Very testing times!

I was woken by Sophie at 7.30am this morning and she told me that Zain had tested positive for Covid. I was very shocked but the good thing was that she hasn't seen him since last Monday, the 12th of October, which was eight days ago. He has mild symptoms and is very worried about his grandmother.

I have to confess I was a bit angry with Sophie at first, not that it's her fault at all, but I did expect that either Mike or Sophie would come into contact with someone who had tested positive, purely because they've both been to London several times, and mix with far more people than Keith and I do. Sophie arranged to have a test first thing this morning, and our nearest centre is very close to where Mike works as we pass it every day.

I called work to let Sara know, and she said that it should be OK for me to go into work today, but did check with someone from HR, who said it was fine. Obviously, if Sophie tests positive as well, it will not be OK!

I quickly had a shower and we drove over, getting there exactly at 8.30am. At the gate, we were told to keep our windows closed and she had to show the QR code on her phone. We were also told to turn the dashcam off. We then went to another point where Sophie's ID was checked (she didn't realise she needed it, but gave her date of birth) and then to yet another point where she was asked whether she wanted to do the test herself or have someone else administer it. She had already done a test a few weeks ago as part of a research panel, so she opted to do it herself. We had to drive into a bay and were given the test in a plastic envelope. Sophie read the instructions, swabbed her throat (right at the back) and her nose, which made her sneeze about ten times!

After the swab had been placed in a test tube with some liquid in the bottom, I put the hazard warning lights on, another man checked everything had been sealed, and we drove into a tented area where a woman held out a bin to drop the test kit into. That was it, all done.

We sped off home, and I changed and had a quick cup of coffee before going to work. Sara was very understanding and my shift passed quickly. We weren't busy but it's half-term next week and people have started booking swimming sessions, so I can see it building up over the week.

At 4pm I dashed off home to find out that Zain's grandmother was not well at all, and his family have been told to expect the worst. Sophie thinks she has pneumonia but it's not Covid. Understandably, Zain was devastated.

Keith watched the football after dinner, and Sophie and I retired upstairs and caught the latest episode of Married At First Sight. The two couples were embarking on a life together during lockdown, which added extra challenges to their relationships!