How are you all dealing with coronavirus and the restrictions many of us have to live

you say you won't celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving Day because it's banned in your State meetings of more than a number of people in closed places or is for your own iniciative? I ask you because I see in my country, if you don't ban meetings, it;s a waste of time. You will have families and families all together, and friends.
I myself saw yesterday people introducing one to another with the two kisses on the cheeks.

Yeah, apart from being the capital and having a lot of people close together..... people in this city are also very stubborn. It's a very different mentality to the rest of the country. Sure you've got idiots everywhere but overall the country is doing well. Except in the city where parties with hundreds of people keep happening.

I use to mention there's a virus that is more spread out that the coronavirus, it's human stupidity. I know sound arrogant but I'm convinced this is the evil in our times.

We need a vaccine soon. lol

Yeah, people are stupid. There was a huge party held in the area to the south of me over the weekend. They were under quarantine until this morning and have one of the worst ratios of active cases per population. There was a DJ and everything. Over 30 people were arrested.

I’m sure if the effects of the virus were similar to the Ebola, they wouldn’t be partying so gladly.

No Halloween or thanksgiving because of our own choice. I’m not sure but I think a few family members are getting together but there’s kids that are attending grade school. That’s too risky for mum. She’s in the high risk group. She complains to everyone on the phone that I won’t take her anywhere but she’s pleased not to have to go. Her brothers and sil also go no where. They are all in their 90’s but they all have cell phones and talk and text and ultimately agree on safety. Our governor is trying to keep from outright bans. My state is doing pretty good but still the numbers are rising again

@rechu, Chile trying to show how it’s at the top of Latin-American and it’s truth but we are talking about a Pandemic and Spain throwing ball out for the sake of the special Economic conditions.

There are excuses, excuses, excuses....and people need real information. They deserve real information but they are so get used to swallow what ever the ones in the power said that they are confused.
They treat as as kids. I still remember when the Emergency in Health in my country said that in Spain, coronavirus will be like a flu.

Good for you all. For your conscience and citizenship! :-)

What is concerning me now is a growing public mood that we should just get on with life as normal and let nature take its course. A lot of people are holding Sweden as the model of this. But I fear it's not so simple.

What’s the Sweden model like?

It was a light touch - they never shut down, they still don't wear masks. At first it looked bad, they had a higher rate of infection and death than other Scandinavian countries, but then it dropped away. So far it is still low. Much lower than western Europe/US, and those countries locked down.

Some people have interpreted this as herd immunity, but very hard to say this, and it does look like cases may be rising again.

This link explains well:
Sweden's gamble | Science

Yeah it's the same here. All the corona deniers pointing at Sweden. So sick of hearing it. Swedish cities weren't doing all that great, either. In the rest of the country, population is more spread out, you can't compare it to more densely populated countries.

I just feel like screaming. I know all I can do is just.... keep going, wait for better times. But I feel so frustrated. And lonely. I think I may have mentioned that once or twice in this thread before

This was also the model British First Minister defended at the beginning but he wanted to keep elderly and other risk factor group of people locked down for at least six months.

I'm totally confused as to which is the right model to be honest. All I know is that there are people dying and at least in my country politicians are in their own inner wars among them than in following the researches from the experts.
This is part of human misery and I'm very worried. Maybe I'm a dreamer and I expected too much. Nothing have changed here in Spanish land.

You're right, it was a very short period when it seemed uncertain how the UK would handle it but our government quickly changed tack when they realised we were in for a high death rate.

I know what you mean - it is confusing!

Early on I thought herd immunity made sense. But it is so hard to adequately protect the vulnerable. My own family is a good illustration of this - my clinically vulnerable husband could lock himself away (he doesn't go out much now as it is) but I go out to work with the public - it's my job. Lots of people like us. Where do we fit in with herd immunity? I have heard no explanation which fits.

Early on in March I worried intensely about bringing infection to him - I used to wish there was some kind of hostel for key workers to live so we wouldn't hurt our families. I was very lucky I was given temporary leave but that couldn't last forever.

In the Swedish approach what is also neglected to mention is that in the first wave their death rate was high for a population their size as they did not protect the vulnerable. So far they haven't had the highs of a 2nd wave but it's early days yet.

I agree with you. How many people we are ready to leave die? Are they numbers or people?

I been staying at home and giving family emotional support who might have the virus. I turn the news off because it was just too much to handle I been trying to learn a new language and keep myself busy as coping skills.

