How things are going in your area?

Here in the Netherlands we have a semi kind of lockdown, but it seems to be working enough on the moment. All stores are still open, but you need to keep de distance there. Lucky for me I life at the outside a city of around 100k residents. It's not to crowded here than in the city.

In with country or erea you life Merlinious?

Locally we have problems -- especially close to where I live.
We have been required to reduce the size of social gatherings, and most businesses require masks, and most restrict the number of customers in the store at one time.

The numbers keep going up though.

Originally posted by SDK1987
Here in the Netherlands we have a semi kind of lockdown, but it seems to be working enough on the moment. All stores are still open, but you need to keep de distance there. Lucky for me I life at the outside a city of around 100k residents. It's not to crowded here than in the city.

In with country or erea you life Merlinious?

Hello, I'm from the Philippines, I'm glad that you're keeping yourself safe there! I hope you and your loved ones will be safe until a vaccine becomes available in your country.

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Locally we have problems -- especially close to where I live.
We have been required to reduce the size of social gatherings, and most businesses require masks, and most restrict the number of customers in the store at one time.

The numbers keep going up though.

I'm happy that both of you are still safe with all that's happening in our respective areas, we could just hope that our loved ones will be protected and kept safe against this virus.

I don't know man...

Our Government ponder if they should make night-time curfew. As if the Virus gives a fuck what part of the day people go outside.
But they sent all children to school at the beginning of the school year and it seems I am the only one to acknowledge how retarded that was when it happened.

They also argue if masks help or not and talk about how scarce the hospital beds are.
Meanwhile a week ago I saw 15 people plant flowers. THEY LITERALLY PAY SALARY TO 15 PEOPLE (at least) TO PLANT FUCKING FLOWERS.

Oh, almost forgot about the bars, restaurants and coffee shops. They remained opened all Summer AND THEY ARE STILL WONDERING WHETHER THEY SHOULD CLOSE THEM!

I'm glad I'm not in government.
They're caught between the health people wanting to shut stuff down, and people facing financial ruin if they lose their jobs.

In Canada during the first lockdown, the federal government brought in the "COVID Emergency Response Benefit" so people who lost their jobs due to the disease could still eat, pay rent and so on.
To do that, though, they had to use money they didn't have, so future generations will be paying for it forever (more or less)

I'm glad they did though -- my daughter was one of those whose job disappeared when the company she worked for had to close.
They could pay some people to work from home, but her job could not be done from home.

I'm retired, and live on a pension.
It is always tight, but we get by, and if anything we're doing better because we don't eat out hardly at all any more, we don't go to movies and so on.

^ Exactly why I hate Bulgarian government.

They shut down people's jobs but the bars, restaurants and schools remained opened. Who would think that a waiter or a bartender would be a safe job in a moment of crisis?!

They spend money on unnecessary shit and then they go on TV and with all their impudence tell people to not go to the hospital if they are not sick enough.

There are protests of 100+ days in both sides of the country against the government, not really Corona related. They just brushed it off at this point. No change.

If I choose to move, Canada would for sure be my top 3 pick.

In Slovenia we have a full lockdown:

- grocery stores are the only business open (but other shops, like sports or home improvement, you can order online from
- schools and kindergartens are closed
- there is a curfew in place, 22:00 - 6:00

People anticipate that the lockdown will ease down before Christmas... There were some pretty nasty protests happening already...

I must go to the Dentist today because I have a bad tooth.
During the first wave, dentists were a major risk factor, but now everyone in the office is head-to-toe protective gear, and everyone -- patients included -- must wear masks all the time.
(well except when they're being worked on of course )

Even so, I wouldn't go unless it was absolutely necessary. Some days I can't even chew.

Restaurants are open, but with strict measures in place. They're doing that to protect the server's jobs, and to try to ensure that once this is over there will be an economy to come back to.

Some effects are just annoyances.
My Mum passed a way last month, and we won't be able to have the funeral until December -- and maybe not even then

Damn, I am sorry for your loss!

Is that because of the funeral or do they simply not allow any burials? Seems insane either way.

Originally posted by nsavov
Damn, I am sorry for your loss!

Is that because of the funeral or do they simply not allow any burials? Seems insane either way.

Thanks nsavov

Normally we could have held the funeral -- by invitation only -- and even then restricted to 35 people -- the rest have to view it online.
But with increased restrictions, it would have meant that only one household could attend -- which would be awful.

There were quite a few people who wanted to attend, and we're hoping we can have people attend.

