Corona - what does help you? Your fears, thoughts, everything

[brianr]

I must stress that we had a hard total shutdown for 5 weeks. Nothing was allowed to be open except medical centres, pharmacies and supermarkets. No other food stores, no deliveries of hot food. You could only drive your car to the medical centres, pharmacies and supermarkets or other approved essential work. Any recreation had to be within walking distance from your home and only with your immediate family who lived in the same house as you.  When walking we did the 'Covid swerve' saying hi and moving 2 metres apart (No, not always possible on a bush track but I went as far as possible and turned my head away, on streets I would walk out onto the road, almost no traffic). No-one was allowed to visit unless a carer, we had to stay in our bubble. My bubble was one. Friends had their children deliver food but leave it at the front gate and wave.
It was horrible but it worked although being a few little islands and some luck helped.
I went to a chamber concert (piano and violin) on Tuesday night. The pianist said we were one of the few places in the world where that was now possible. It should have been the violinist who won the international competition last year but she lives in South Korea so instead we had the winner of a few years ago who, while she has won awards all over the world, was in New Zealand when the lockdown began.

[serious crayons]

I'm kind of a centrist on masks. I've been wearing them in stores ever since the healthcare officials started advising them, because it seemed rude not to. But in my neighborhood it's never hard to walk in the middle of the street or step into a yard or boulevard to maintain space, so I don't even bring one when walking my dog.

If I lived in a more congested part of the city I'd wear one, but I'm less worried outdoors in general. Partly because when the protesters of George Floyd's killing packed the streets, often unmasked, I thought, uh-oh, this is just like New Orleans over Mardi Gras. But cases didn't spike, and health officials theorized the virus doesn't spread as easily outdoors. So I figured other spikes must have had to do with indoor activities -- parties and bands in NOLA, chalets in CO.

On Monday I went with some old friends of mine to visit another friend from our group who has lung cancer. I thought, well this will be awkward, wearing masks all afternoon. I wore one on the way there, where I was sitting 3-4 feet from three guys in a big pickup truck. We usually hug when we see each other, but this time we didn't. But when we got to the house of the friend with cancer, he was thrilled to get the visitors and insisted on a quick hug (we hadn't seen each other more than a few times over many years). I told him I could be dangerous, and he said, "That's OK, my days are numbered anyway."

Then we sat in the backyard and talked for 3-4 hours. We didn't wear masks. It was breezy and we sat far apart, although probably not always the full 6 feet.

It seemed reasonably safe, but I guess I won't know for sure for two weeks. 

[CellarDweller]

First we had this:




Then we had this:





and now we have this:


Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain dies after battle with coronavirus

PUBLISHED THU, JUL 30 2020  Kevin Breuninger


Herman Cain, a former presidential hopeful who was once considered by President Donald Trump for the Federal Reserve, has died after being hospitalized with the coronavirus. He was 74.

Cain’s death was announced Thursday on his website by Dan Calabrese, who edits the site and had previously written about his colleague’s diagnosis.

“Herman Cain – our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us – has passed away,” Calabrese said in the blog post. “We all prayed so hard every day. We knew the time would come when the Lord would call him home, but we really liked having him here with us, and we held out hope he’d have a full recovery.”

Cain was among the highest-profile public figures in the United States to have died from Covid-19. Less than two weeks before receiving his diagnosis, Cain attended Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which had been staged despite concerns about mass gatherings during the pandemic.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/30/former-gop-presidential-candidate-herman-cain-dies-after-battle-with-coronavirus.html

[Penthesilea]

How many of you are required by law to wear masks?

We are. In public spaces indoors.
We had the same hard lockdown Brian described for 5 weeks, but were never required to wear masks outdoors.

Just like you, I don't even take a mask along when walking the dog (out in the fields in my case) or doing my sports; and it's easy to keep your distance when outdoors in my rural area.


People go with wearing masks without fuss. But sometimes people wear their masks under their noses - a new pet peeve for me! Mostly it's elderly people who I guess don't fully get it.
And I have to admit that last week I went to my bakery, ordered my stuff and only when paying I noticed I had forgotten my mask! The sales woman also hadn't noticed. I apologized and we both laughed about us not noticing it.

[serious crayons]

But sometimes people wear their masks under their noses - a new pet peeve for me! Mostly it's elderly people who I guess don't fully get it.

I had someone complain about this very thing to me last Saturday. It was the day our mask law went into effect, which also requires them in public indoor spaces but not outside. I was sent out for work to see how compliance was in a couple of suburban towns.

In one, a cute little shopping and daytrip destination with a lot of little boutiques and things, the shopkeepers said everybody was complying with the new law (except, one woman said, some don't cover their noses). But on the street, nobody was wearing them. The sidewalks weren't super crowded, but there were plenty of places where people were just two or three feet apart.

And I have to admit that last week I went to my bakery, ordered my stuff and only when paying I noticed I had forgotten my mask! The sales woman also hadn't noticed. I apologized and we both laughed about us not noticing it.

I can see myself doing that -- sometimes I forget mine until I'm about to walk into a store.

Another weird thing is that I find myself watching a TV show or movie in which people go around without masks and sit close together, and for a second part of my brain thinks, "Watch out! Don't do that -- it's dangerous!"

[Front-Ranger]

Another weird thing is that I find myself watching a TV show or movie in which people go around without masks and sit close together, and for a second part of my brain thinks, "Watch out! Don't do that -- it's dangerous!"

I've had that reaction too! And I find myself staring at old photos of crowds and people whose lower faces are uncovered. It seems eerie like seeing a naked person.

[Jeff Wrangler]

It's the handwashing that I'm starting to forget.

[Penthesilea]

I can see myself doing that -- sometimes I forget mine until I'm about to walk into a store.

Totally forgetting the mask was a first for me. But a couple of times I've forgotten to take a mask along when going for groceries, etc. For this purpose, I bought a 10 pack disposable masks and put them in the glove department of my car. Saved me from returning home and doing the same trip twice!

Some stores sell disposable masks to forgetful people, but they charge you 4 to 6 Euros for one. 
I'd rather go back home

[serious crayons]

Some stores sell disposable masks to forgetful people, but they charge you 4 to 6 Euros for one. 
I'd rather go back home

The day the mask law went into effect here I was working, so I went around talking to shopkeepers and the like about whether people were complying. Most were, they said, but if not they had masks available, usually for $1, sometimes for $1.50 and sometimes for free.

They're flimsy one-use masks, though.

[Front-Ranger]

When my friend and traveling buddy contacted me in the fall of 2019 about travelling to Europe, I was enthusiastic. I told him I would like to go to Scotland and Northern Europe. However, he wanted to go to mainland Europe and "places we haven't been." So, I signed up and put down several thousand dollars.

When I got the itinerary, I must say I was disappointed. It began in Paris and proceeded south. I have been to Italy many times since my husband is Italian, and I was hoping to go to my homeland. But, traveling buddy said we would go there in 2021, so I kept my signing up.

Also, his roommate was passionate about returning to Europe. We would go as a trio, and then I and the roommate would return to the U.S. in late  September, while EdelMar would go on to the middle east and wind up in Russia, flying back to the U.S. in late November. I made a headscarf for him to wear while he traveled with the Bedouins in Tunisia.

I wish I could cancel, but i feel compelled, for the sake or my traveling buddies, to make an effort to go on the trip.