A week of sickness but Covid test negative

The past week has been a rough one health-wise for our family, but the bottom line is a negative Covid test for me after some scary symptoms: sweats, chills, nasal congestion, headache, sore throat, chest pain, coughing and wheezing. I thought I was a lock for Covid since the people across the street had it. But most of my symptoms were short-lived, however, and took place over the course of five days. The coughing and wheezing continue to nag me, but I attribute that to being an ex-smoker. Speaking of smoking, my six-year anniversary of stopping cigarettes will be March 22. Anyway, since Vietnam gave up on the 0 Covid policy, which seemed impossible with all the variants, the number of new cases has risen dramatically. I remember when 15,000 new cases daily upset people. Now the daily case count is more than 10 times that number -- it's been close to 200,000 new cases a day for the past few days --  and the overall total is approaching 6 million.. Most of the country is vaccinated -- I've had three shots -- but it seems people are still getting sick. There are a lot of viruses out there, no doubt, so perhaps our family picked up one that isn't Covid-related. We're all almost 100 percent healthy. That hasn't been the case for a while.
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Vincom, the big mall in town, is showing the effects of the recent  Covid surge in Vietnam.. It has very few customers -- obviously bad for business but great for me and Joanna on our weekly field trips. We practically have the whole mall to ourselves, which is especially fun for Joanna, who loves to run the aisles and handle every item in the stores. The employees usually are on their cell phones and don't  bother us unless we ask for help. Joanna and I still walk daily to a coffee shop or a specialty grocery store in the heat of the afternoon, then we'll come home around 4 p.m. and I'll take Elijah to the park, and also for a walk  around town. He loves the electronic ticker tape above a jewelry store on Vo Thi Sau and we stop while he watches the letters and numbers go round and round. If he enjoys an activity, it's difficult to pull him away; we've stood on the corner watching the ticker tape longer than I care to mention. We're spending more time at a smaller park across the canal from the main park so Elijah can kick his ball and run free. Joanna joins us most of the time, and she'll look at little creatures and critters and toss sticks and such into the canal while Elijah runs around and tries to remove his face shield.  Joanna is wonderful about wearing her mask but Elijah won't wear a mask and he resists but usually relents with the face shield. If my wife ever gets a visa, and if we ever get to the U.S., we'll probably still wear a mask even if it's not mandated.  We're just used to it now, except for Elijah.
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Like staring at a horrible car accident, I turn on the TV each day to watch events in the Ukraine for 10 minutes or so. I hope for a glimmer of good news or any sign of peace, but the situation is deteriorating rapidly and the news is always grim. ... Motorbikes still race up and down our street at high speeds. There's not quite as many since I wave my arms like a scarecrow and urge people to slow down whenever I'm outside. Most folks are OK with it and slow a little, but some tough guys will glare and speed up just to show me, well, how tough they are. ... My Kindle book, Alexander Hamilton, is a little like a textbook at times but fascinating nonetheless. Since it focuses in part on the formation of the U.S. system of government, the details can be a touch mind-numbing. Still, it's excellent overall. ... It looks like the swarm of bees on our third floor balcony is now a hive, and my wife talks of getting honey from it. She can get it ... I'll sit inside the house and watch, with the windows closed.