Coronavirus: COVID-19

[poetic jess 2,340]

I think things won’t get a little bit stable until November... there’s no way things can recover that quickly after a few months.

[maxthehitman 1,729]

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[Velvet Elvis 229]

Is anyone else freaking out staying inside all day? I have some studying to do but still...  Today they announced that the lockdown is extended until April 27 (in Greece)

[maxthehitman 1,729]

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[Tammy 2,291]

 

 

 

At first I was happy to stay at home - it's been 1 1/2 weeks now. I could fix some things in my apartment and could spend my time on doing what I love and I never have much time for when I work full-time. But in the meantime I am not doing fine anymore: I feel empty, useless, tired and it feels like I am totally wasting my time.

I take a walk with my friend once per week and have to go to the supermarket once per week too. Otherwise I stay inside.

As every state in my country has made its own 'rules' I am not allowed anymore to see my dad and brother who live in another state as I do.

My dad has a house + garden and I would love to be there now, being surrounded by the ones I love and miss and being in the nature especially now during spring. I am not bored at all and it does not feel right to complain when others have had to go through harder times (like: https://www.facebook.com/theTruth365film/photos/a.457070807653967/3299756746718678/?type=3&theater ) and I really try to stay positive but at the end of the day I am not okay, I end up going to bed having headaches and sleeping for 12 hours.

I can't wait to go to work again and to go home to my family - not being with them is what gets me so down right now - calling or sending messages is not the same. Not to know what will come next and if my 2 fav humans will stay healthy drives me insane...

 

Trying to divert myself with listening to my fav singer Roy and working on some fanart now. Stay safe everyone! 

 

[Aquemini 297]

@ Sorry to hear about being in separate states to your loved ones. Sometimes it feels like another state might be another country. Just because you might not have it as hard as some doesn't devalidate your individual struggle. Even those with generally strong mental health are starting to see the implications of this pandemic. It is so surreal, no wonder our minds/ bodies are getting overstimulated as they are constantly on alert. If it makes you feel any better, I am usually pretty resilient to difficulties that come my way, but kind of opposite to you I've actually developed insomnia because of the stress.

 

In terms of positivity, I think it is generally a good thing, but it can become toxic when people are made to feel they have failed by not being able to find the silver lining of every situation. Imo, real positivity is in persevering to the best of your ability despite the hardships of life. And I would say you sound like your doing a really good job considering, like taking the initiative to use your art and music as a source of solace.

 

Acknowledging your feelings of fear and sadness can be a good thing, as suppressing them usually leads to more problems and unprocessed trauma down the line. I hope your family stays safe- and I definitely agree Skype/ video calling isn't the same. Try to visualize coming together again when this is all over, and hold that thought close to you when you reach your lowest points. Please don't go to the land of "what if?"- I know it's so tempting but it doesn't serve you and will only add to your anguish. The mind can't differentiate between lucid thought and real experience (there have been psychological studies where candidates admitted to a crime that never even occurred as they had formed false memories), which is what makes our fears feel so real. However, this can be helpful a tool if you imagine experiences of peace and happiness

 

Also, my favorite Roy Orbison song is probably crying (I love Rebekah Del Rio's performance in Mulholland Drive) but maybe that isn't the best one to listen to right now! Keep on taking one day at a time and never feel like your feelings are wrong. It's always good to share and get a different perspective as we can get tunnel vision from being isolated with only our inner critic for company.

[maxthehitman 1,729]

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[Tammy 2,291]

@Aquemini: Thank you so much for your kind words. You‘re so freaking cute!

 

I am sorry to hear you can‘t sleep anymore. I went through this phase too and what helped me was to stop reading all news. In the meantime I only read headlines once per day and that’s it. @ was right, it’s frustrating and you can’t calm down anymore. Corona or not, my mind is always racing and having something I am really interested in like drawing or music helps a lot. But I can’t deny I miss being in company.

 

PS: Even the saddest RO song puts a smile on my face. He was such a sweetie!

[Auto-Tuned Loon 650]

Paranoia and sinophobia tbh. So much surrounding this is

I think the most important things to do are a) use it as a reminder to keep good hygiene, especially around babies / the elderly, and b) use it as an opportunity to educate yourself on sinophobia and how outbreaks like this become racialised (think ebola), and keep your friends and relatives in check if they show those sentiments. There are really horrific stories about how asian people were treated with the outbreak of sars.

Trump calling it the "Chinese virus" is also not just him being naturally racist - people spotted that the paper he was reading it from when he first called it that in a public address had "corona" crossed out and Chinese handwritten beside it.

All y'all are rightly calling this out as racist, but where were you all when you let them label a whole bunch of viruses avian influenza or bird flu? Not just speciesist. That's literally, scientifically classist.

[Nobody 21,588]

Boris is in ICU 

[Aquemini 297]

Yh, I'm not a fan of Boris but I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Just hope this encourages the gov to supply frontline workers with essential PPE. So tragic to hear a 23 yr old nurse died due to lack of PPE.

[Tammy 2,291]

Kids / teens die too in the meantime and pets get infected as well.  

[Aquemini 297]

No one is immune, but we will all need solidarity in the human spirit to survive this. So upsetting to see those young angels pass, I'm young myself and feel devastated at their suffering but hope they are at peace. They were so full of life, it's sad to see that stripped away from themselves and their families. And doggos, kitties, even tigers... all so innocent and loving. But they will be remembered as such and will inspire us not to take every new day for granted.

