Coronavirus

[Number1ChanseyFan]

So... how is all of TPM holding up during the current pandemic?

It’s crazy to think how things have changed so much in such a short amount of time... how is everybody doing? How are things where you are at? I guess this is as good a time as any to post at TPM, I’ll have more time for sure... I’m out of work pretty much the next 3 weeks, I might be able to pick up a night a week, although I’m thinking it is gonna end up being longer than the 3 weeks... Ohio has pretty much been leading the way for the country as far as locking down, I can only hope that it is going to pay off... so far we haven’t lost anyone to the disease in Ohio, although Northeast Ohio has been the area hit the hardest so far in the state... I am doing ok... but I admit I am starting to miss the little things in life... it is so strange seeing everything look like a ghost town except the grocery stores... I can’t wait until everything gets back to normal... I can’t wait to see the Indians play again... it’s all so strange, kinda doesn’t even seem real... I hope that all you TPMers are doing well... hope to see some more posts, a lot of us are gonna have more time on our hands!

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Our club house will be closed from tomorrow, as are schools as well. The Japanese course I was taking is affected. People over 70 years old and I think some other risk groups are in quarantine. On the positive side, we, as TPMers, are together on this, and also, perhaps we'll find more time for TPM, too. I'm also going to draw, watch anime, play videogames, clean up, self-study more.

[Magmar]

Hello! Yes, Ohio really has been leading the way here - St. Louis followed suit immediately. As of Sunday night, all gatherings of 50+ folks have been banned for eight weeks. USA Rugby has pulled the plug on all activities, sanctioned or not, and my gym is closed - which impacts the bulk of my life outside of work. Most weeks between now and June, I have practice at least two weeknights, go to the gym 5-6 times, travel out on Friday for a Saturday match, and come back Sunday. My work calendar still has all these rugby-related appointments and matches, and it hurts my heart a bit to delete them.

In a major, relevant corollary, St. Louis Pokemon GO Fest has been indefinitely postponed. This was to be my first GO Fest, having been unable to score tickets for the Chicago ones (despite living there then). This is a major blow to the city, since Niantic was bringing in truckloads of money to host the event. Also, my little PoGO community put together such a great drone-shot video to sell St. Louis to Niantic. For those of us who keep our tickets, we are supposed to have the opportunity to do the tasks on Friday 3/27 anyway. But what sucks is that we just might find ourselves in lockdown at this rate--even though we have hardly any cases in all Missouri--so I wouldn't be able to go out and do the special research anyway. As an extrovert, this is driving me insane.

We have two home-state girls on this season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Of course, watch parties are indefinitely postponed, and I don't have cable so will have to find a "creative" way to watch it. I could go to a buddy's house or something, but unfortunately, I'm also on day three of quarantine because...

...I had left for a bear event (if you know, you KNOW) earlier in the week, prior to everything going out of control. We went to bed on Thursday night under the impression that everything was hectic but fine, and by Friday morning, everything was cancelled and everyone went home. It was a wild transition, from "this disease isn't even here yet" to "everyone take shelter in place." It felt dizzyingly wild and dangerous to be out in the world for the following two day, but the fact was I wasn't going to chance going to a packed airport during what was now known to be a present threat. I mostly just stayed in the hotel, didn't even use the gym or anything, and played my Switch until I left to a delightfully empty airport. The two positives from that were that I didn't spend nearly as much money as I'd planned, and at least the money I did spend went to charity.

I work from home already - I'm remote staff - but all travel is indefinitely cancelled. My partner is also now working from home until April 6th. His birthday is the 5th and we were joking about how it's been ages since our birthdays fell on a weekend and what we could do to celebrate. He's a foodie so I'll probably just spend all weekend making a great meal, and order something via Amazon for a gift. In the meantime, we'll try not to get in each other's hair...

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

On Facebook, DarkestLight is worried about April Fool's Day being cancelled for corona :D

How about 20 Years of TPM?

[Fett One]

I work for local government. They just closed today for non-essential personnel, which I fall under, so I'm off for the rest of the month.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Looks like we are all hanging in there best we can!! Would be awesome if something good like a TPM reunion came from all of this, maybe it will happen with restrictions increasing all the time, maybe some older members will drop by for a visit...

Wow Magmar, I’m so sorry to hear about how much this thing has really interfered with everything you had planned... hopefully Niantic will be understanding about the special research just in case an actual lockdown happens... nothing has happened as far as mandatory lockdowns here yet, although it has been discussed... there have been 5 cases in my county although no one says the neighborhood they are from, although one person has discussed the illness... however, there really isn’t much open here now outside of the grocery/department stores, and drive-thru/take-out services at restaurants. Thankfully the ice cream stands have opened for the year, something so simple is a real treat right now... I’m much more of an introvert, but still I’m kinda getting a little cabin fever... I wonder if maybe drive-in movies will be allowed to operate next month when they usually open? One good thing is that I’m able to spend a little more quality time with family and parents... I’m trying to take care, but I do worry about potentially getting sick and then spreading it, although I would still rather take my chances and go to the store rather than have them exposed to it... I’m still kinda holding my breath, considering I’m usually working with the public, and knowing this thing takes awhile to show up. I had a nasty 3 week bout with the flu in January/early February, so I don’t really want to get sick again... having just stressed out my immune system, I’m not sure if that means that it is ready to fight off something else, or if it is worn out from the flu. We all will have to keep updating how things are going, hopefully some other TPMers will jump in on the conversation too! I certainly hope this thing doesn’t turn into a mandatory lockdown situation... I’m trying to get away from watching the constant updates, it was driving me a little crazy. I’m just ready to see some improvement in the situation... and I really, REALLY want to see an Indians game!!

[Mr.E]

O-H!

Much as it tickles me to see everyone else suffering what I put up with on a daily basis, a loner who rarely has any reason to go out, I think cancelling society is being a little too aggressive. There's something to be said of cancelling large events with minimal disruption to people's daily lives, but shuttering mom-and-pop stores and dive bars that on a good night have maybe 30 concurrent patrons is orders of magnitude less impactful (individually) while being significantly more burdensome to society's ability to function. Only time will tell, though.

Currently working in a hospital and the short-term prospects are heavily curtailed hours, as all nonemergency procedures have been cancelled and all the COVID-19 stuff is being directed toward outside popup clinics away from the hospitals proper. I can't wait to be swamped for months once things start returning to normal and everyone is scrambling to get their elective surgeries scheduled... oof.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

Austria has been kind of under lockdown since Monday, you're only allowed to leave the house for particular reasons (like going grocery shopping or going on a walk by yourself). I've been working from home since then and is the looks the whole ordeal was extended till April 13th at least. So it's gonna be a rough few weeks.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Uggh yeah Ohio hasn't done "total lockdown" yet, although they are recommending "shelter in place" especially for 65+, people who are already sick and pregnant women... so I'm guessing if the situation keeps declining we might be moving towards lockdown. I'm just ready for a little bit of good news with all of this, Ohio has lost 3 people now... my section, Northeast Ohio, seems to kinda be the hotspot so far for the state... I'm wondering how things are gonna be when this is over? I kinda think this is gonna change the world a little bit... I just hope that the small businesses and people w/o income are going to be able to hold on.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

First coronavirus death in Finland yesterday. Requiescat in pace.

