Thursday 13^th February, 2020 1500

I nearly had a fit when I checked the latest figures this morning! It was with no small sense of relief that I discovered the huge leap was the result of an altered set of diagnostic criteria. Yesterday's graph showed hope that the infection rate may have peaked, although not mortalities. Quite aside from the human cost, this has to be costing China trillions.

I am waiting for my school to say something about teaching online. As yet they are silent because our postponement doesn't even start until 22^nd. If they do say I need to teach online there is only one question I can respond with – how??

Firstly I don't have Wechat and can't get it, although maybe if I got someone with a smartphone to scan the barcode thing I could. Secondly, how on earth can you conduct online oral English classes? I cannot imagine it is possible for me to have thirty-five or so small screens on my screen showing every student and being able to interact with them as in the classroom?

What I could do, and will probably suggest before that happens, is that maybe I could ask all the students to write about their experiences this spring festival and email their essays to me. Probably be shooting myself in the foot, given that I may have three hundred of them next term and that would take an awful lot of reading and correcting but hey, it's a sort of solution. It's not as if I can even offer to conduct open air classes in a field because the students are at home, the school daren't let them sleep en masse in their dormitories.

Ideas anyone?

I read today that this thing is now even affecting seamen. Not the cruise ships in the news but merchant crews. Apparently there are now huge logistical problems in getting reliefs out to the ships and serving crew on flights back home. There are reports of ships having to divert just to effect crew changes.

1800

We went out. First off bought about eight or nine months' worth of gas, then my monthly medicines which Jody very kindly paid for using her medical card. I don't have one here but I did in Chizhou and it was great, the school put so much on it each month I never actually had to fork out cash for my pills.

And after the chemist, Jody said oh look! there's a supermarket! Well, it was to be fair down a dead-end I have only ever ventured into twice, both times to get to the Ukrainian restaurant for spare ribs – which I also never knew existed until she showed me.

And wow! Right on my doorstep is a medium-sized supermarket tucked away! Doesn't stock everything but it has everything bar red wine and even has tinned tuna! BHG doesn't. Now, if they sold cheese I would have been in paradise but when I don't want to fork out for taxis to BHG I can now buy almost everything a short walk away.

I learnt something today. And our temperatures were taken four times despite remaining in a 200 yard radius!

Then the jing jo shop and home.

I had 20m³ left of gas, enough for at least three weeks. Stuck the card in to put in the 180m³ I just bought and it peeped and promptly showed zero! Nothing I did could get any gas from it. It was eventually decided that hopefully the batteries in the box were flat. Sod's law, I had every other size except AA and had only one which had been used for something else. I thought replacing one from four would make a difference but no joy.

Jody kindly went to the shop, bought new ones and thankfully we are back in business again!

High drama indeed.........