Coronavirus (Covid 19)

[Ghosttrain]

Food shops and Chemists open,ok to go shopping for food and to exercise but only to stay out for max.2 hours.All non essential workers to stay home, and only travel if urgent....the traffic outside my flat this morning is as busy as ever,i live above a builders merchant which is operating as normal,though some staff did'nt arrive for work this morning due to the confused messages sent out by our Government in an emergency broadcast last night,and as i said Construction sites are open......i,like the few people i have spoken to this morning are totally confused... ..

[Johnz]

There was a bit of confusion here too but it seems mostly ok now. We're one week into the lock down now. The general message is to stay at home so that seems to getting through to most people now.

[Stephanie]

Confusion...that seems to be the new normal.

Germany is not in a lockdown as such...we call it "Kontaktverbot", some sort of "no-contact provision". You are ok to leave the house to go shopping, to the doctor, to work and are even encouraged to go for walks (normal for me as I have to walk my dogs anyway). There are no time- or geographical restrictions, either, you just have to be on your own or with max 1 other person...unless it's all people from your own household or your core family (even if they do not live in the same household). All pubs, bars, restaurants and shops are closed, only pharmacys, banks, gorcery stores or places offering take-away (which many restaurants have now switched to in the hopes of keeping business going a little bit at least) are allowed to be open. So it's pretty much the same as in many other places, just with a different name. Panic buying is definitely an issue here as well...toilet paper, kitchen paper, flour, yeast...pasta and rice are making a comeback, mind you. 

It seems people are following the rules, so far, so good, and many are unusually friendly, greeting each other when, normally, they wouldn't even look at you.

My company doesn't offer the option to work from home so life, for me, feels almost normal, but I do worry about people who are struggling right now, with their businesses closed. And, even though it may seem unimportant under the circumstances, but along with others volunteering for "our" dog rescue, which has its own shelter close to Rome, I am worried about the dogs there, more get abandoned and the shelter is overflowing, only 3 people looking after the dogs there - and they are already beyond exhausted, worrying every day whether they will still be allowed to go the shelter and hoping that they will still be able to buy food - usually there are 3 vans loaded with food and other donations travelling from Germany to Italy - and on the way back they are taking some of the dogs to their new homes over here. It didn't happen in March, obviously, and might not happen again any time soon. I know, people are suffering and dying, so this may seem trivial - but we are responsible for these dogs...and we want to fight with the few over there fighting for them. 

It's really hard to tell what's real and what is not - so much information we have to try and make sense of.

I hope you will all get through this safely, take good care everyone! 

[Simon73]

I am I  Berlin still we can go out thanks God even if too many people dont give a shit and others are scared and walk along the walls when u pass by. but having lots of good time with my daugther at home from school. we do homeworks, go out at parks to play where there is no one around, do yoga, play music. work out in the bedroom.............etc. have not bought any tickets for the 40 years show had no idea where i woud have been in Juy in Berlin becasuse that was corresponding to my daughter s summer holidays then all this shit happened. of they play <berlin and even close to my place is fucked up of i don t have a ticket. with all the times i travelled to see them, met lots of you everywhere etc. absurd........i could have see the band i follow since and 18 just spending the money for the ticket and that is it.
let s hope the situation will get better.
my family and friends in Italy are going crazy
unbelievable as economy work music life suddenly stops because of a ******* virus.................

[Simon73]

I have just watched the local news on TV and the main report was an interview with one of the top men from The CO OP our largest supermarket over here.......unbelievable, he is standing in front of rows of empty shelves wtf,we have one case and already people are panic buying.I realise as an Island we could have different problems to mainland Britain (obv.a majority of our goods are shipped in)  but i think this is a bit over the top.If the weather dies down i may venture into town in the morning,it will be interesting to see what i find (or don't as the case may be)... ..

yes u are right. the situation in Italy is unbelivable.............something like 700 , 800 or 900 dead in a day! I am Italian living in Berlin since many years but my parents and lots of my family members are there almost all in the North between Turin and Milan. Insane,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,this virus is a ******* killer. few sympoms and a few hours later u are attached to a respiratory thing ventilator whatever is called.
unbelivable as everything can stop for a bloody virus. economy, jobs, lives, bars, concerts,........life. may be nature s revenge on us all..................

[Bunny]

Ok. I know these are difficult times, but the constant negative bombardment in the media Im finding very draining. Yes we all need to stick to rules, but websites are filled with death, numbers of dead, whether we wear masks or not etc. My job puts me into potential contact with people who may be ill and I cant let my guard down for a second. God help anyone with mental health issues at this time because its starting to wear me out. I still think the numbers game per population will be tiny. Scant consolation if youre one of the unfortunate ones, but do we need this being bombarded at us?