Also, our former president Martti Ahtsaari's wife Eeva Ahtisaari has corona.

[Drago]

I work remotely. I'm fine.

[darktyranitar]

Hello hello~
Malaysia have been put through lockdown (they refer to it as movement control/movement restriction) since last week. It was originally going to be a 2 week lockdown, but it has since been extended to 2 more weeks. I'm not really convinced that 1 month is enough to contain the outbreak here, so am preparing for announcement of further extension.
I have been out on site work for about 1 month before the lockdown, so now I pretty much have nothing to do (at least in terms of work related to the site - we'll have to wait until the lockdown is lifted to return to site). In theory, I should be returning to my research work (was planning to submit the proposal to my research work), but my supervisor has not gotten back with feedback to my early draft - so kinda waiting on that ^^;;
Dunno if I'll be posting that much here, but I'll stick around~

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Now Martti Ahtisaari has corona, too. They say they are in a good condition given the circumstances.

darktyranitar, good to see you!

[mvtm]

Well i am in Netherlands (The Hague) but Coronavirus crisis exploded while i was here in Spain...
Fortunately i am with family here in Spain, and maybe safer than NL.. as i am pretty isolated and in a small town of 5k persons that is completely lockdown, as most of Spain is.

Hey at least i was not in Venezuela

[Jeff]

Well, it's been crazy. Here in Maryland, our governor has been pretty aggressive in fighting this. We were one of the first states to close our schools (along with Ohio) and have shut just about everything down. We aren't a "shelter in place" state (yet), but might as well be. If people leave their house, there's nothing to do. It also amazes me how quickly it happened. My wife and I went for a walk the week right before the closures started. The town was buzzing as usual. Restaurants were packed, people were in and out of shops, we passed by a place where a bunch of kids were having a karate practice, everything was business as usual. We went for another walk a week later, and it was a ghost town. I've been working from home the past two weeks. I'm very grateful to have a job that lets me do that. I'm also grateful for all those who can't work from home, but go out there on the front lines every day to serve us.

As terrible as this has been, there's still one good thing I can say about it. Even though it has pushed us all 6 feet apart physically, at the same time, it's brought us closer together. My mom is a teacher and will start teaching remotely using Zoom. She was testing it out the other night by setting up a meeting with the family. It was fun, like sitting around the dinner table again. Also, I guess I'm feeling nostalgic, because here I am posting on TPM again! At first, I wanted nothing more for things to go back to normal, but now, I'm wiling to accept that if this is the new normal for a while, I'm fine with that.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Uusimaa, the southern region of Finland around Helsinki was quarantined yesterday. I don't live there, Ylivieska is further up in the north, but there have been cases here as well.

Basically, all the concerts and festivals are cancelled. And sports events like UEFA EURO 2020, Tokyo Olympics got postponed, or cancelled. Well, since there will be no IIHF 2020, one could say Finland is the defending champion for an extra year.

I just wish I (and we) could think something else than corona for a while.

[firepokemon]

I am currently on day three of New Zealand's four week lock down. We've gone earlier than other countries compared to their rates of infections but still have 500 cases. My work has essentially shut down for four weeks so I am at home stuck for four weeks. Quite fortunate as being fully paid. I don't really go out a lot but the idea that you are stuck is quite hard to comprehend. Going to be a long four weeks I think.

Really hope we don't go down the route of other countries and I can't help but think the US, Australia and Great Britain are just in the early stages of this Covid-19. I shudder to think what these three countries may experience in the next few weeks.

[Lady Vulpix]

Well, the good thing I can say about this is that it's bringing people from all over the world together. My biggest wish is that the world can learn something from this and come out better.

Here in Argentina, we have been on lockdown since the 20th. Eight days down, at least 15 more to go. We're only allowed to go out to buy groceries and medicines, or to give our dogs short walks - which, depending on the police officer who stops you, may range from 100 meters to 400 meters. Of course, some people still have to go out to do essential jobs, like providing food and medicine, taking care of the sick or making sure we have power and communications still work. We can't even see a doctor unless it's an emergency, but pharmacies are now accepting photos of prescriptions as long as they're clearly readable.

...And we're still fighting the mosquitos, because dengue's still a serious thing.

I miss human contact, but I'm really grateful for my dog. And also for all my friends and family whom I can still contact online or on the phone.

I'm still working from home, taking Chinese lessons via Skype, and we're trying to arrange remote lessons at university starting on the 13th of April.

And this week at work I did something that can help more people transfer money online. :)

[Drago]

Well, the good thing I can say about this is that it's bringing people from all over the world together.
I mean, surely it's no coincidence that we've been seeing longtime members who have been absent for months/years, right?

Hi, friends. :wave:

[darktyranitar]

Good time to be catching up with old friends :wave:
I do wonder how long our lockdown period can last... I've resigned to the fate that it might go up to months, and not a few weeks as was the initial expected period of containment. I guess it all depends on how we all react in the upcoming days

[Fett One]

I was originally due to go back to work tomorrow but they pushed back the reopening date to April 6th. If things don't improve, it could end up getting pushed back even farther.

[Lady Vulpix]

Here the initial end date was tomorrow; now it's the 13th, but just like you, we don't really know how things will turn out, so it may end up lasting longer. I think it depends mostly on everyone taking this seriously so that we can avoid catching and spreading the desease. If the curve goes down, we'll be out of this sooner.

[Magmar]

In my city, we expect to lift our shelter-in-place advisory on April 22nd. I do not know how this is going to go regionally, though. I live in a pretty major metro - 2.8 million people - spreading across a pretty big geographic area. We are all shut down*. This metro spans two states. Illinois is fully shut down, but I am in Missouri, which is not shut down except by local governments.

Here is the tricky thing that coast people just are not understanding. They say in this part of the country "movement is not restricted enough, people are still going places" but most people work essential jobs. Spring has begun in the mid-South unlike in the northern and coastal cities, so we are doing agricultural work. Other than schools (all shut down), healthcare, groceries, and local government, almost everyone commutes long distances to agricultural jobs so the rest of the country can eat. We mostly produce soy, corn, meat, and dairy in this part of the country. Soy and corn are seasonal, and we have had a wet but early spring season, so things have to get going now. It is amazing how judgmental people are being about this reality.

I do still think that Missouri should shut down. Although not much would change, it would be symbolic and show rural folks that they need to take precautions, too. Illinois is structured similarly--one highway with major metros that straddle state borders, a few bigger settlements off another highway, not much else--as is Indiana, and they have shut down. As it stands, our governor is spreading dangerous rhetoric, underemphasizing the deadliness and seriousness of this disease.

******
* For our fabulous English learners, "shut down" would be the verb form, and "shutdown" the adjective and noun form of this term. :) So:

"Restaurants could not serve food because of the shutdown." (noun)
"They have shut down the restaurants." (verb)
"During the shutdown period, restaurants could not serve food." (adjective)

[Lady Vulpix]

Now that you mention it, we do have an issue here with some cities which have illegally closed their borders and stopped trucks from transporting food around the country.

