This is topic Coronavirus Flares Up [a SitRep thread] in forum Officers' Lounge at Flare Sci-Fi Forums.


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Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
 
How are we all? How is COVID-19 affecting you? Are you & yours safe & well?

Me, I’ve been in isolation for two and a half weeks now, as I have two immediate family members in the high-risk category, with underlying medical conditions. And the nature of my job rules out working from home. Fortunately I have a very accommodating employer!
 
Posted by Krenim (Member # 22) on :
 
So far, I'm okay, and so are my relatives. I'm a teacher, so "distance learning" is the name of the game for the time being.
 
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
 
Furloughed since 15 March. Done a LOT of sleeping. Trying very hard not to eat the savings I quite literally slaved away for 5 months to get. Watching the principal of my small investment account get ravaged & trying to contain my anger about it all.

Objectively, though, I'm watching & hoping this is the tipping point for revolution it absolutely could & should be, & plotting how to ride that tide.
 
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
 
It looks like the UK and the US are in a race to see who can most catastrophically mishandle the crisis. It feels bad enough over here where we at least have a nationwide lockdown of sorts, half-arsed and too late though it may be. But over there, it looks nightmareish, my Twitter feed is a shitstorm...
 
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
 
Yeah, you guys at least have an NHS still. What we're probably gonna have is a revolution.
 
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
 
Well, you say that, but seriously, what is it going to take? How much more nakedly corrupt, partisan and bigoted does your Administration have to get? “Most Americans get their news from Fox, and believe it” is a very bold statement but it’s not massively incorrect. The twat’s approval ratings have gone UP.

The desire to return to “normality” is near-universal and in many ways understandable. And on both sides of the pond we have an Establishment with a vested interest in directing and shaping what “normal” will be. And when many people just want to be able to see friends & family again, go back to the pub, the mall, the beach, the national park, and already uninvolved and disengaged from politics, that won’t be difficult to achieve.

The US may have revolution in its ancestry, but you’re a very different place and people now. Whereas here in the UK, if the course and aftermath of WW1 didn’t tip us over the edge, I’m not sure what will.

But - before we end up being summarily moved to the Flameboard, just a reminder this IS intended to be a thread for people to check in! It’d be nice to hear from those in other countries... 8)
 
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
 
....There are other countries?
 
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
Honestly, it's been pretty easy on me so far. A benefit of working in a public library is that, even though we're closed, we don't rely on being open to get our funding, and everyone's salary was already budgeted for anyway, so we're still getting paid to not be there. And, since I live by myself, I don't have to worry about spending too much time cooped up with someone and getting on each other's nerves. Plus, I already tend to spend most of my time off sitting around the house as it is, so this isn't too different from a long vacation.

Of course, it would be nice to still occasionally be able to go see a movie or something, but, all in all, I'm doing all right. Right now, I just wish I could get a haircut...
 
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
 
....It's called a Flowbee, Timothy.
 
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
 
Haven't reached quite that level of desperation yet.
 
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
 
I’m doing okay so far. My parents are taking it seriously (my dad got lucky, he was in New Orleans for a business conference in early March but didn’t seem to catch anything). I’ve also been lucky since my company is still paying employees while they’re home. Some of us can work from home, I haven’t been asked yet (and my primary role doesn’t lend itself as well to remote work).

My cats haven’t gotten sick of me yet. The hard part for me is staying active. And avoiding the news. 🙄
 
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
 
I've been working from home since March 17. Austrian government enacted rather severe restrictions on March 16. All events were canceled and all non-essential shops (including restaurants) were closed.

So far our health system can handle it. We have so far 12,008 cases and 220 deaths.

As of today, masks are required for shopping and small non-essential shops are going to reopen next week.
 
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
 
Been pretty lucky here in Maryland, USA. I live with my girlfriend so at least we're together. I narrate audiobooks, and my studio is only a 20 minute drive from the house, so I'm still able to make some sort of a living. The main thing that annoys me these days is dealing with shopping (it's just a very nerve wracking experience these days) and the fact that all the hoarders took all the toilet paper when this all started, and they have yet to be restocked. Because apparently if one might die from a fever, naturally one must buy up all the TP one can. [Roll Eyes]

Oh, and webcams are apparently even more scarce than TP these days.

[ April 09, 2020, 06:48 PM: Message edited by: Dukhat ]
 
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
 
Funnily enough, I buy TP in bulk anyway, & since I live alone it lasts me for like 17 months. I just bought a new pack back in October & didn't open it until the start of January.

Narrating audiobooks is a gig I could do. I'm tired of the kitchen life, especially when it means sitting on my ass for a month plus. Who do I have to fuck to break into that field?
 