[SlowGinFizzzz 15,354]

Looks like politicians over here think the worst is already behind us. I'd expect other European countries to follow suit in the next few weeks:
 

Austria eyes Easter 'resurrection', easing coronavirus lockdown at shops

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria is preparing for a “resurrection” the day after Easter by reopening some shops in an initial loosening of its coronavirus lockdown, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Monday, the first European country to outline such plans.

The Alpine and largely Catholic nation was broadly shut down three weeks ago, with schools, bars, restaurants, theatres, non-essential shops and other gathering places closed. The public has been told to stay at home and work from there if possible.

The lockdown has helped reduce the daily increase in infections to 1.6%, Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said. The number of people in hospital has stabilised. There have been 12,206 cases and 220 deaths so far in Austria.

“We reacted faster and more restrictively than in other countries and could therefore avoid the worst. But this fast and restrictive reaction now also gives us the possibility to come out of this crisis more quickly,” Kurz, a conservative who governs with the left-wing Greens, told a news conference.

Denmark, the Czech Republic and Italy could outline similar plans soon, but Austria is the first European country to give dates and details. Kurz cautioned, however, that his plan was tentative and depended on developments over the next seven days.

“Easter week will be a decisive one for us. It is one that will determine whether the resurrection after Easter that we all hope for can happen as such,” he said.

Kurz urged the public to stick to overall lockdown measures that which are being extended until the end of April.

GRADUAL REOPENING

His plan is for non-essential shops of 400 square metres (4,300 square feet) or less and DIY shops to reopen on April 14, the day after Easter Monday. They would be followed by all shops, shopping malls and hairdressers on May 1.

However, only one shopper per 20 square metres of shop space will be allowed.

For their part, restaurants and hotels will have to wait until mid-May at the earliest and no public events will be held until at least late June, Kurz said.

MASKS, NOT HERD IMMUNITY

Austria has since Monday required shoppers to wear face masks at supermarkets and drugstores of more than 400 square metres. The government said it would extend that requirement to public transport and shops that are reopening.

While the public has been generally supportive of the mask requirement, wrinkles have appeared, with some supermarkets running out of masks or charging shoppers for them. Kurz said the government would check that masks are not sold for profit. A scarf or shawl can also be worn instead.

The chancellor also gave a preview of a study on whether a representative sample of 2,000 people had been exposed to the coronavirus.

“What we can say is that it is in the thousandths of a percent and an infection rate in Austria...will be around 1%,” Kurz said. “Any idea of herd immunity has been clearly disproved at the latest by this spot check.”

Worldwide, over 1.25 million people have been reported infected by the viral pandemic and 68,484 have died, according to the latest Reuters tally, with Italy, Austria’s southern neighbour, suffering the highest national toll.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-austria-idUSKBN21O0X6

[AnarKissed 281]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2019/12/12/how-prepared-are-we-for-the-next-pandemic-not-very-experts-show/#32674ab33524

[callmedecember 2,319]

here to post some brighter news, while spain is still under lockdown until april 26th, from monday construction workers and a few other employees will slowly start working again, also the curve has flatten these last days since the number of deaths and infected people has been constantly decreasing, so yeah, kinda happy that everything seems to go back to normal, at least gradually. Classes in universities have been suspended (everything is online now and stuff) but i'm relieved that in a couple of weeks it seems like i'll be able to see all my friends again so yeah, while we'll still have to be careful for some time i'm happy that i'll see them after a month and a half more or less

[maxthehitman 1,729]

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[Tammy 2,291]

 

 

But be careful when the "lockdown" will be cancelled, because the virus is not going away so soon. - At least for this year ! No joke.

 

 

 

THIS! I actually get the feeling especially politicians have no idea what to do and they are slowly afraid people could go to the barricades if they don't loosen regulations - and I guess the fact that spring is coming doesn't make it easier, people do not stay inside anymore as the weather is brilliant - while scientists keep claiming this won't be over in some weeks and it's just the beginning.

 

I really like how Denmark has treated things so far.  

 

https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/ausland/id_87664478/corona-krise-oesterreich-tschechien-und-daenemark-lockern-einschraenkungen.html

 

Google translate:  

 

After Austria and the Czech Republic, Denmark has also announced the first relaxation of its measures taken in the corona crisis. In a first step, nurseries, kindergartens and lower grades zero to five of schools should be reopened on April 15, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a press conference in Copenhagen on Monday evening. This benefits parents, who would get more peace of mind in the home office.

It was "the first cautious opening phase," said Frederiksen. However, the Danes should be prepared that they will have to live with restrictions for months because of the corona pandemic.

The border with Germany remains closed. According to Frederiksen, these and other measures will be extended by four weeks until May 10, including the closure of restaurants. The school classes from the sixth to tenth years will also remain at home until then. Frederiksen made it clear that there would be no final exams for the tenth graders this year. Larger gatherings are even forbidden up to and including August - the largest music festival in Northern Europe in Roskilde, which was supposed to take place from June 27 to July 4 this year, announced its cancellation immediately after Frederiksen's announcement.

[maxthehitman 1,729]

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[mkultraviolence 5,832]

i had a dream yesterday where my mom was working in a healthcare facility and i was in a room in that building trying to listen to lana del rey on a laptop, but then some workers took the laptop away. i think there may have also been a dance number.