[Jeff]

We just got our statewide shelter in place order today. No word on when it will be lifted. My company's work from home order was supposed to last until tomorrow, but now no word on how long it will be.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I was surprised yesterday, the Japanese course I had been taking was arranged as distance learning! We used Google Classroom and Google Hangouts. For the first time in my life. It would actually be cool to have Google Hangout with some TPMers, methinks.

EDIT:



* For our fabulous English learners, "shut down" would be the verb form, and "shutdown" the adjective and noun form of this term. :) So:

"Restaurants could not serve food because of the shutdown." (noun)
"They have shut down the restaurants." (verb)
"During the shutdown period, restaurants could not serve food." (adjective)

Oh and high five with my fellow grammar zealot philologist!

[Lady Vulpix]

I suppose we could do that if you want.

I'm having my Chinese lessons via Skype. And we're planning to give online lectures at university too.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Is Google Classroom strictly for official teachers only? I really enjoyed the conference, even got a new friend via it.

[Lady Vulpix]

I don't know. My subject is going to use a combination of Google Meet and Discord.

[Knight of Time]

Well, we have 21 cases here now, and I have the uneasy feeling that number will steadily rise here.

Now, being as today is April Fool's Day, I have a quick message for anyone with a sense of humour:

Do not, I repeat, do not make a Coronavirus related April Fool's Day prank! As funny as other pranks not related to coronavirus may be, this one is absolutely NOT funny at all. In some countries, doing one of these kind of pranks could get someone in big, BIG trouble.

Pushing that aside, I am worried about a few elderly relatives of mine (including my grandmother, who is the lone grandparent I have left), as well as my brother...I just hope none of those relatives catch coronavirus. My brother is only a couple of years younger than me (almost), but with his weakened immune system, I fear that coronavirus could be real bad news for him if he was unlucky enough to catch it.

[Lady Vulpix]

Is your brother able to stay at home? He can't catch the virus if he doesn't go anywhere people with the virus have been.

[Knight of Time]

Is your brother able to stay at home? He can't catch the virus if he doesn't go anywhere people with the virus have been.

Believe it or not, he stays home most of the time. He doesn't leave the house very often (it's a little too complicated to say why).

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I don't know. My subject is going to use a combination of Google Meet and Discord.

What's more, I have found it strange that people are using Discord for that kind of thing. I thought Discord is more like for gamers. But I guess it's only natural since most youngsters are on Discord these days.

[Lady Vulpix]

Discord was originally made for gamers, but it can be used for many other things. It's a communication platform, after all.

[Drusilla]

Illinois is fully shut down, but I am in Missouri, which is not shut down except by local governments.


I live on the Illinois side of the same metro as Magmar, and it's been fairly quiet here; not as many confirmed cases as in Missouri. Our official stay at home order began on the 21st of March (happy birthday to me...), and it was like a ghost town for a few days. People are getting restless now and are moving around more, so I have expectations for a jump in cases here soon. I'm still going TO work, though the store is closed and I'm only filling orders to be delivered by mail. I've taken advantage of not having to worry about foot traffic and been doing a deep clean and organizing of the store. So I see my one coworker that handles our shipping when he comes to pick up orders and I otherwise don't see anyone. It's a sad fate for an extrovert.

[Fett One]

It's a sad fate for an extrovert.

I'm an introvert. While it can get boring from time to time not having people around to talk to, not having to deal with people on the street and and at work (mainly phone calls and emails from people outside the office) is actually making for a more relaxing day.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

My nurse visited me yesterday, and she said she has been positively surprised how good I have been done all alone. You see, I've always been a part of some sort of a community and visited Mielikkitalo daily. Of course I'm looking forward to be back at Mielikkitalo again, but at least I have got time for my own things now. However, the local home care system will be visiting me a lot often during this crisis and my doctor also adjusted my medication a bit. I feel that's fine, at least if I won't start being delirious because of the latter...

[Number1ChanseyFan]

So cool to see a couple of familiar faces posting here again!! It would be great if everyone could stay and maybe some more TPM veterans found their way back here!!

So Ohio is now on lockdown until May 1st now... so, no work for another 4 weeks, I don't know, they are saying that they think that the worst is yet to come, maybe this week or maybe at the end of the month... It's just kinda eerie out there, everything is so quiet and isolated, its a little unnerving, I live about 5 minutes away from a hospital, they have the tents set up in the parking lot... They are empty for now, but they are there just in case... people seem like they are getting a little crabbier around here, not sure if it is worry/anxiety or cabin fever setting in on some of them. Hang in there, TPMers, stay healthy!! <3

[Lady Vulpix]

I agree, it's nice to see people return and be able to catch up with them. :) You stay healthy too! It's going to take a while, but things are going to get better in the future.

And not being delirious is always good.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

Seems like the worst is over in Austria. Government plans to have small shops open again next week, big ones by the end of the month. Still, social distancing continues and you have to wear those masks when in public transport or in stores.

[Lady Vulpix]

That's great news! Here in Argentina, we're waiting for Monday, when we will finally learn how things will proceed.

[Mr.E]

On the one hand, there's a little bit of schadenfreude to be had watching normal people squirm over a couple months experiencing what I've been experiencing 15+ years at this point. On the other hand, losing even the tiniest shreds of social interaction I've recently started to scrap together is a much bigger loss to me than people who still have friends and lovers and family to consort with indirectly.

[Lady Vulpix]

Mr. E, you've been shut in for over 15 years? Why didn't you ever mention it? Once this is over, I hope you can get out and see the world - or a part of it, at least - and are able to hang out with people.

Today I'm going to talk about the latest trend in misinformation: face masks. Lots of people want them because they make them feel safer - someone even started a petition to make it compulsory to wear face masks while outdoors - and one thing all those people have in common is that they have no idea about what is or isn't safe.

Examples:
One door-to-door salesman was selling face masks made of fabric, which he picked from a bag with his bare hands. They had no wrapping, and I saw someone buy 20.
A neighbor from around the block was wearing a face mask. When she saw me and my dog, she slid it off with her hand to talk to us and then put it back on.
A greengrocer wore a face mask on his mouth while unloading his products from a van. Yes, on his mouth. His nose was uncovered.

And those are just things I saw while taking my dog out to fulfill her canine needs. I can't imagine what else may be going on that I don't get to see.

[ChobiChibi]

Hello friends :wave:

I am currently not having to do many lock down procedures, but this is because I work for the NHS, so I am a busy bee.

I work in outpatients though, and not qualified enough to be needed elsewhere, so I am not going to end up on the Coronavirus wards, just doing lots of admin. I miss my patients :(

My husband went back to work today after a long time of absence, he said it felt post apocalyptic.

I keep seeing people out and about that should probably just be at home. And my neighbours keeps inviting people to their house. My friends/colleagues that ARE treating Covid patients could get the virus cos of stupid people like that. So they need to do one. Yet they all came out and clapped for the NHS...

[Lady Vulpix]

Good luck with your work, Becki! And with staying safe in the meantime.

The subject I teach had its first online lecture today. It went quite well! I only assisted the professor today, but it was an interesting experience, and fortunately the students who attended were quite active. All 59 of them.

And now our government has decided that we all have to use some king of mask to cover our mouths when we're outside. :\ I still see people without them, and even people who stand on the sidewalk chatting together like everything's normal. I hope that doesn't make things worse. Me? I'm following the rules by using an upside down blindfold over my mouth and nose (rather than eyes and nose). I checked the government's website and it fulfills all the requirements, with the added bonus of looking utterly ridiculous.