We now have a mandate from the provincial dept of public health to wear 😷 masks indoors.
We're also supposed to maintain a 2m physical distance.

Originally posted by VorpalF2F

Some effects are just annoyances.
My Mum passed a way last month, and we won't be able to have the funeral until December -- and maybe not even then

Sorry to hear that... My mum passed away this summer as well, we had the 10 person limit for the funeral and we weren't allowed to specify the time and place in the obituary...

But the funeral people are very ok, they turn a blind eye, if there is not too many people and if everyone keeps the distance.

Originally posted by SamoB25

Sorry to hear that... My mum passed away this summer as well, we had the 10 person limit for the funeral and we weren't allowed to specify the time and place in the obituary...

But the funeral people are very ok, they turn a blind eye, if there is not too many people and if everyone keeps the distance.

Sorry to here about your Mum.
When we scheduled the service, we were told a limit of 35 (it is a large room capable of holding over 100) and it would be by invitation only.

With the recent increased restrictions, it may be fewer people.

My deepest condolences to both of you @VorpalF2F and @SamoB25. Wishing both of you peace and comfort during these hard times.

Every day new covid-19 cases emerge and the number of deaths has dramatically increased.

I personally believe that lockdown, no matter how much we feel it holds us back when it comes to living a normal life, is the only effective tool we have at our disposal to deal with the pandemic, at least until a vaccine is available.

Unfortunately, it seems that many people haven't grasped the real catastrophic impact of this invisible yet deadly threat, and the tremendous amount of misinformation on social media has only made things worse.

If I may speak about here in the US, there are so many people who do not believe that covid19 is real and that puts us all in great danger.

I do believe that this unprecedented situation requires us to be overly cautious and adhere to public health advice. It's not only about ourselves anymore, it's about the common good. I wish my fellow citizens could comprehend that their selfless behavior delays return to normality. Everything is closed, we are in the middle of a curfew, and people still walk around like everything is normal. It's just very sad to hear for those who are greatly affected.

Originally posted by Mambalante
If I may speak about here in the US, there are so many people who do not believe that covid19 is real and that puts us all in great danger.

Bulgarian here. I used to believe the same thing. Can you really blame me? What would be your first read on the situation when the government does exactly the opposite of what is supposed to be done in a pandemic and tells you to get a $100 test?

Arguments for opened schools is that society needs the youth to be more social. What society needs more is healthy children that have healthy parents.

Arguments for opened restaurants is the "economy". What does that even mean? Just make them all do home delivery, they will naturally hire more drivers to do this job. People that are unable and lose their job will of course get help...

And don't get me started on bars... they literally hire 2-5 people to sell extremely overpriced poison to people addicted to it. How does that help the economy? And I'm not biased here, I love to relax with a beer or six.

Originally posted by nsavov

Originally posted by Mambalante
If I may speak about here in the US, there are so many people who do not believe that covid19 is real and that puts us all in great danger.

Bulgarian here. I used to believe the same thing. Can you really blame me? What would be your first read on the situation when the government does exactly the opposite of what is supposed to be done in a pandemic and tells you to get a $100 test?

Arguments for opened schools is that society needs the youth to be more social. What society needs more is healthy children that have healthy parents.

Arguments for opened restaurants is the "economy". What does that even mean? Just make them all do home delivery, they will naturally hire more drivers to do this job. People that are unable and lose their job will of course get help...

And don't get me started on bars... they literally hire 2-5 people to sell extremely overpriced poison to people addicted to it. How does that help the economy? And I'm not biased here, I love to relax with a beer or six.

From what you said, I believe your government is taking advantage at some point of this pandemic and I can't argue with that. I'm actually neutral when it comes to the schooling of our kids, some parents may choose to let their kids go to school while some (like me) would choose to homeschool, I guess it depends on the kind of work the parents have. I also believe that home delivery is a better option for restaurants for them to still have continuous income during these days. Btw, don't you have a grab driver version in your country who will just handle all the deliveries? Lastly, is your country running out of beers that's why it's getting overpriced?

My wife is still working, but under very strict conditions.
All the students must be masked at all times, and are supposed to keep 2m apart.

Today, though I will dress up in my Santa suit, and visit her class of 6-8 yr olds.
I do this every year, but this year, Santa will have a mask...

Pics to follow

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Today, though I will dress up in my Santa suit, and visit her class of 6-8 yr olds.
I do this every year, but this year, Santa will have a mask...

Like this?

And isn't it a bit early for a Santa visit? It's not even Thanksgiving yet. (well, okay, except in Canada)