You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Watcha' Doing - 2020
Rusalka wrote: "Our Home Affairs minister has been diagnosed this evening. He was in the US the other day meeting with Ivana and the US AG. At the risk of being horrible, I couldn't wish it on a better person. H..."
Lol, I think the president of Brazil was also tested positively, and he met Trump recently. Can't wait to hear Trump's response if it turns out he's infected!
Peggy wrote: "That's horrible Esther. It will have disastrous effects if people who can still do their jobs get overworked because of the stress of this, and then have to stay at home.. It's funny, whomever I ..."
Problem is, there are the hoarders and then comes people that see them and think, I may as well grab some as they are running low and get more than they usually do.... and shelves are getting empty.
Yes, I've noticed myself thinking the same thing. If everyone else is grabbing everything, I should do the same (well, not everything, but perhaps more than I need right now), because otherwise I'll be the one stuck with nothing in the end.
I'm going to the supermarket today, so let's see what I find there. It is the first time I go since before my trip, when things were still kind of normal.
Rob went to 4 supermarkets this afternoon for pasta and still couldn't get any. It's becoming increasingly difficult not to be worried by all this. I'm concerned for my parrnts and Rob's mum, my last remaining great aunt, and some other relatives with health conditions. Boris' plan is for 60% of us to get the disease to gain herd immunity. With a 3% fatality rate, that will be a high death toll if things end up like that. I have had a sore throat since tuesday and my asthma has been a little problematic. Could be nothing but how can I know for sure?! Staying in over the weekend and see if anything happens.
Esther wrote: "Dominique wrote: "I also live in Quebec and they just closed all schools. I have the day off and we're going to Costco (not for toilet paper) hoping that the shelves are not empty and people are no..."The Costco I went to opens at 10 am. We passed in front at 9 am and there were 2 huge lines outside. It was pure hell. The meats were gone so people were waiting for the employees to take more out. Ground turkey was on sale but I think l'm the only one who bought some. People were stressing out. No one was taking the fresh fruits and veggies ( I did). The frozen aisles were popular. A the register, I went to the last one and almost no one was there. the woman in front of me lost her card so they put evrything back in her cart and kindly pushed her out of the way and basically told her to look for it, so she has to backtrack all her steps to find it.
I don't know if at one point my job will follow and close but they did warn us to be prepare and be set up to be able to work from home if it comes to it.
Janice wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "I haven't heard of the situation in Denmark from here. But I know the Daily Mail is like Fox News crossed with a weekly tv magazine (You'll never guess what she does!). Maybe have a..."It was just on the news here that Denmark will close its borders starting tomorrow.
A friend commented, "damn virus"! I told her that it's not just the virus. It's the response to the virus as well that's just as much a phenomenon. It's like a cow that bolts because its startled by a rattle snake, but the whole herd stampedes in response, even though they aren't close to the snake and can't see it.I'm worried about my dad. Yesterday... how can things change so much in a day? Yesterday, he and I discussed his trip to Victoria next Thursday. He and his older sister (91 & 93) are going to visit a younger sister. They do this every spring. My sister wants him to cancel. I told him that he needs to do whatever he feels comfortable doing and to wait and see. That was before the travel advisory was issued. Now I'm thinking they should cancel. Coastal BC is one of Canada's hotspots.
Damned stampede.
Those are difficult situations Sarah and Janice. Advice here is for all elderly people and others who are more vulnerable to stay inside (or at least away from other people) as much as possible. It's hard, but makes sense that that would keep them most safe.
Our governor has issued all schools closed in the state of Virginia after a volunteer in an elementary school tested positive today. Just finished watching Trump's question & answer session on COVID-19 - November can't get here soon enough.
We were just told to work from home, those that can until an undefined time. We have to check in once a day with our supervisor via phone on daily work tasks. I had to send my employee home today. She came in after two days of body aches and chills. She didn’t want to because she had 3 monitors and she would stay in her corner. I said no, go home now. She pleaded to my boss and he reiterated that she had to go home. I felt terrible because she started crying but packed up and left. She’s at least texting me so I think she’s okay with me but I feel terrible. Our university president said if you are sick you need to stay home. I had to remind her that I am a supervisor and need to send employees home if they are not well right now.
Peggy wrote: "Saar The Book owl wrote: "It's a stupid decision of Trump, blaming the EU for this. Except Great Brittain. I mean, this is not the time to play such games."Lol yes, especially him saying that it'..."Yes, and now China is blaming the US because they say US soldiers brought it into their country first. What? Do we have children ruling the world?
