Tuesday night. The first world leader to die of covid was Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza. He was 55 and had no other health issues, which makes the official alternative (a heart attack) a bit suspect. It’s a safe bet that most people wouldn’t be able to find Burundi on the world map, and it’s not a major geopolitical player, but this marks an important turning point nonetheless. The leader of 11 million people couldn’t beat the virus.

Tomorrow will be mildly stressful. Applying for permanent residence in Canada is a bit of an odyssey, with a lot of paperwork involved at every step of the way. One of the last pieces to complete is a medical exam. That means going into the belly of the beast, to a doctor who sees dozens of patients each day, not all of whom may be free of covid. The doctor’s office is as cautious as I am: they’ve explicitly told me to wear a mask when I see them. And yet… As risk factors go, this is pretty high up there. Alas, that’s the only way forward.