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

LMAO! Nope, They won’t want you to intubate a patient.

The truth is that this crisis need all workers, what would we do without lorry drivers?
What happens is that sanitary people are in the first line of battle against corona virus and they must be at this point in time very tired and even disappointed by the irresponsible attitude from some citizens and some governors.

Then, there’s the typical habit of people to criticise others. For example, I’m a teacher and I’m unluckily used to being considered a privilege person who works very little.

I have several teacher friends, so I know how much work it is. Here they went from the classroom to online instruction really quickly and with not a lot of support from their administration and it has been a rough adjustment. At the same time, parents seem to think that they aren't doing much because they are now working from home. It's really frustrating for them. It seems to have exacerbated the point of view of some people that teachers don't work that hard.


I participate in a forum for expats living here and there was a guy with two kids in school saying that he thought that due to the pandemic and online classes, their school should lower the fees and reduce teacher salaries to help pay for it. Without googling for information on teacher salaries here, which would have taken two seconds, he assumed that the average teacher made about three times what they do to justify his call for reduced salaries. Fortunately, someone who actually has worked in education here put him in his place and told him that the only place a teacher would make the kind of salary that he was assuming was at Grange School or Nido de Águilas, which are the two most expensive private schools in the country. And, they'd only get to that salary after 15-20 years. That shut him up!

I felt for the parents who had to do two jobs at the same time, their job at home and then helping their kids with distance school sessions but for a teacher, and I know what I’m talking about, it’s also a great effort to get used to the situation. It’s not easy to teach in the distance and through tools they are not used to because there are many differences between schools that are in cities as the capital and other cities like the one I live in or rural areas.

I respect any profession and I’m very grateful when I hear people saying what you are saying, recognising that teachers not only have a very delicate job because we are dealing with kids but also don’t have a schedule. We work a lot at home to plan the lessons and make them attractive and helpful for the kids.

Thank you, @rechu for your words.

That's not even logical to criticise people working from home. If you work from home you are supporting health workers by minimising spread and as you point out it isn't easy psychologically not leaving home, it has been difficult for many. I am very proud of my home working family members, they have had a lot of isolation and stress to deal with. I don't understand the logic of criticising them.

I do think many healthcare workers are suffering from PTSD however as a result of some of the situations they have had to endure. Maybe this explains the article and opinions you read.

Education is so important, I think you are doing an amazing job @AzulOscuro as are all teachers. My mind boggles to think about how you are all adapting to this new method of lesson delivery.

In the UK schools are partially used by children of key workers and those in need (family background is struggling) but in lockdown right now they are being home schooled. I know it must be stressful for parents, a friend of mine is juggling her day job and home education of her little boy. It's hard! If anything it makes her more grateful for teachers than ever before.

Opening schools is a priority in England, how are other countries doing this? Is home schooling the thing? Or are schools open?

@Discombobulated, yeah, I am sure more than a few have PTSD. It's really unfortunate. As far as online school, as far as I know kids haven't gone back. I think there may be some exceptions in more rural/isolated areas that have few cases and poor internet access, but the majority aren't physically in class.


Well, our government did it. They had promised over a month ago that any future lockdowns would only last four weeks. A bunch of cities down south and a few in the north are at four weeks and the lockdowns were extended. What can I say, I am not surprised. As you can imagine, people are PISSED OFF.

In Spain schools are open but not Universities. Learners of Universities have to attend only to take the exams.

The only time when kids had to be school home was on the total lockdown we lived, last Spring.

In the state I am in, the schools have been open nearly all year. In the state where my sister teaches, they hope to open up NLT April of this year. She has been teaching very young children (only 6-7 years old!) online and it has been very hard to hold their attention. She had to learn many new skills with no notice and no training. She has taught for a couple of decades but, in regards to preparing for class--the preparation time required was like being a brand new teacher again....

You explained yourself very well the reality of my coworkers. You can’t guess how much I agree with you and I’m grateful to people like you who recognise how tough is teachers’ work.

My friend who is a teacher told me that he never end working during the lockdown. It’s not easy to keep kids attention from the distance. And I know for parents is being equally difficult.

Thank you a lot for your post.

@AzulOscuro you are welcome! I used to (before covid restrictions) volunteer in school reading with children - I love and miss it very much. I worked one to one with children - teaching a whole class is quite different! So I saw how demanding a teacher's job is and managing the emotional and social world of children as well as their education.

Holding their attention online must be difficult, it's not easy even in a class room.

I do worry for the children who have gotten behind at this time. One of the boys I read with is already behind for his age and I can imagine the situation has only got worse. Hopefully schools can go back next month.

Sadly I think it will be a long time before it's okay for me to volunteer in school again.

I taught for many years. Sometimes trying to keep students' eyes from glazing over when you're in the same classroom is hard enough! Many props to the teachers who've been attempting to do their jobs virtually during the pandemic. It's a poor substitute for classroom learning, & I fear students have been falling far behind.

As far as dealing with the pandemic goes, I broke down & said "screw it" today. My best friend lost his wife almost two years ago. Before the pandemic hit, we'd go to lunch once or twice a week (he & his wife had no kids & have no family in the area). Restaurants here reopened last week at 25% capacity. Well, I went out to lunch with my friend today.