Margo wrote: "This has been a terrible day. My cousin (who is a also a very good friend) has had a massive stroke. She is paralysed on her left site. Noone can visit her as the hospital is not allowing visits. I..."Oh Margo that's a difficult situation for your cousin and family.
Sounds like you made the right decision Jannene. @Shirley: Gosh, can you believe how those world leaders can act at times?
My friend had her birthday last week and mine is in 2 weeks, so we had planned to celebrate together in a local bar tonight. But we just cancelled it. Rob has had a cold for a week now, I've had an headache for 3 days that just won't go away, and another friend sent a message saying she's not comfortable to go, with several of us working in schools or health care. It would have clearly been an event of less than 100 people (which is the max right now), even if you take into account all other people in the bar, but I have to say that I also feel more comfortable staying at home. Not because I worry about catching it, but just in the spirit of social distancing. I do feel a bit bad for the bar though, we would have brought in quite some money for them on a night like this! And with all that's going on I'm sure they're experiencing difficulties as it is..
Jannene wrote: "I felt terrible because she started crying but packed up and left. She’s at least texting me so I think she’s okay with me but I feel terrible."I'm sure it was the most uncomfortable situation, Jannene, but you did the right thing. I'm sure she knows that too. She is probably worried about her job, like almost everyone right now.
Peggy wrote: "My friend had her birthday last week and mine is in 2 weeks, so we had..."I hope you and Rob feel better soon, Peggy, and that it is nothing.
Jayme wrote: "We will we have to cancel our plans to go to the mountains for our 35th anniversary the weekend of April 25th. All military personal and civilian employees who work for the Department of Defense -m..."Oh, right, with the emergency state declaration. It is a reasonable measure, but I feel for you two. Hope you can reschedule.
I went to the supermarket yesterday and also this morning. Things sold out: rice, pasta, tomato sauce, potatoes, toilet paper (or course), disinfectant wipes, beans, flour, yeast, and many other shelves where low in stuff. Some people looked weird at me because my cart was full (I had, for example 6 gallons of milk). People, I have 8 kids, 3 of them teenagers. We are 10. This is a normal weekly shopping cart to me.
I missed your message about cancelling your trip Jayme. That's a shame :(@Sandra: so much sold out! Did you have to go to another store or did you find alternatives? Interesting that you were still able to buy milk!
My supermarket was lower on pasta and toilet paper (maybe some other stuff too but I didn't check the whole store), but it didn't seem like anything was sold out completely. The more expensive brands were still available. Most people in the store were just buying normal amounts of everything, or at least nothing that seemed like they were doing more than their normal weekly or daily shopping. We'll go to a bigger supermarket for our weekly shopping tomorrow, I'm curious to see what it will be like there.
We have to cancel our 4 day anniversary trip to the mountains of Virginia the weekend of April 25th because all military and Department of Defense civilian employees - which is my husband - leave/vacation has been canceled until May 11th. He's advised not to leave our local area. It makes sense - you don't want to get military personnel ill. I called the inn where we are staying and they were very understanding. We were given a gift certificate to use anytime or a refund. We took the gift certificate. We are going to wait to see when the Shakespeare Festival gets rescheduled and plan around that if we can. Fall in the mountains is also very pretty : )
We are pretty much the same here Sandra. My favorite grocery store was full of people (and empty of groceries) last night, so I figured that I would come back this morning as they were expecting a truck . . . I was there within 30 min of opening, they had already received three tractor trailers and were expecting four more (normal is four per week) but you couldn’t tell - they might just as well have been selling it straight off the truck and saved themselves the effort of putting it on the shelves 😞 And, I still don’t have any milk
Peggy wrote: "@Sandra: so much sold out! Did you have to go to another store or did you find alternatives? Interesting that you were still able to buy milk!"We already had rice and flour, since my husband bought last week while I was gone. I bought lentils instead of beans (they were running low), and since I couldn't buy some stuff I doubled other, like canned goods. We are not in immediate need of toilet paper, but we only have a few rolls left, so that is something I will seeking around.
Jenn wrote: "And, I still don’t have any milk"Milk stock was normal at my store, but who know what might happen tomorrow.
It's -32C (-25F) this morning. I was going to go to a friend's husband's birthday party but it's out in the country and I'd be going by myself. Too cold.My friend had booked a food tray for the party at Costco and went to pick it up this morning. She had dropped her daughter off at work and thought she'd just go park at Costco and wait for an hour for the store to open. The parking lot was full and people lined up outside the store in -32C temps!
Someone posted a picture on Facebook of the shelves at Costco last night at 7:30 pm. The meat aisles were empty.
I'm feeling stressed. I need milk and bread and I'm not willing to fight through hoards of people to find the shelves empty.
