I am not done yet with the coronavirus.
A month after the home minister and I got infected, my sister, who lives with us, tested positive.
More worryingly, my mum has some symptoms, although she has tested negative for the last five days. My daughter also tested negative but has had sniffles for the past week.
Hopefully, they both evade the virus as Covid-19 can be a real pain, while the after-effects are no joke.
I still suffer from headaches and migraines, although I am lucky that they strike in the late evenings.
Only once did I have a slight headache in mid-morning when I was in the office. I locked myself in a dark room, popped a couple of paracetamols, had a short nap, and was good as new.
On Wednesday, I suffered a massive migraine which came out of nowhere.
One moment I was chatting with some friends on WhatsApp, the next, I was in bed, lights out and curtains drawn.
It lasted several hours before subsiding into a ‘normal’ headache.
The home minister, too, is getting headaches, and her elbow hurts. The family doctor said having joint, bone, or ligament pain, is normal.
My sister is unsure where she ‘met’ the coronavirus, as her usual kaki all tested negative.
At first, I thought it was from me as I had lunch with someone on Thursday, who eventually tested positive. The family doctor said it was unlikely as I was still immune but admitted there could be a chance of it happening.
The home minister and I tested ourselves regularly with saliva test kits but were negative.
We avoided doing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test as studies show that you can still test positive up to three months after the initial infection. You are unlikely to be a spreader.
Talking about testing, the price of the Covid-19 saliva test kits is on the rise once again.
A month ago, I could get them for RM2.50, but now, the kits are priced between RM4.50 and RM7.65.
Although the prices have shot up in some places, please stock up and test yourself often.
CASES GO PAST 30,000 AGAIN
In the past week, there were 30,322 new Covid-19 infections, taking the total cases to 4,752,490. This is the first time since July 16-22 (30,117 cases) that over 30,000 new Covid-19 cases were registered.
There were also 60 new deaths in the last seven days. That means 36,130 people lost their fight against the coronavirus.
The good news is that 26,870 patients recovered, making it 4,673,593 people who have survived.
Worldwide, there are 599,997,810 cases, and 6,469,911 fatalities.
Compared to a week ago, that means 17,553 people succumbed to Covid-19.
Earlier this week, the World Health Organisation said this was unacceptable when “we now have all the tools to prevent infections and save lives.”
UNFRIENDLY NEIGHBOUR SAGA CONTINUES
A few weeks back, I mentioned about some unfriendly neighbours.
Here is an update.
Firstly, I feel the apartment these people are staying in is jinxed. The previous tenants were loud, 24 hours a day.
Next, came a family who abused their dog and did not wrap their trash tightly, leaving the elevator stinking.
Now, another family has moved in, just as loud as the first one. These people also have no qualms about parking indiscriminately.
Worst of all, they do not seem to care about the property around them.
Slightly more than a week ago, eight of them (family and friends) crammed themselves into the elevator and got stuck. They then lambasted the office staff for taking too long to come to their rescue!
Amazingly, that was not the first time they had done so. A couple of months back, 11 of them entered the tiny elevator and got stuck.
They are staying on the second floor. It would not take long for the lift to go up and down. Or they could walk up.
On both occasions, it took nearly a week to get the spare parts as the lifts in the building are around 20 years old.
One of our neighbours’ mum is in a wheelchair. He or his wife usually takes her around the grounds each evening to get some fresh air but could not do so until earlier this week.
SPICY PEANUT BUTTER CHICKEN BREAST
Want something healthy but also delicious? Try this spicy peanut butter chicken breast recipe from Olive magazine.
PEANUT BUTTER
I love peanut butter, especially the chunky variation. It goes well with most food and is a great ingredient for cooking meat, as this week’s recipe shows.
Some European chefs even use it to make their version of satay curry – one of my favourite dishes. Sometimes, I am unsure if I am a fan of satay, or the kuah (gravy)!
To close this week’s Diary here is Chubby Checker singing all about the deliciousness of peanut butter.
Until next week, stay safe.