[Magmar]

Gabi, that made me laugh out loud! I've been wearing a bandana when running errands - masks have been sold out since the Apocalypse began - though I run in an empty space and don't even see people while exercising, so I bring a bandana anyway but rarely need it.

Becki - I hope you stay safe and well :) You are so awesome!

I'm frustrated by all these people continuing to have social events. It's day 32 of isolation for me and I'm going crazy. Yesterday I had all this pent up energy and wound up going a bit mental, and cleaned the surfaces and floors of the apartment with gusto. When my next door neighbor has a bunch of people hanging out on her porch, I feel so jealous. Yet it's because of selfish people like her that the pandemic continues.

[Lady Vulpix]

It is. Is it legal to do that where you live?

[Magmar]

Hey Gabi! Any gatherings of 10 or more individuals are banned here. That hasn't stopped people from having gatherings of, say, 5-6 folks.

[Lady Vulpix]

Oh. Here, all social gatherings are banned. I'd love to be able to have a family dinner with my mother and brother like we used to, or visit my father and get to know his new dogs. Or even get some help cleaning my apartment. I hope I don't have to wait until spring* for all of that to happen.

But for now, we don't have much of a choice, since my country doesn't have enough resources for treating thousands of patients simultaneously, nor for mass testing... Or even for providing masks for everyone, which is why we've been told to make our own.

*Late September, for those not familiar with seasons in the Southern Hemisphere.

[Knight of Time]

My home province now has 26 positive cases of coronavirus.

But that's not all, my little island also has declared a state of emergency; meaning nobody can leave or enter the island unless it's for essential travel.

[Drusilla]

Illinois has now had 27,575 positive cases. My county is at 237 cases. I'm still working solo with little interaction with people and I'm surprised I haven't run for the hills screaming just yet. I've been doing Zoom calls, which helps a little.

I'm also thinking about my upcoming RPG, for those interested. Should keep me occupied for a bit.

[firepokemon]

Tomorrow we hear if we'll have less restrictions. Currently at Level 4 which is pretty much essential workers only. Online stores allowed open for essential goods and grocery stores/pharmacies open. Level 3 means all online shopping allowed and drive thrus are open and pizza deliveries would be allowed. Shops would stay closed. I've been working for the last two weeks since our company moves some essential goods. Prior to that, the company was paying 80% and I was topping up to 100% by using annual leave.

New Zealand is doing better than basically every other country. 1431 total confirmed and probable cases. 12 deaths (7 in my city). Today we had just 9 new or probable cases. On track to basically eliminate coronavirus. I can't see a lot of other countries doing that at the moment.

[shazza]

Australia seems to be flattening the curve, however doesn't seem like it is on track to eliminate it entirely. Compared to a lot of other countries, we're very fortunate.

[Drago]

Such is the benefit of low population density, general isolation from the rest of the world, and from what I have noted (considering I am not a political person at all), pretty slick response from the government

[Lady Vulpix]

Argentina's been flattening the curve too, but we still have two problems:
1. Idiots who ignore the restrictions; now no one's allowed into a supermarket without a mask, but some people will still hang out on the sidewalk as long as there's no police officer around to stop them. And too many people wear masks on their chins. O.o
2. Lack of resources. A recently published study revealed that 14% of the covid-19 patients are health professionals who were treating other such patients. That's because there isn't enough supply of protective gear. And there aren't enough reactives for tests either. Which makes me fear that, even when a vaccine finally comes out, it'll take a long time to reach us, because the producers will have their hands full providing for rich countries.

We've been on lockdown for over a month now, and we've still surpassed 3,000 confirmed cases. :( (3,031 as of today.)

Something that bothers me is that people are so... on edge, I guess... that if I pass by someone on the street and say "hello", even while wearing my mask, and even though I don't stop walking, they either ignore me or glare at me as if I'd done something horrible.

At least now I have a written note from the vet saying my dog is under treatment and needs excercise for health reasons, so if a police officer stops me while walking her around the block, I can show them the note.

[ChobiChibi]

Hello friends again :wave:

Thank you Gabi and Barry for your well wishes. I am still safe and well! In the south west, we haven’t been affected so badly by COVID, so it’s still very quiet in the hospital. National figures still continue to rise, although is slowing, but my dickhead neighbours are still inviting people over at weekends.

All of my colleagues are also safe and well, so all is good.

Life is pretty normal for me I guess. Enjoying the many perks of working for the NHS, such as 10gb free data on my phone a month, free parking and being able to skip to the front of any supermarket queue. I don’t wear a mask out, just keep observing the 2 meters and constantly washing my hands. Hands are so dry.

[Lady Vulpix]

Hand moisturizing cream is useful at times like these.

I'm tired of seeing people wear masks on or under their chins. What's the point?

Anyway, small towns and cities with under 500,000 inhabitants and no covid-19 cases are already returning to their normal activities, but I think it'll be a long time before big cities like mine can do the same. Back in March, I got worried when my dad said he'd see me before summer (late December). Now I'm not entirely sure that will be possible.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

Our general lock down ended today. Still some restrictions but things are mostly back to normal with the exception of keeping distance outside and wearing face masks. Restaurants are planned to open again in two weeks as well.

I suppose there will be an increase in cases again but hopefully it'll remain relatively low.

[Lady Vulpix]

You have 15,558 confirmed cases already. I hope ending the lockdown won't make things far worse. Right now we have 4532 confirmed cases and no clear plans to life the lockdown in sight. Our next checkpoint is on the 10th. We've been on lockdown since the 20th of March. So far we've had checkpoints on the 31st of March, 13th of April and 26th of April, and every time all the President did was tweak the restrictions a bit and set a new checkpoint. Some restrictions became lighter and others harsher. We'll see how it goes next time.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I don't even know much about the current circumstances, I've been avoiding the news because I'm one of those who get worried too easily. I know that the southern part of my country was closed for a while, and some schools had the education in distance. I should know more tomorrow or the day after it.

[Magmar]

Glad to hear from all y'all!

My state is one of the less-affected of the US, which has its blessings in a way. But it also means people don't take it as seriously. Our governor is reopening Missouri tomorrow, and I believe all counties in Missouri will reopen (with some new ways of doing business) by the 15th of May.

Well, every county except mine, that is. St. Louis County MO has been one of the worst affected in the region - about 2% of the population have tested positive for COVID-19. It's a bit weird but St. Louis City is an independent county and we have way less than half that in terms of rate. People in the county are those stubborn folks who will believe any conspiracy, but folks in the city tend to wear masks and such. Regardless, we're surrounded by a county teeming with COVID and Illinois on the other side, which is at this point a synonym for COVID.

What I have learned is that young, straight couples (no offense to young, straight people) do not obey social distancing. If I'm going for a run, older folks tend to yield, and wherever possible I do the yielding. Some younger folks though just walk in a wide horizontal line with their dog to their side, taking up more than the whole sidewalk and forcing everyone else to run out into traffic to get around them or stop exercising. I've cursed out a few of them--don't care--what are they gonna do, a 210 pound rugby player is running at them, so I'm just like "f-ing social distancing bro, get the f out of my way" and keep going. Getting sick of seeing grandmas out their in their masks asking politely and them getting stink eye from these jerks.