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
 
Still showing up for work (since I can't work from home). They made it voluntary so if you don't show up for a 2 week period you still get paid. I can't sit at home all day for too long. Sure day drinking for a long weekend is nice but you run out of things to watch and realize how much you're spending at the liquor store.
 
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
 
It’s all a little surreal. I can work from home for my job, even though I manage a research laboratory, I can do it, basically from home. Got so much “at home” work to keep me busy, it’s not funny. So that’s a good thing. It is weird now leaving the house to shop. I feel so DIRTY when I get home. This is going to play havoc with people’s OCD tendencies I reckon. Worried about parentals catching it. As they are that age. They are being generally well behaved. As a majority extrovert, I’m feeling it in terms of not personally interacting with my team at work.
 
Posted by Guardian 2000 (Member # 743) on :
 
Surreal is the word. What's weirder is being outdoors or whatever and almost forgetting that the old normal is gone right now.

- It's also been disturbing to see so many coronavirus truther types online, largely composed of people who know very little about biology and who cannot do even rudimentary math. It's as if people cannot accept the new biological reality and so wrap themselves in various forms of comfortable stupidity.

- I'd bought a few extra things in mid-February before the sudden realization of crisis hit everyone, and when I went for more in March they were all gone. Dry milk powder and UHT milk (rare in the States), for instance, and extra gloves. Fortunately I already had some old N95s laid up, because I didn't buy any in that first round, and the strategic TP stockpile was already good. However, I now have enough peanut butter to sink a battleship because I apparently kept purchasing it without remembering I had already done so.

One nice thing I am finding is that I've bought a shitload of mostly 91% rubbing alcohol over the years, so I can spray-decon damn near anything.

Additionally, if it comes down to it, I bought high-octane Everclear and aloe in gel and liquid, so can make my own hand sanitizer, and if I use the drinkable aloe liquid I could even party with it if I don't need to use it topically.

- Take care not to allow the backs of your hands to get a sunburn, even a mild one. That plus excess handwashing and occasional hand sanitizer can create an uncomfortable situation of cracking and even bleeding. In a pinch, you can cut the fingers off of gloves and use that to contain a Neosporin/aloe treatment overnight, but in my experience it won't resolve as quickly as you'd think or hope.
 
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
 
It’s been a good reason to start to work through our Brexit stockpiles. For instance we found a recipe for peach & chickpea curry, and it’s much better than it sounds. We usually buy TP in bulk anyway from a cash & carry, but we just got more this time...
 
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
 
Doing good here. Work for me is consulting, project-based, so I'm still visiting loss sites and doing what work comes in. I already had a cartridge respirator and other PPE for fire scene investigations, so I'm reasonably safe. Employer is stable, so I don't expect financial stress. Family is healthy, hoping the extended family stays that way. Pretty much everyone left is 65+, and some aren't operating on a full set of lungs...
 
Posted by Capt. Kaiser (Member # 10511) on :
 
im still working cus im a Janitor a few places and working 6 days a week [Smile]
 
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
 
Lockdown coincided with the start of the nice weather here, and all in all it’s been a nice year for that - we spent lots of time in the garden, got lots done in the garden too. So I really can’t get to grips with how sudden autumn (fall) has appeared. Here, it was quite literally “21 September? First day of autumn? ‘Ave it!” It’s like the lack of structure to the year - kids off school for six months, no traditional (i.e. foreign) summer holiday, has stripped out the usual context through which we observe and process the passage of time. And at no point has it felt like the year has passed quickly, but at the same time we keep thinking, how can it be Halloween next week?!

(And yet conversely, perversely, November 3rd feels like it’s going to take a long time to get to - and then we’ll know it’s over, one way or the other...)

I went back to work in June, starting at two days and working up gradually to full time. In my job, I found it was easier to be full time as every day off meant more emails to catch up on (we get about a hundred per day in my role). But the way things are going here - 20,000 new cases, 200+ deaths per day - it feels like second, or circuit breaker lockdowns can’t be far away.
 
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
 
All well here. A few acquaintances have gotten it, so far all have recovered. Kept the kids out of preschool. I'm a forensic consultant, so I travel a lot for various jobs, but lately I've been running one very large one for several months, instead of my usual twenty at a time. So I get to go to a controlled environment every day where people aren't in my face, and continue being productive and getting paid. Could be a lot worse.
 
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
 
Here in Colorado during the spring and summer the case count was pretty low, but during the month of October it's spiked and doubled from the spring time high.
 
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
 
OMG. Omega has KIDS. This is altogether too much.
 


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