I live in Switzerland, in the canton of Vaud, thats in the french speaking part of the country and also the most infected place, its even more infected than the cantons that are in direct connection with Italy.

School got closed from 16th of March and reopened at the 24th of August, there was no rules about not going outside. They told people to avoid going out and a lot stayed in. Group pf people who are not from the same family could be arrested, I think if you were more than 4 or 5 and cops saw you, enjoy the fine.
Shops etc were and are still very very controlled by the commercial police to make sure the rules are respected.

I don't want to sound like a dude who profited from the situation but because the streets and city was nearly/totally empty especially in the morning, I would just go for a walk around and meet maybe 1 or 2 persons in TOTAL so could finally walk without stressing about the person coming, which was good for my anxiety. Because we had a lot of free time, I spent more time with my parents and they seemed happy.

Then well we started to wear masks everywhere.

There's just one thing that made me depressed during the lockdown (massive overthinking caused by free time leading to depression):

Every Zoom meeting I saw people complaining about having to stay inside/not doing anything, while I felt normal of the situation because I used to avoid going out because of my anxiety and I told myself that, in comparaison with them, that If I really "appreciate" something that made others unhappy except me, then I must be at a very low point, atleast I was "happy".

This is when I noticed something was really wrong with me and during this lockdown I also discovered that I might have BDD.

Starting school with masks made me completely afraid of taking them off in public or being in a crowded place like the bus without mask, and again wearing those "safety behaviours" reduce my stress while In a bus without mask I would believe that everybody is looking at me or judge me and every laughs are targeted against me, I never went far to that point before.

Atleast, I learned a lot about me during this situation

The same here, I don’t find difficult social distancing since it’s my normal way of living because of my social anxiety. On the contrary, I feel more anxiety when I’m forced to go outside and have to cope with some people who don’t care about the cautions. It’s incredible that still there are people who think that they don’t have to care about the safety distances only because they are wearing a mask. Not every mask we are using are effective enough thus it’s a matter of respect and consideration towards others.

Well, good news. The car is fixed (sort of, anyways). Weekends are still strict lockdown with only one permit to go out for 3 hours that doesn't mention a trip to the mechanic. The guy that had towed our car is also a mechanic (but his shop is kind of far to get to with the car acting up) and had said what parts needed replacing. So, during the week when we have more freedom of movement, my husband bought those parts plus spark plugs. I made an appointment at Bosch, the closest mechanic for Saturday, the only day they had free. We requested permits to buy food and basic supplies, since that was the only option and dropped off the car.

After that we did head into town and bought some stuff at the supermarket and took a shared taxi home. We paid the fare for the usual 4 people so as to not have to share. We got home and realized that my husband's phone had been lost, probably left in the taxi. So, we had to go back into town to the taxi stand. One of the advantages of living in a smaller town is that we were able to get it back. In the capital, it would have been a lost cause. The guy at the taxi stand called on the radio to the cars and our driver reported that he had found it. So, we had to just wait a bit and when he finished his route he brought it back to us.

By then, it was time to go back to the mechanic. The car seems to be running much better. It doesn't feel like it is straining just to drive, so I hope that resolves things.

I’ve been doing pretty good because I’m an extreme introvert with some social anxiety. I’ve stayed in for the most part and done a lot of inner work. Tomorrow I’m starting a study with Eckhart Tolle. My pool was open this summer with strict rules and I really enjoyed floating most days. I miss things like going to the $5 movies with my mom every Tuesday and sometimes I feel claustrophobic with all of this. Watching the news too much is anxiety producing. I wish people would follow safety guidelines. Overall, I’m doing ok with some anxiety over the pandemic.

It's funny how many people I know who are extroverts are saying they love working from home. And then there's an extreme introvert like me, it *should* be heaven for me but I am going crazy at home.

I guess we still have a base level of interaction with others that everyone needs and I am getting zero.... Not enough even for an extreme introvert.

I've been trying to find info on ice rinks opening this winter - usually the season starts mid october - but I can't find any info. They're outdoors so that wouldn't be too bad. But the inside area with skate hire gets very crowded.

I am hearing more and more of people I know getting infected. A good friend's parent most recently, I hardly know what I can do or say to help.

I think you aren't unusual at all. Although it may seem logical an introvert may cope better with isolation it isn't necessarily so and yes we all need a baseline of interaction.

I hope you can find some ice skating that sounds like fun!

I'm afraid to go out. When I do go out? I notice that I found myself at the end of everyone else rudeness.