[Ghosttrain]

Boris Johnson admitted to hospital ...

[Bunny]

Ok. Im not a Royalist in any way shape or form. However we have a monarchy and it has been that way since I was born. For all its faults, I do beleive as a figurehead the Queen has been impeccable. Her speech, while its no doubt been scripted, is needed for the country as a whole, as it was during the war, because our way of life is under attack.

[Ron B]

Just wanted to give you a heads up from across the pond in the US. We have heard that Boris Johnson has been admitted to the Hospital. As much as I could say a lot of things good about that I will refrain and leave that to you people because you have to deal with him .Our Fearless wannabe leader Donald uses most of his press briefings to bring up unproven cures not demanding that governors give mandatory stay at home orders. Some states did that like NY, Calif, who have smart we will tell the truth governors that are for their people did order stay at home except for essential services. of course bashing his Democratic opponents when he once claimed that this was fake news and we only had 15 cases at the time and it will soon be down to Zero in a few weeks . well at the time I am writing this in the USA we have 335,524 cases with going close to 10,000 deaths. having moved to Texas recently that state has just ordered a SAH but because I work at what they consider a essential work place my company is exempt and I do have to work not from home. Anyway just wanted to see how the family is doing now that this virus has hit worldwide. Hope people stay safe. be well we the people can get thru this.

[Bunny]

Ron B. I always appreciate your thoughts and your taste and knowledge in music is phenomenal. I dont like Trump and I think he's fudging through it like the idiot he is. Not a huge fan of BoJo either. Having said that politics are wholly insignificant at the minute. He's a human being at the end of the day. We can sort the who did what at the end of it all. I hope, as everyone else, recovers.

[jc]

Stay safe Ron, and indeed everybody.

Cheers

jc

[Pumpkin]

Johnson and Trump have made mistakes and criticism thereof is justified. However, I certainly wish nothing less than a full recovery for Johnson.

Nonetheless, the real blame for this situation we're in lies with the Chinese Communist Party and their deplorable behaviour, dating back decades. That has already been detailed earlier in this thread.

Recently, it is emerging just how significant the behaviour of the WHO and its Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has been in all of this debacle. Seemingly, as Minister of Health in Ethiopia, he was involved in alleged cover-ups of three possible cholera epidemics. Despite the obvious in China's clumsy attempt to cover up its own severe failings in dealing with this current coronavirus, Tedros has praised their containment measures, a 'new standard for outbreak control'. He wouldn't know how to criticise Xi's behaviour, and it isn't, seemingly, part of his job description as WHO Director General. Strange that, isn't it?

The Director General failed, in January, to declare that the current coronavirus constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. He also stated that there was no need to address global travel restrictions in light of the evidence. (Perhaps Johnson and Trump paid attention to this, and it formed part of their own thinking.) At any rate, it's obvious this remains a crucial factor in the rapid spread of coronavirus - it simply wasn't properly addressed and that's because the CCP never wants any examination herein of what is transpiring. I suggest Tedros was getting a significant backhander from Xi to keep his mouth shut and turn a blind eye to what the evidence really suggested. We'll address the possibility of 40,000+ deaths in China later.

Yet there's more...Tedros also refused to address Taiwan's pertinent warnings about the coronavirus at the beginning, knowing full well that Xi, WHO and UN don't want any focus whatsoever on Taiwan, itself excluded from WHO and removed from UN. Then again, Tedros did want Robert Mugabe as a WHO Goodwill Ambassador, and he couldn't possible understand why people objected to that. And...what exactly did Mugabe do for Zimbabwe's health system that was so great he would eventually die in a hospital in Singapore by his own choice? An even greater joke is that Communist China has been appointed to the UN Human Rights Council. Absolutely unreal.

At this stage, any possible credibility of international organisations, like WHO and UN, is minimal at best. They are also victims of the coronavirus, but they actively chose this path for themselves. 
 

[ldopas]

J. We have heard that Boris Johnson has been admitted to the Hospital. As much as I could say a lot of things good about that

Say a lot good about someone contracting a killer virus because we don't support his politics? Is that the level we are sinking to? Maybe you didn't mean it like that.

I wish everyone who gets it a quick recovery, many won't recover sadly.

And when they recover we can start to have a go at them again. That is my view.

Lets not forget our humanity shall we?

[ldopas]

Johnson and Trump have made mistakes and criticism thereof is justified. However, I certainly wish nothing less than a full recovery for Johnson.

Nonetheless, the real blame for this situation we're in lies with the Chinese Communist Party and their deplorable behaviour, dating back decades. That has already been detailed earlier in this thread.

Amen brother! Chinese animal husbandry and its part in the virus passing from animal to human might be a topic for further discussion as well!

[Ghosttrain]

Boris Johnson in Intensive Care...