[Lady Vulpix]

While it is wrong for anyone to do that, I can imagine why most people who break social distancing are young: they are less vulnerable and have less experience, and those who aren't conscious enough won't even think of what consequences their negligence can have. We're talking about the same groupd of people who do all sorts of reckless things because they don't feel anything bad can happen to them. Of course, this is not all young people - fortunately - and some older people can be ignorant and reckless too, but older people tend to be more afraid of dying, so at least they're more careful in that respect. Personally, I don't want to have anyone's death on my conscience, so I'm as careful as I can be.

I'm really sad and worried about what's happening in the USA, not only because it puts the whole country at risk, but also because it's allowing the virus to branch into multiple strands, making it even harder to come up with a cure or a vaccine.

Here, the situation is much better because we've been on mandatory lockdown since late March. It is annoying, especially since the process of shopping for groceries can take me 4 hours now, and also because I miss human contact, I miss having someone to help me with my housework, I miss getting things from Chinatown, I miss swimming and I miss giving regular lectures at university rather than online ones, and it hurts me that Anthrocon had to be cancelled. But I'd much rather take all of that and be safe than end up like the US. :(

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I should know more tomorrow or the day after it.

Still, our government is discussing on what I was referring to here. They just can't make up their mind! Well, looks like they have hard time deciding! Also, some schools are to re-open, a thing that both teachers and parents have been protesting. The Finnish summer holiday is just around the corner, so the main argument is that children learn nothing during a few weeks. Of course some schoolboys and girls are dying to see their friends and some families have trouble packing both adults and kids below one roof, especially because many Finns have tendency to drink alcohol at home. But, still.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

You have 15,558 confirmed cases already. I hope ending the lockdown won't make things far worse.

While true we are down to 1,500 active cases, all others have recovered or passed away. We get barely 30 new cases every day so we should be good.

[Lady Vulpix]

Oh. I hope you can keep it that way. I wonder how you managed to keep it in check so well. We're still getting over 100 new cases everyday.

O_O 10,559 new cases in Russia yesterday!

[ChobiChibi]

Still getting 500+ cases every day, yet we’re apparently easing ourselves out of lockdown. Worst death rate in Europe, second highest death rate in the world, and the government just keep giving out shitty advice.

What a time to be British.

Most people I think are still following the whole stay at home mantra. Which is good, there are lots of places where it’s just not safe to work.

The hospital is still quiet though. 40 confirmed cases, 13 suspected was the last I heard. So the South West is still doing okay. I really fear for London though, the tube is packed, I wouldn’t be surprised if they spiked again. (Those who have met me know that I live a considerable distance from London, so I’m fairly safe).

[Lady Vulpix]

You're painting a really scary picture. We're up to about 300 confirmed cases a day this week, which is twice as much as we had last week. We're back in the top 50. I heard there was a big outbreak at Villa 31, the least uncomfortable shanty town in the city of Buenos Aires, and since it's located at one of the city's most crowded areas it started spreading rapidly.

Our public transportation is working at a slow pace and gets very few passengers (whenever I see a bus, it has only 3 to 5 passengers in it), and there are still many regulations about who can use it and how, but we're slowly coming out of the lockdown too. Many stores are reopening... even hairdresser's! And many streats have been changed to pedestrians-only so that people can keep their distance while they shop. I'm still not planning to shop for anything other than groceries, and medicines if I need them.

The good news is I heard there's a new treatment that's giving good results, so hopefully more patients will start recovering soon. Still, I fear the situation is going to get worse before it gets better.

[Drago]

Metropolitan Melbourne back in lockdown.

Thank god, I was sick of having to fucking deal with people.

[Knight of Time]

Well, we had been doing quite well here with all 27 people having recovered from coronavirus, but then this past weekend we had 3 new cases on Saturday, and another 2 new cases on Sunday. Even though none of these new cases have recovered yet, at least that none of them are related to the opening of the Atlantic bubble (which involves Canada's Maritime provinces). I'm just hoping this won't lead to a new surge of positive cases here, as we didn't have any positive cases for two months prior to these 5 new cases.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Today I learned there's one cause in Ylivieska. *shrugs* I guess it just had to happen one day.

[Katie]

I'm so fucking boooooooooooored. I'm tired of socializing via Zoom and Discord and Jackbox.

[Drago]

Have you considered drugs?

[Heald]

I decided to put a baby inside Mrs Heald. You know, just for fun.

[firepokemon]

I decided to put a baby inside Mrs Heald. You know, just for fun.

grats

[Knight of Time]

I decided to put a baby inside Mrs Heald. You know, just for fun.

You're gonna be a dad? Congratulations Heald, that's awesome news!

[Fett One]

I decided to put a baby inside Mrs Heald. You know, just for fun.

Congrats!!

[Drago]

that's the best news TPM has received in ages

[ChobiChibi]

I decided to put a baby inside Mrs Heald. You know, just for fun.

Congrats dude! Mr Becki put a baby in me also (sounds creepier this way around?! XD)

I am due in early March. I hope Mrs Heald is doing okay. I know I’m totally done with hormones and I’ve got so long to go.

[Drago]

that's the best news TPM has received in 5 days

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Congratulations everyone.

[Knight of Time]

Congrats dude! Mr Becki put a baby in me also (sounds creepier this way around?! XD)

I am due in early March. I hope Mrs Heald is doing okay. I know I’m totally done with hormones and I’ve got so long to go.

lol, is it baby season here on TPM? Congratulations to you too ChobiChibi!

[Mr.E]

meanwhile, it is physically impossible for me to even find a woman willing to spend 30 minutes over coffee getting to know me :sweat:

[Drago]

this thread is now about babies and/or dating

[ChobiChibi]

Has anyone tried lockdown dating?! That must be a pain in the ass. “Sorry, can’t kiss you goodnight, 2m rule.”

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Here in Finland, we're experiencing some difficulties with keeping the 2 meters of distance; we're accustomed to keeping 4 meters of distance.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

this thread is now about babies and/or dating

LOL I guess that is only appropriate considering that I started the Coronavirus thread, and it somehow ended up going to babies/dating, since that is pretty much how my crazy mind works... where I start a sentence and where it ends up are usually 2 very different things and I never know how it got there in the first place... and it just seems to get worse the older I get... :D

Congrats, Heald and Becki!! ^_^ TPM is growing up :o

[Knight of Time]

I have an announcement that may surprise some of you...Donald Trump has coronavirus.

So what do you guys think? I honestly don't know what to say about his diagnosis, but I hope this comes as a huge wake-up call to him to stop being the idiot that he is.

[Fett One]

I have an announcement that may surprise some of you...Donald Trump has coronavirus.

So what do you guys think? I honestly don't know what to say about his diagnosis, but I hope this comes as a huge wake-up call to him to stop being the idiot that he is.

Part of me is hoping he gets it bad as karma for claiming it's a hoax and not dangerous and all of the lives that have been lost because of his stupidity in handling this situation.

