The GF’s test result came back and, to both our startlement, is negative, so he does not apparently have corona. He is also a little better today, very weak, but the fever is down and either I have got the hang of the oximeter or oxygen saturation has improved.
Nevertheless it was a day of rest for him and we stayed in separate rooms, wearing masks etc just in case the test was wrong. We will both be tested again in a few days for travel, so that will hopefully provide confirmation one way or another.
We’re staying in a historic building by the Darajani market, so supplies are easy to come by, though it has taken me a little while to find, eg, where to buy milk. I can’t say I am being very ambitious – just enough for a couple of fairly basic meals at a time. The market is quite intense, and we also have the island’s main bus stop outside, so it is dusty and crowded and, yes, very noisy indeed. It’s notable how many people of Indian descent there are here in Zanzibar city – on the coast the people are all African. Also, I had thought many of the Indians had been expelled earlier, but clearly many remain or have returned.
I have mixed feelings about the place we’re staying in. On one hand, it is fairly well equipped (though with the usual Airbnb meagreness, eg exactly 3 teaspoons, no more). But the market means the noise is constant and you can’t open most of the windows for long as flies come in – there is no netting. The living room smells. Partly this is from the ancient airconditioning which I think must have mould in it, so I turned it off, but without it you get a musty smell of old cooking. So mixed views, but leaning towards the negative. At least I’ve become somewhat desensitized to the mustiness, since I’ve been sleeping on the sofa, in my silk sleeping bag liner (bought for Nepal years ago), and am well marinated in it by now.