There’s a growing expectation this weekend may see the end of the hard lockdown here in Northern NSW. Or maybe not?

Aside from the case the other week involving the family from Sydney, and the occasional trace in sewage, we’ve (so far) managed to avoid the worse of the current COVID outbreak.

And even though there was an anti-vaccination/lockdown protest outside the Lismore City Council Chambers last week, there’s a feeling locally “we’ve done the right thing”.

Almost all the shops in Lismore are closed (it’s like Sundays!) and people are wearing masks in public. Even if you see someone coming towards you on the street with their face not properly covered, they’ll quickly cover up as you approach. I think I’ve seen maybe two or three people (maximum) not wearing masks in public. I try to give them to the death-stare, and they have mostly looked back at me with a slightly terrified look that I might be the kind of person who would call up the police and dob them in.

Despite the optimism, there’s also a feeling in the overheards conversations and social media posts of people locally that “we’re not over this yet”.

And so life goes on. I’m still toying with the idea of returning to Sydney. Last week I was feeling a little depressed at having been away from my Sydney home for such a long period of time. I feel better now, but there’s still the feeling I might as well be in lockdown here, opposed to Sydney.

I’ll see if the lockdown for the North Coast is eased this weekend or not. If it continues, I’ll probably return to Sydney straight away. But if it’s eased, I’ll stay and enjoy a little bit of “freedom” before heading back.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to get out of the house every day for a little while: in the morning to grab a coffee and in the afternoon for a bit of exercise.

Yesterday, I went for a masked walk around the Richmond Birdwing Butteryfly Gully at Goonellabah, a suburb of Lismore. It’s a lovely walk and highly recommended for both locals and visitors alike.