goodness I don't know anyone who has had it let alone died from it. As so, it is impossible for me to miss anything more than how it has stopped me doing what I would normally do. I can understand the point now but everyone has their own story to tell and each is unique to their lives.

Another four 'arrivals' to the island with covid. That makes it twelve in eighteen thousand plus visitors. It might not sound much but most of the people tested do not isolate whilst waiting for results which can take up to three or four days.

When they opened the border they said we could expect 1 case in 7,000 - so methinks they got their sums wrong!

This afternoon I discovered one of the advantages of not being able to go out. Before lockdown I was very limited as to where I could go, having to get a taxi come from town, my little scooter dismanted to go in the boot - and so few places where I could actually get into. I would also be limited to one area at a time, either one of the big shopping centres but going downtown is just about impossible as it is very old and definitely not wheelchair or baby scooter friendly. Small pavement-only scooters are classed as wheelchairs as far as access goes but the security guard at my bank, which was then downtown but has now moved, once refused to let me go in until someone went and got the manager.

Anyhow, I needed a new kitchen bin and the macolet across the road only has small ones and I wanted a 42 or 50 litre one. Not that I have much rubbish but it was height rather than capacity that was the important thing. So, a quick call to my friend who I call Ninja [short for The Yellow Ninja due to his yellow first-responder bike and his yellow helmet - Tikki gets so excited when she sees him coming down the ramp!] and he went brought me just what I wanted. Not on the bike, of course, but in his car. He said he got it from the shuk downtown - and that is a place I have not been to in more years than I can remember and would definitely be unable to go even if I was not under lockdown.

Rather silly getting excited about a new plastic kitchen bin but after five months of being stuck in my home it does not take much to excite me! And the Ninja is such a nice guy, especially going out of his way to hunt down what I wanted.

For many of us, it has been an eyeopener and we are learning what is important in life, and who.

So many things that people once thought were vital to their lives have proven to not be that important after all. And many people have appeared that have been so helpful, even those we did not know before.

There is a young woman who I only know by seeing her sometimes walk past my home - but she now stops and waves to me each time she passes. A wave and a smile - just little things but which mean such a lot to me.

They certainly do.

I am cross again, every case that we currently have in Jersey are people who have arrived in the island, rather than cases in the community. People are still not forced to isolate until they get a negative test result. It is only a matter of time before a local person picks it up from one of these 'imports'.

Western Australia has been very strict with border closure and it has paid off. To date, we have only had 642 cases and 9 deaths. We've had no new cases for over a week. The vast majority of the cases have been people returning from overseas or interstate - there has been very little community transmission of the disease. And this has been accomplished with quarantining arrivals, as well as social distancing, self-isolation, and more awareness of hygiene/handwashing etc. Masks and curfews were not required.

There is a businessman/politician/billionaire in Queensland (Clive Palmer) who is taking the WA government to court to have the border closure revoked on constitutional grounds and we sincerely hope he loses the case. He only wants to come here to line his own pockets. He claims he needs to come for business meetings but he could conduct them via video-conferencing (like everybody else has done).

The vast majority of West Australians are against opening the borders and against Palmer forcing his way in here as it would be the thin edge of the wedge. There are already plans for blockades at the airport and other protests should he be successful. Initially, the federal government was supporting him but when they saw the backlash from the community, they backed off and withdrew it. However, I think it will be a case of "too little, too late" and they will pay for it at the next election as West Australians are very angry about this issue. We don't want to experience what is happening in other parts of the country, like Victoria. So far, we have not had a "second wave" but it could happen if the border is forced open.

I have just checked the size of Israel compared to Australia - I could not get a comparison with the state of Western Australia, but this might give an idea.



As of the beginning of the Sabbath yesterday evening 7 August we have had 80,991 confirmed cases and 481 deaths. Considering the fact that our borders were closed on 18 March with only Israeli citizens who were overseas allowed to enter and go straight into two-weeks quarantine, those numbers are terrifyingly high, and yet now some 16,000 students are going to be allowed in. Supposedly into strict quarantine in their places of study but as quarantine and the current restrictions regarding the wearing of face masks and gathering in masses have been, and still are being flouted daily, what chance have we got? The number of new confirmed cases are hovering around 1,750/day and yet still people are screaming for the borders to be open.

It is now over five months since I have left my home and the way things are going I will probably spend the rest of my life unable to go out. As I said, what chance have we got?

Western Australia is 33% of the land mass of Australia.

Prior to 1901, Australia consisted of individual colonies. They united and became one country, the Commonwealth of Australia, in 1901 and ever since, there has been a secessionist movement for WA to separate from the rest of Australia. A major reason is because we contribute far more to federal funds than we get back and are discriminated against in favour of the smaller states which have a greater population.

The issue over the border closure, and Clive Palmer trying to force it open, has revived the secessionist movement over here. People in WA are angry that our Prime Minister has supported one billionaire over the wishes of the people. A recent newspaper poll indicated that 98% of WA people (our current population is 2.6 million) were against opening up the border.

There will be riots if Palmer wins. It depends on how the courts interpret our Constitution which, of course, was not written with something like a pandemic in mind. His argument is that the border closure is illegal because the Section 92 of the Constitution says that ‘intercourse among the States… shall be absolutely free’. ‘Intercourse among the States’ means the movement of people, goods and communications across State borders.

I hope for your sake and for the sake of the people in WA that Palmer does not win. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that open borders in the current situation are nothing but a recipe for disaster.

I quite agree!

It's actually a miracle with the situation politically that HK has been able to shut borders to the swarms from Mainland. Otherwise I dread to think.

If you input Jersey for a comparison to Israel you will see how huge Israel is compared to us!

Our Covid stats are:-

Negative tests - 43765
Confirmed cases - 345
Pending results - 1602
Known active cases - 7
Recovered cases - 322
Registered deaths - 31
Probable deaths - 16
Proven deaths - 15

t midnight we have gone to a more relaxed level, level 1. This means that 80 people can attend a funeral instead of 40 but the wake remains at 20.

I cannot get a comparison map of Jersey/Israel but I know how small Jersey is compared to us. These are our full figures before Shabbat started, as we will not get today's figures until after Shabbat ends at 8.11pm our time [GMT+3].

Population - 8,655,535
Tests - 1,872,453
Confirmed - 80,991
Active - 25,097
Critical - 369
Patients on ventilators - 100
Recovered - 55,313
Deaths - 581

I have not checked the numbers permitted at various functions as regulations were lifted but then put back in place and none really apply to me, being in solitary confinement, but I know the current regulations regarding the number of worshipers allowed in prayer services are that synagogues are currently limited to 10 people inside and 20 in an open space. That is easy enough on this very small Moshav as we have one large synagogue but a number of small ones dotted around as the Moshav is very spread out, with homes along basically just two long roads, and only ten men needed for a prayer minyan [the number of men required].

OK, I found a couple good websites when I was clearing out my Facebook saved items.

One has the number of new cases. The high was July 24 with 74,276 new cases. August 8 had 54,794. But places like Indiana had huge public gatherings this past weekend, so I would expect the numbers to go back up in a couple weeks. Virginia's highest was June 1 with 791 new cases, but we are on a sharp upswing again - August 8 had 1307 (and the previous day was even higher), but I vaguely remember there being a problem where there were some tardy results that got added together and the totals were big.

Where cases increased the most for the week ending 2 August (this is percent change) were Rhode Island, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.