Janice wrote: "It's -32C (-25F) this morning. I was going to go to a friend's husband's birthday party but it's out in the country and I'd be going by myself. Too cold.My friend had booked a food tray for the p..."
I realised i was out of Olive oil last night. I stopped by the grocery store. No stampede, everyone was zen and hopping as usual. I was glad to see that.
I'm watching a live concert of a band I like. The show was cancelled but they decided to play it anyway. They're playing an empty venue, no audience whatsoever, but they're streaming it live and for for free.
Peggy wrote: "I'm watching a live concert of a band I like. The show was cancelled but they decided to play it anyway. They're playing an empty venue, no audience whatsoever, but they're streaming it live and fo..."That's great, Peggy. I love when people consider how it must be for others and do kind things like that to make it a little easier.
I have been surprised at the kindness directed my way. My husbands job involves travel. His travel has been suspended. But People don't know this. I have received numerous phone calls from people offering to pick me up things. He is here so he can go to the store, Knowing people are looking out for me has made me feel so good. Such a small act of kindness can really help. I hope I can pay this forward some how,
That's wonderful Renee! There are many offers here too of people saying they can walk dogs, watch children, do shopping etc for people who can't do those things themselves right now.@Kristie: it's win win. The band is without income (they're not huge but make enough to live on) because all their shows got cancelled, so you can also make a voluntary donation.
That's so nice to hear, Renee. It feels good when people care.
That is nice, Peggy.Renee, I'm glad to hear that you have people around who might give you a hand if you need it.
Esther wrote: "Janice wrote: "I realised i was out of Olive oil last night. I stopped by the grocery store. No stampede, everyone was zen and hopping as usual. I was glad to see that..."I drove past one of the grocery stores and the parking lot wasn't full so I went in. There were bare shelves (fresh veggies, pasta/rice, canned goods) but no line ups at the tills. I think it depends on the time of day that you go. I ran into a friend there. She had just been at Costco and said it wasn't bad in the early afternoon.
At the till, the man ahead of me looked at my cart and then said, Are you going to have enough to last two weeks?" I told him I was just picking up things I had run out of and that if I need to self-isolate, I'll be fine with what I have at home.
There weren't too many people when I went either, Janice. Though the shelves were quite picked over and I had to go back to get a few items. I really just wanted to get mostly produce for my regular shopping. I have enough stuff at home if we're stuck here for a while too. I may restock a few of the cockpio prep bags that I keep in the freezer though. They are super convenient when I don't feel like cooking. My grandson's school has closed for at least two weeks. They will reevaluate at that time whether or not they will be returning then. Fortunately, for now his dad is able to work from home, but he probably won't be allowed to for much longer than the two weeks. I think I'd better stock up on art supplies and things to do in case he ends up visiting with us for a while. We can always use them in the summer when he plans to visit anyway.
School here is also closed for 3 weeks. Well, closed and not closed. They can go, but there are no lessons. We've got no choice to send our son to school. In the supermarkets toiletpaper is also hard to find.I'm at work and there was chaos. One of the departmentstaf has been infected and we had to call all of the patiënts from the daily departments. These are patiënts that come for an appointment, therapy, but who aren't staying here.
I'm getting a bit scared with every cough, sneeze,...that I here at home, at work...Right now, we've got almost 1000 people who are sick.
But if you look at Italy and now Spain, I think it will be long before this is over.
Same here now with the schools Saar. All schools and daycare closed until April 6. Staff are asked to come anyway, so that they can care for children of people who work in healthcare, at police and fire departments etc., so that these parents can still go to work. All cafes, restaurants, sports clubs etc. also closed until April 6. We're asked to keep our distance from each other, also when going to the supermarket.
I was in our regular supermarket today and the usual suspects were completely or very nearly sold out. Then we came to the aisle that has the crisps (and believe me, it's a long aisle): empty!! We couldn't stop laughing. We saw other people coming into the aisle and they were also like WTF?? The country is crashing and people from my city stock up on crisps.. Unfortunately painkillers were sold out as well, so we went to another supermarket and I found some. Not the ones I prefer, but better than nothing.
It's starting to scare me a bit, especially the aftermath of all this. Even the seemingly small things will have huge effects. And so many things that I probably don't even think about. For example strawberries are now ready to be picked and sent to supermarkets, but there are not enough people to pick them, so the fields will be full of strawberries but they can't get to the stores. And I assume the same is true for many other fruits and veg. Which means less food in the supermarkets, but also such a loss for the fruit and veg growers. There are so many people at home now (everyone working in bars, restaurants, museums, theatres etc.), it would be awesome if they can jump in and do easy jobs like picking strawberries or helping out doing simple jobs in health care.
