Thanks for your answer, Jeanne and of course very true. I am just so frustrated with civilians practicing civil disobedience because they 'do not agree'. These thugs put everybody else at risk.
I just hope we can all get through this without a 2nd wave. However, seeing that people cannot follow simple rules for a while, that is likely idle hope, I know;-(
@jeanne-mayell as my husband and I always say nature is very smart but unforgiving. It’s far past time for everyone to get a grip and wake up. Sadly this snapshot of the entire world makes me sad. What is that beautiful quote from Mother Theresa, people are selfish, love them anyway? So hard. I hope people will get it before it’s too late. Thank God for this safe haven of beautiful souls. Gives me hope. ❤️☮️
@ Jeanne, oh absolutely. Let's not even get started on those!
I was wondering if anyone has feelings about what is going in Europe/rest of the world. Most countries are easing up on restrictions and opening up, but the kicker is that there are now groups protesting the rules like they did in Michigan etc. and want to 'live life as before, because it hurts the economy if we don't' aka away with ALL restrictions.
I cannot understand for the life of me why people call these rules 'doctrine by a tyrant of a government'. To me it is just common sense. What if everybody gets sick? Where is the economy then?
I know in the US this has a lot to do with politics, but that cannot be the case in all countries around the world... I am just flabbergasted with people I guess...
Hi,
I live in The Netherlands, we had a Semi-Lockdown, so we had the shops open , although bigger chains decided to close the Stores ( H&M, IKEA). All public leisure things and Restaurants were closed, Events cancelled ( And still are until September). No Mask, only in Public Transport, but a 1,5 meter social distancing rule, Supermarkets and DIY were open, and the city dump. Which was crowded each day, people started to clean out the house, and reworked them. We had long rows in front of DIY stores ( Also because only a max number of people were allowed). And we needed to work from home, where possible.
In stores they have now plastic protection shields at the cashiers, and you need to use one shopping card per person. Also they ask you to shop alone.
Schools were closed, Universities also. Schools are open again, Universities not. My daughter had her final year, and she got her diploma in a drive-through Diploma event :-)
. At least from March to May, In June we opened up slowly, Restaurants max 30 people , Cinemas with seats in-between people empty. The rule is , if you are from one household you can sit together, otherwise 1,5 meter distance. In July they opened up more ( 100 people in Restaurants). But all is monitored, and if it gets worse we would take a step back. Economy is not that terrible, because people skip vacation abroad they invest now in renovating, book reading, hobbies...and they start to buy local more :-). I am a scale modeller, and in a Scale Forum, since Corona we have 30% more members , all started then. So I think that is one of the lessons, slow down, live together in your community, and support your local business. It si so much more fun than buying online, you can have a nice chat, get better advice etc ( Mostly)
I live in the souther part, and with 10 miles I have also Germany and Belgium. Belgium did a total lock down, Germany a mild ( But you need to wear masks in Stores etc). Germany now has local lockdowns when an area has a certain amount of infected people. For about two weeks.
I think it depends on the countries health service. Germany's IC's were never 100% full, but they have a large capacity and good health care system. Same in NL, although here we transported some patients to Germany because we had not enough room ( but only for a few weeks)
all in all, it is going well, especially the step by step opening.
@jeanne_mayell:
Regarding the below, that would mean that the trade wars the last years were the counterpart to World War 1? But I agree, as long as we not learn , we get wake-up calls in form of crisis or disasters
It is human nature that we must reinvent the wheel every 80 to 100 years or so as those who learned the hard lessons die out and new generations arise who don’t bother to learn from history and science. They elect leaders who exploit ignorance, demonize science and the learned.
@tbs
One of the problems we have here in the US is blatant disregard for science combined with a lot of liars.
Here in CA, there are also exceptions for "household groups", so what people do is lie - they say "we are all family" or "we all live in the same house" when it's not true. I see what clearly are families walking around, not distanced, which is ok, but also not every adult in the family is masked (another exception is young children under 2), which is not ok.
My neighbors child told me China is to blame. I said, "Oh no honey. Nature is to blame."
What is the hardest thing to deal with for me is the generational bias.
I worked with a Chinese family I love. They traded me Chinese food for music and phonics lessons for their kids. The oldest child has the voice of an angel. He is now a second grader and I hate to think that children of ignorant people may bully him, as I was bullied for being Jewish. Hurts the heart.
So I take solace that quickly racist names, flags, statues, and history rewrites are being challenged and changed. I take solace that most people are sensible, although it still makes me mad that people won't mask up. I cross the street A LOT on my sometimes daily walks.
I pray for respite from this virus but it will take longer if people don't have some respect for death. Tired of hearing , "Well if I die, I die." and even worse the callous, "I'm not getting this virus." Or the monstrous," You are taking away my rights with a mask!" Uch.
The very real truth is we will be even more greatly diminished of souls, and many will be Trump supporters and evangelicals and unfairly, front line workers. And I pray that I won't be joining these souls, that my family, loved ones, and especially my child will continue to be spared.
@tbs
I so loved reading what you wrote about how your country has felt with Covid and how your border countries have as well.
I have also been supporting small local businesses when I can. Up here in Colorado where I am staying at he moment that means visiting a just opened Saturday farmers market and making a few purchases as well as visiting a local bookstore which also makes crepes and wonderful tea. They name the crepes about famous authors.
Yes, money which would have been spent abroad can certainly help the local economy and families. Slowing down is really wonderful too. My girls have been doing some canvas paint by numbers which take a long time to work on so they are busy but spending quiet time together when not walking in the woods.
@tbs True, all of that is true, but we now have a group of people who want all the measures gone. Their protests forbidden in Den Haag after 100 were arrested in an earlier (violent) demonstration, but showing up in Wagingen, Dordrecht and Utrecht. Calls for more even if their protests are forbidden... I see it happen in other countries too. That's the thing I find so unbelievable.
The Netherlands and Germany have a sensible government, but since the virus hasn't decimated us we now have people who want to lift all restrictions. They are just like the people @Laura F mentioned.
That said, most people here do indeed behave and the positivity that can come out of something like this is clear. One of the things that happened in my neck of the woods were locals helping restaurants who had to close because of the lock-down. Locals started to buy certificates of the restaurants for later use. This way restaurants still had an income, which allowed them to stay afloat. They all re-opened now and nobody lost their jobs.
DIY projects have boomed, but so has gardening. At my daughter's school people are now trading vegetables/fruit. Yesterday my daughter went cherry picking at a hobby-farmer's. Just hoping all of those things stay and the ugly disappears ;-)
@ghandigirl Wonderful story, bless you.
@lovendures Those numbers are heartbreaking! Is travel allowed out of Arizona right now? I saw that Chicago has banned flights from areas with out-of-control numbers. My daughter's best friend moved from Minnesota to Phoenix in December, and her family is planning to fly back at the end of this week to visit friends and family. My daughter is desperate to see her friend, though outwardly she says she understands my concerns. I know the family has been staying home, but I don't trust the plane ride. I'm hoping their trip gets canceled somehow, and the decision is taking away from me. Please stay safe ... 55-70% of such a large area seems unfathomable.