One thing is for certain, him making fun of Biden for wearing masks at the debate is not going to age well.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

LOL I guess that is only appropriate considering that I started the Coronavirus thread, and it somehow ended up going to babies/dating, since that is pretty much how my crazy mind works... where I start a sentence and where it ends up are usually 2 very different things and I never know how it got there in the first place... and it just seems to get worse the older I get... :D

I can relate to that. You just don't have mental problems to use as a pretext, like I do ;)

About Donald Trump, it was just a matter of time for him to get infected.

[Lady Vulpix]

First of all... Congratulations, Becki!

I am without a date too. Can't say the situation makes it easy to find one. And I'm not even talking about touching, how do you even find someone to talk to? Even if it's in the open and 2m apart.

Anyway... The number of active cases in my city appears to be decreasing, but the lethality rate is increasing, and that worries me. It's up to 3.1% now. And some people close to me have caught the virus. Most of them are better now, and one was terribly sick for days but is now slowly getting better. I hope she gets well.

And I agree with Mikachu, Trump was being reckless, so it made sense that he would catch the virus sooner or later. I would like to hope this experience will cause him to have some compassion for other people who are suffering from it, but this is Donald Trump we're talking about. He doesn't know the meaning of the word 'compassion'.

And Mikachu... Good one about the 4 meters.

[Zak]

Lockdown dating has been fine, it just added another layer of pre-date vetting.

Well, not really lockdown, more like pandemic dating. Lockdown here was back in March-June. Now just some bars and clubs are waiting for the vaccine.


So I'll probably get shit for this, but this is how I see it.
It's mainly large crowds and gatherings that seem to be a Covid hazard, and the way I see it, dating is one on one, not a group orgy. So the risk is the same as the risk of herpes and chlamydia. Of course, a conversation to take their word for it that they've been laying low and stuff, and them mine, and good to go. I don't care if they've been on other dates, not my business, just as long as they haven't been reckless.

But then there's also the other question of whether they have the same approach or mentality as me. Which is basically the above, but also, I'm not an "anti mask" person by any means - but if someone insists on a "socially distant/masked date" then no thanks, pass. For me that's a waste of time and kind of defeats the purpose. I know ChobiChibi probably meant it as a joke but there's really people who actually want to do that and somehow expect it to take off.
Luckily most people around here are realistic. I'll mask and distance at work (I work with the public), public establishments, public transportation and all - but if I'm meeting someone where the purpose is to hopefully connect and possibly become a 'bubble', then yes I'll take that risk. The biggest issue is that with those factors thrown in, it's a bit hard to have a clear idea of whether there's chemistry or not. It would just be one of those awkward "interview" dates.

[Lady Vulpix]

Mass gatherings are a high risk because it's statistically more likely that one or more people will have the virus, and if they do, they will spread it on to a large amount of people. But sharing a meal with one person who has the virus is very likely to get you infected, and then you'd pass it on to all the people with whom you have close contact.

[Zak]

Key word, has the virus. If both parties have been staying with the people they have close contact with and no one else, where does it come from? A ghost?

Well considering the whole purpose is to be someone they are considering the possibility of becoming one that they would have close contact with hopefully beyond "sharing a meal"... yeah.

I seriously feel bad for people who are overthinking this.

[Drago]

I seriously feel bad for the 1.14 million people who have died, but what do I know

[Lady Vulpix]

I agree with Drago. Especially since my brother and his wife have been as careful as they could and she still caught the virus at work - not sure whether or not my brother caught it because he was never tested - and two of my friends caught it too, and neither of them had attended any mass gatherings.

[Mr.E]

What many people of the take-every-precaution-and-then-some persuasion are not considering is that being starved of social interaction and intimacy is itself harmful to people. Universal masking is good. Shut down mass entertainment gatherings. Telling people they can't go out to eat, chill in their hole-in-the-wall dive bar that peaks at maybe 25 concurrent patrons on a good night, or date normally arguably puts people's mental health at risk as much as CV threatens one's physical health. CV isn't so threatening that I think it's worth some of the harder isolation/lockdown strategies.

[Drago]

With the high transmission rate though, dude?

If everyone adopts the same mindset of 'I probably don't have it', that's where the issues arise.

This shit would have been wiped out over half a year ago if people had just knuckled down for a short span of time, but no, people take liberties, and it keeps going.

[Heald]

Congrats dude! Mr Becki put a baby in me also (sounds creepier this way around?! XD)

I am due in early March. I hope Mrs Heald is doing okay. I know I’m totally done with hormones and I’ve got so long to go.

Aww congrats!

Mrs Heald is due just after Christmas. Getting real now!

[Zak]

What many people of the take-every-precaution-and-then-some persuasion are not considering is that being starved of social interaction and intimacy is itself harmful to people. Universal masking is good. Shut down mass entertainment gatherings. Telling people they can't go out to eat, chill in their hole-in-the-wall dive bar that peaks at maybe 25 concurrent patrons on a good night, or date normally arguably puts people's mental health at risk as much as CV threatens one's physical health. CV isn't so threatening that I think it's worth some of the harder isolation/lockdown strategies.

...And BOOM goes the dynamite.


With the high transmission rate though, dude?

If everyone adopts the same mindset of 'I probably don't have it', that's where the issues arise.

This shit would have been wiped out over half a year ago if people had just knuckled down for a short span of time, but no, people take liberties, and it keeps going.

The reason this is still going is because too many people are hosting and attending large gatherings, and not masking in public. Even with the high transmission rate - if everyone collectively stopped doing that, then we wouldn't have to worry about low-key one on one activities as much. I'm sure they would still find a way to blame them, but the rate of cases would already be low enough.

There are countries which have had the virus and now have 0 new cases and are still maintaining that.

[Drago]

Yes, and how do you think they got to those 0 cases? Through implementing lockdowns, as they did in New Zealand, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan and most of Australia (it also worked in Victoria up until a state government faux pas triggered a second wave).

The likelihood of you, as an individual, catching COVID by going to your favourite bar or continued dating is low, however this virus is still contagious before any symptoms are shown. What seemed like 25 healthy people in a public space can easily turn to 5 people with COVID if one of them was unaware they were a carrier. So on, so forth.

Reintroducing social norms in a measured, staggered approach is plausible when the situation is under control, and for most countries, this is not the case. Put pessimistically, if you put the onus on the public to be more responsible and limit their activities, it will not work.

There are some exceptions, such as in Japan, but on a global scale, it's predominantly an outlier.

[shazza]

Yes, and how do you think they got to those 0 cases? Through implementing lockdowns, as they did in New Zealand, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan and most of Australia (it also worked in Victoria up until a state government faux pas triggered a second wave).


You likely already know this, however it is worth noting that Melbourne's lockdown worked to bring the second wave down from a peak of 725 cases a day down to 0-1.

Lockdowns work. They stop the spread.

https://i.imgur.com/FQm7zjq.png

[ChobiChibi]

I have no problem with people wanting to be social but be careful about it. I’ve pretty much seen the same group of people distanced for the entire time where we’ve been allowed the “rule of 6” thing, and always respected the fact that they don’t wanna hug me, or they wanna sit further away, or that we wash our hands more. I work in a hospital. I see patients. I’m not giving covid to my friends because I’ve not been careful at work/out and about.