I know this is crazy but I want to go out and see what is happening. I won't. But it all sounds so crazy. It like the start of every zombie book. Everyone hoarding and hiding.It is something I had hoped to never experience. But now that its happening I have developed a sick fascination with it.
Now there's also in Belgium a big wave of solidarity and people who ask to be solidair with others: doing groceries, taking care of kids...That's really weird, Peggy, with the crisps, but the same here with it, also with potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, toilet paper, kitchen paper, cookies...
The libraries are now closed in the weekends, but open in the week.
This will have a huge economic impact. I follow you on the strawberries, Peggy, and all the other food. I think this is just the beginning.
Reading what is happening all over Europe to minimise the spread makes me despair as our government is doing nothing. It's really scary.I agree Renee - I too have become obsessed with it all, checking updates repeatedly. But it's not good for my head.
I have just had a client let me know her daughter is self isolating, which means she'll have to too. I've only got a couple other clients this week so I've decided it's not worth the risk going in for that. Going to offer online sessions if people want them. I still have a funny chest but still no idea if it's just my asthma or coronavirus and as we're not testing people here, only those in hospital, I have no way of knowing.
Our death rate and confirmed cases has jumped massively in the past 48 hours. But of course more are likely to be infected than that due to lack of testing. And we keep being told we're a few weeks behind Italy and it's hard to comprehend that it will get like that here. Or it could be a lot worse because there are no restrictions such as social distancing in place yet. It's crazy! I see every other county putting in restriction and we have none!
In which country you're living, Sarah? It's shocking that the governement doesn't take precoutions. You can only hope that the people uses their good senses and take precoutions themself.I agree its not good to check constantly on the updates, but you can't not do it.
Saar The Book owl wrote: "In which country you're living, Sarah? It's shocking that the governement doesn't take precoutions. You can only hope that the people uses their good senses and take precoutions themself.I agree ..."
In the UK. A lot of the major sporting events and universities have decided for themselves to cancel. I guess we'll see what happenes tomorrow when parliament reconvenes.
Peggy wrote: "Same here now with the schools Saar. All schools and daycare closed until April 6. Staff are asked to come anyway, so that they can care for children of people who work in healthcare, at police and..."Peggy I know considering everything going this is a silly question, but what are crisps?
Potato chips :) is crisps British maybe? I always mix up all the different English languages.
Got it! It must be British. I'm in the middle of baking peanut butter cookies because Henry and I usually get a sweet treat after dinner somewhere out a couple nights a week, but it's not going to happen for awhile. Henry just walked in from working outside and you would have thought he won the lottery when he saw the cookies. I guess I haven't been baking much :)
Sarah, The Netherlands was slow too. I know a lot of experts were involved in decision making and it all seemed to make sense. Still, it felt strange to have such lenient advices and rules compared to other countries. And this is a first so you never know whether you're doing the right thing, but I hope if this ever happens again they will take these drastic measures a bit sooner. And it seems there are still people who don't see the need.. It was said here that cases resemble the flu, and with 959 confirmed cases, it means that 6000 people actually have the virus right now. If you look at first Italy and now Spain and how fast confirmed cases are increasing there now, with 2000-3000 per day, I think we still have the worst waiting for us.
I don't understand that the U.K. governement doens't see the urgency of the situation.Right now, there are measures in Belgium, but it seems that politics are getting above it now. After 259 days or something like that we still don't have a governement. Right now, this seems more important than the health crisis.
@Peggy: I agree on that. This is just the top of the iceberg, I think.
Saar The Book owl wrote: "I don't understand that the U.K. governement doens't see the urgency of the situation.Right now, there are measures in Belgium, but it seems that politics are getting above it now. After 259 days ..."
Me neither Saar. We have 1370 confirmed cases and I think 24 deaths. That's more than some of the controls that have closed things down.
I finally got some toilet paper after finding none in the last two days. I had to go to 3 supermarkets today, and I was lucky I arrived when they were opening some boxes. I can't believe the amount of time and energy I had to put in find some toilet paper before we run out.
Also my daughter is finally in her flight towards NY. My husband is going to pick her there. It seems with the new screenings and everything people stays in line for around 3 hours at the airport. It was up to 7 hours yesterday in Chicago's O'Hare airport. the screening consist in take your temperature, ask where you had been, and give you a hospital mask. I don't understand that. I would say last thing you want is all that people coming from Europe piled up in an airport... Everything has been handled so badly here from day 1.
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
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It's funny, whomever I speak to says it's crazy, all this hoarding and they don't understand. Yet it happens everywhere! I think it means I have only sensible people among my family, friends and acquaintances, and the rest of them are all freaking out ;-)