Small gatherings are enough to spread it. Someone I work with went out with friends, one of which was asymptomatic at the time, now has symptoms, so all of them have to isolate. That’s 5 respiratory trained physios no longer able to work because they weren’t careful when they were out.

Boris is apparently doing an announcement today (Saturday), so I expect he’ll be announcing a proper lockdown today. I’ll be a lot happier if he does, this week has been school holidays and getting into work has been a nightmare (I work in a city centre hospital). Parents, you don’t need to take your kids shopping just because it’s half term, and please, if you are, go home before the essential workers have to commute, thanks.

[Laalakyuo]

if we trace the trend of growth in the number of morbidity, then we can conclude that this pandemic will be for a long time and may not even end by itself

[Heald]

The problem here in the UK is the first lockdown was abandoned without ever bringing the infection rate below a meaningful level, and now the second lockdown is basically being ignored, no one in my area seems to really be paying attention to the fact we should not be going out unless strictly necessary. I have a letter from my boss that is allowing me to travel into London (as I am a regulated professional worker and therefore classed as key) but this is not being enforced at all. Police are breaking up groups of youths who meet up to party but doing absolutely nothing about anyone else clearly breaking the rules. A lack of enforcement and the fact that members of the government and the elite class in this country are all flouting the rules with zero consequences means the rest of the population is ignoring it too.

Basically, life here won't be going back to normal at all until a vaccine is rolled out, since the government has failed on every level to attempt to bring the infection rate down to a manageable level.

[Gary Oak]

Well, lucky for me coronavirus hasn't even come to Pallet Town, but if it does, I hope Ash catches it and not me!

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Gary, that actually might make sense. Or not, how would I know. Is coronavirus a Pokemon? We all remember how, according to Showdown at the Po-ké Corral, you had caught more than 200 Pokemon from 60 different species.

My town has like 12 cases now.

[ChobiChibi]

The problem here in the UK is the first lockdown was abandoned without ever bringing the infection rate below a meaningful level, and now the second lockdown is basically being ignored, no one in my area seems to really be paying attention to the fact we should not be going out unless strictly necessary. I have a letter from my boss that is allowing me to travel into London (as I am a regulated professional worker and therefore classed as key) but this is not being enforced at all. Police are breaking up groups of youths who meet up to party but doing absolutely nothing about anyone else clearly breaking the rules. A lack of enforcement and the fact that members of the government and the elite class in this country are all flouting the rules with zero consequences means the rest of the population is ignoring it too.

Basically, life here won't be going back to normal at all until a vaccine is rolled out, since the government has failed on every level to attempt to bring the infection rate down to a manageable level.

I was going to reply that Bristol seems to be generally obeying the rules, but then people do stupid shit like protest against lockdown, walking past the very hospital that would end up treating them if they were seriously unwell (where I work). There was also a rave that look place that had around 700 people attend, one of which was a patient in my department who lied to my face about whether he’d had any contact with anyone with symptoms. How would he know? He waited until most of the way through his appointment to tell us this, we wouldn’t have treated him if he’d said at the beginning.

It’s been very bad. They’ve started pulling staff from outpatient physio to assist on wards. The hospital is completely full. There have been queues of ambulances at A&E because there’s nowhere for the patients to go. It is so much worse than last time. So much. I don’t even work with Covid patients and I’m exhausted, can’t imagine what it’s like for those that do.

[Lady Vulpix]

I'm really sorry to hear that, Becki. I hope this wave ends soon.

In the meantime, my country is relaxing its restrictions... Probably because there's not enough money to keep us going otherwise, but I still find it scary.

[Heald]

Aww congrats!

Mrs Heald is due just after Christmas. Getting real now!

Baby Heald born at the weekend, all safe & happy, not sure whether to get him a Pokemon or MLP baby-gro first. Hope your pregnancy is going well Becki!

[Knight of Time]

Heald, allow me to be the first to say congratulations on the birth of your son! You gonna post some pics of him for us to see?

[Fett One]

Baby Heald born at the weekend, all safe & happy, not sure whether to get him a Pokemon or MLP baby-gro first. Hope your pregnancy is going well Becki!

Congrats!!!

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Congratulations! That's exactly the kind of relief we need at times like these.

[Drago]

Baby Heald born at the weekend, all safe & happy, not sure whether to get him a Pokemon or MLP baby-gro first. Hope your pregnancy is going well Becki!
Sappy stuff first: congratulations, dude. You're a fucking fighter and a legend, and I'm so happy for you.

Important stuff now: please tell me Baby Heald will be undertaking the 'pick your starter challenge'. If he chooses anything other than Bulbasaur, know that I do not approve.

[ChobiChibi]

Congrats! :D Glad to hear everything went well! I already have a Pikachu and Charmander grow, nerdy friends bought as a gift a while ago! He needs something Rainbowdash. End of. No discussion needed.

Everything going smoothly so far, finished work yesterday for Maternity Leave, I’m 35 weeks now, so not long to go! Seeing a consultant at 38 weeks to see how I’m doing, they might induce me because of the arthritis I have (effects lower back and pelvis).

Tony, I definitely have Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle plushies already... Will let you know the results of this.

[Lady Vulpix]

Congratulations, Heald and family!!

And ChobiChibi, I hope everything goes well. :hug:

[Heald]

Thank you all!

And yes, the starter choice is gonna definitely be crucial...gotta be Bulbasaur though, boy is basically a weed plant on dinosaur legs.

[Shadow Wolf]

Ah.. covid, friends and babies. I did miss TPM after all.

Don't let fear stop you guys from doing what you have to do, but of course, take the necessary precautions to stay safe.

1866

Speaking of babies, mine is going on 6 months already. Time is flying for me.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Heald: Congrats on your new baby!!

Louis: Congrats to you too, great picture too, your baby is beautiful!! <3 Good to see you back!! ^_^

Becki: Congrats, and hopefully everything goes easy for you down the home stretch!!

TPM is growing up!! I am feeling both nostalgic and kinda old LOL

[Shadow Wolf]

Heald: Congrats on your new baby!!

Louis: Congrats to you too, great picture too, your baby is beautiful!! <3 Good to see you back!! ^_^

Becki: Congrats, and hopefully everything goes easy for you down the home stretch!!

TPM is growing up!! I am feeling both nostalgic and kinda old LOL

Thank you Christen. Just trying to be a bit active again. And how have you been?

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Thank you Christen. Just trying to be a bit active again. And how have you been?

I am doing ok, personally i am kinda glad to be able to put the year 2020 behind me, it was definitely an up and down year, not just counting the virus lol. But yeah i am definitely trying to be more active again too... it is so good to see you again, i definitely miss the old days when we were all here!! :)

[Zak]

Well, lucky for me coronavirus hasn't even come to Pallet Town, but if it does, I hope Ash catches it and not me!



You're hoping Ash catches something before you? That's a first.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Well... today is the 1 year anniversary of the shutdown, at least here in Ohio... it has been an interesting year, to say the least... case numbers have been down quite a bit the last month or so... which is kinda surprising considering a lot of the restrictions have been lifted here, with the exception of wearing masks, but there still hasn't been a spike in cases so far. The interesting thing is... it doesn't really feel weird anymore, but yet it still does... there really isn't that eerie end of the world vibe anymore, but it still feels different. People are much more ill-tempered now...the goodwill from last year has long evaporated and people have been much more prone to complaining and pushing the limits of rules in effect... its weird, it feels like there is potentially light at the end of the tunnel, but it doesn't really feel like cause for celebration... a lot of people have been lost, and this pandemic has definitely exposed the more unpleasant aspects of humanity IMO.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

If there's one positive thing about Corona it's the fact that I've been working from home for almost a year now. I don't think I ever want to return to an office again. I save 2 hours a day of travel time alone.

[Fett One]

If there's one positive thing about Corona it's the fact that I've been working from home for almost a year now. I don't think I ever want to return to an office again. I save 2 hours a day of travel time alone.

The travel time has been one of the positive for me as well. I have to take public transportation to get to and from work. It takes about 2 hours round trip. By working from home, I'm not only saving time but I'm also saving money (public transportation is $96 a month).

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

My mouth is wide open when typing this. I'm hearing from the news that our government is discussing some heavy measurements on the growing infection numbers. They are proposing that people should move outside in their own apartment courtyard only. There are, however, several exceptions, such as visiting grocery shops and pharmacy. This is yet to only discuss though, meaning a subject to change. Also what's fortunate to me, it's probably only in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen ja Turku, where the situation is the worst.

[ChobiChibi]

My mouth is wide open when typing this. I'm hearing from the news that our government is discussing some heavy measurements on the growing infection numbers. They are proposing that people should move outside in their own apartment courtyard only. There are, however, several exceptions, such as visiting grocery shops and pharmacy. This is yet to only discuss though, meaning a subject to change. Also what's fortunate to me, it's probably only in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen ja Turku, where the situation is the worst.

This has been the UK on and off for the last year. Surprisingly you get used to it.

I had a baby boy nearly 3 weeks ago, for those who didn’t see in discord :) His name is Arthur and he’s very cute.

In other news, this is what’s going on in my city: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-56477887
There have been 2 more protests since, including one going on right now. On Monday I had to walk through where the riots happened as Arthur had a hospital appointment. It was very nerve wracking the night before, as new mum nerves were high and I had to attend the appointment alone with him, but it ended up being really surreal as everything looked almost back to normal.

Did this make international news? I saw New York Times reporting on it. Stay classy, Bristol.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

This has been the UK on and off for the last year. Surprisingly you get used to it.

I had a baby boy nearly 3 weeks ago, for those who didn’t see in discord :) His name is Arthur and he’s very cute.

In other news, this is what’s going on in my city: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-56477887
There have been 2 more protests since, including one going on right now. On Monday I had to walk through where the riots happened as Arthur had a hospital appointment. It was very nerve wracking the night before, as new mum nerves were high and I had to attend the appointment alone with him, but it ended up being really surreal as everything looked almost back to normal.

Did this make international news? I saw New York Times reporting on it. Stay classy, Bristol.

Congrats on your new baby!! That's awesome ^_^ seems like a mini TPM baby boom lol... as for the riots, can't say that I have heard about them... i kinda try to avoid a lot of the news though, i just kinda check on the local stuff and coronavirus updates, but outside of that i try to keep away from the news. I am guessing it has probably made international news though, seems like it is a pretty serious situation... hopefully things settle down. Be careful and stay safe, and again, congrats on the new addition to your family!!

[Heald]

Congrats Becki!

Our little one just turned 2 months, he's a real handful but such a brilliant boy, very proud of him so far! Hope you and your partner are coping well and enjoying your time with your newborn :) :172:

[Knight of Time]

I don't like bumping this topic, however I have some news to share out of my home province guys.

Yesterday, we got a record high number of cases (31 in total), and I have an uneasy feeling that there may be a new record number of cases here in the not-too-distant future, especially now that we have the new Omicron variant. So as it stands, I'm gonna be getting a third vaccine in the weeks to come (my brother already got three vaccines, now I need three as well, which sucks).

One thing's for sure, this has me worried that I'm gonna have no choice but to put off the face-to-face meeting I hope to have someday with my newest Facebook friend (it's someone from my little island who was on Big Brother Canada last year who I want to meet in person someday, considering I love it when people from Canada's smallest province appear on a game show or reality show I like to watch). As a result, I've got an earlier start to my Christmas holiday than I had expected.

[Fett One]

My job was suppose to return to the office full time after New Years but because of the Omicron variant that has been postponed indefinitely.

I received a booster shot a couple of weeks ago so I'm good on that front.

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Things have gotten really bad here in Ohio... it's really sad... I remember early on we were setting the tone by being really proactive... and ever since the Summer, Ohio has just totally given up, pretending like the virus doesn't even exist, going about life as normal, few people even wear masks now... everything has become super political and divisive. A little over 60% of the state is fully vaccinated, but we are still approaching our single day record set last December, which was over 12,000 in a day. We have had several days recently over 10,000... honestly it is getting worse than last year, because so few people are trying now... The county that I live in currently has an infection rate of over 1.1% the last 2 weeks... so about 1 in 90 people are currently infected with it... hospitals are nearing capacity, they are calling in refrigerated trucks to serve as morgues because they are overflowing at the hospitals... I wish I could work from home or just take a break, I'm feeling like a sitting duck...

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Well, some people already know, but i figure that I will go ahead and put it out there... yesterday, I did test positive for covid. I felt pretty lousy yesterday, but I am already starting to feel better today... in a crazy sort of way, I feel a little bit of relief... the situation has gotten so out of hand in Ohio, (hard to believe, as we were once the role model early in the pandemic) I figured I was going to end up catching it. Ohio is doing absolutely nothing to try and slow the spread... Omicron is spreading so ridiculously easy, i have plenty of co workers and friends that have it now, and even if people are vaccinated and boosted, it doesn't seem to matter as far as catching covid, if 1 person in the household gets it, it seems like the entire household soon gets infected no matter what is done to try and contain it...

[Knight of Time]

Are you feeling better these days, Christen? I sure hope you are.

Meanwhile guys, my home province just announced its first two deaths related to COVID-19 today. One was between 60 and 79 years of age, and the other was over 79. Just when I thought we'd never have a COVID-19 related death here too...

[Number1ChanseyFan]

Are you feeling better these days, Christen? I sure hope you are.

Meanwhile guys, my home province just announced its first two deaths related to COVID-19 today. One was between 60 and 79 years of age, and the other was over 79. Just when I thought we'd never have a COVID-19 related death here too...

Wow, sorry to hear about the 2 deaths in your province... that is so sad... but it sounds like your province overall must be doing a really good job at slowing covid and treating it... so many people are dying in Ohio... and they can’t even be bothered to report it every day anymore. They only total deaths on Tuesdays and Fridays. Most hospitals here still have refrigerated trucks serving as morgues because they don’t have enough room...

I am doing better, thanks for asking. Today has been my best day so far. There have been lots of ups and downs, but overall it has just been a long, miserable illness for me, I’ve never been in any real danger. My dad ended up being hospitalized for 3 days, and my mom was very close to having to go to the hospital as well. Hoping that I can finally be rid of all the symptoms in the next couple of days, and begin working on getting back to full strength!!

EDIT: I am officially covid-free today!! Still don't feel completely back to normal, but it feels good to say that I am finally rid of it, and all that is left is healing up now!! ^_^