I feel kind of guilty since my partner & I have been maintaining a really tight social bubble. I'm not going to tell her I went out to eat because she might feel betrayed It seems I did a terribly careless & thoughtless thing. I'm extremely cautious about double-masking, hand-sanitizing & social distancing, but when you go out to eat, the mask comes off & social distancing kind of goes out the window. I won't do it again soon, but the fact that I did it at all feels terrible. Both the pandemic & the bitter cold of late-winter forced the walls to close in on me. That's a poor excuse, however.

To begin with not so great tbh...

I moved in with my parents they are in mid-late 60's and my Mum is disabled. So I was nominated by my siblings to move in with them to help my Dad out who is her sole carer. My Dad and I fight constantly. Things got real bad he was constantly picking on me and it took a toll on my head.

I stopped my meds, I got manic and then we'll I became psychotic.

Moved back home and became more manic, psychotic and ended up nearly in the hospital just before Christmas 2020.

Living alone although great isn't great for me. But I can't rely on my Sister to help me she is working from home.

Since 26th Dec we have been in another semi lock down. Its hard as the only friends I have are 3 women who have mh conditions. My "friends" have abandoned me throughout covid so a whole year. I have took it real bad and again it affected my head but I'm over them. Got to, to be well right.

Back on meds and I think am doing well. Although a people person, people don't like me so it seems

Psychotic so paranoia wasn't great at the start and near end of year. But it's getting better. Mask wearing still an issue but doing it and following the rules

Ugh. I'm feeling very blah. Just pissed of with everything. Not seeing any perspective. Sick of hearing about young people being hit so hard. Not denying that they are, but what about the rest of us? Do we not matter? Does no one care about people in their 30 and up living alone? "Young people miss going to festivals " SO DO WE!!!! I miss my happy place. I've been working from home for almost a year now, completely isolated. I haven't even met my co-workers. Everything I enjoy has been cancelled. Gah.

Sorry, had to rant. Just feel invisible. To be clear: this has nothing to do with the talk about schools on here it's the constant news on the radio that triggers me.

I made a mistake. My previous post was referred to you but I’m very grateful for all the opinions and recognition of teaching labour in the thread.

It’s marvellous you can do this labor with kids.
I was in a school in a deprived area and I was assigned to teach reading to little kids in the first hours of the morning. You know, many didn’t read at home in these kind of areas. The parents have enough to make them survive. It was a very gratifying activity, the same when I had to help migrant kids to learn Spanish.

It's nice to talk about parts of life which aren't to do with the dreaded covid!

Focusing on the future and what we will go back to doing is also nice.

I heard some days ago that putting a double mask might be not effective because the second mask could let some gaps on the first one. The ideal is to use only one and that it is well adjust on your face.

Don’t feel guilty if you went to the coffee-shop or restaurant only with a couple of friends, there’s enough distance to keep yourselves safe. The ideal is going out only with the person you live with but if there was enough distance among the tables and the chairs and the owners of the restaurant keep to the safety measures, it’s ok. Somehow, we have to help this sector of Economy because they are having such a hard time.

P.S.: Thank you for your services as a teacher.

Dear, it’s hard to evade yourself from this topic right. Wherever you go.
My mum’s Computer Sciences’ teacher placed a poster in her classroom that said: You are not allowed to talk about covid. lol!

I’m sorry you have to deal alone without any help. It’s not fair.
And I’m sorry you feel that people don’t like you, it’s a hard feeling to live with.
From what you said, you are the one who is taking the leads with your parents so you have all my credit.

Your job is also very important and difficult. You have to deal with client and I agree with you that everyone deserve to enjoy, no matter if you are 20, 30, 40 or more. And I can guess this is being very hard for people who lives alone.

I’m pretty upset here with clandestine parties. Because all of us have the same needs but it seems some people believe themselves more entitled to do whatever. This is pure selfishness. These are the kind of people I find harder to deal with, to be honest.

I understand@BreakForTheLight. I've seen those articles too, how it is tough on young people, or sometimes tough on the elderly, tough on moms, whatever. Nothing about us regular adults just trying to get through the day. We work all week from home and then are trapped at home all weekend. I am Generation X, so I guess I am pretty used to us being ignored.

Yesterday, my husband and I just set aside a day where we just lazed around and did absolutely nothing, but eat junk food and watch TV. We were both at that point where we don't know how much of this we can handle. I had plans to do some stuff around the house, but in the end I didn't. We had used up our one weekend 2 hour permit to take our dog to the vet on Saturday, so we really couldn't do much of anything as it was. Plus the weather was overcast and kind of yucky. The weather this February is nothing like our normal summer weather. It's really foggy first thing in the morning and takes forever to burn off. It's been unusually humid too and we've gotten rain several days. Usually summers are dry, hot, sunny and it never rains.

We were thinking back to last year at this time. It was the one little window of normalcy we had. In September 2019 I went on work leave due to a very stressful/bullying situation. Then in October the protests and riots started about a week after I was sent back to work. In November, I was let go from my job, so stress after stress after stress. Finally, I started working again in late December and the protests eased somewhat in January and February 2020. I guess even the protesters take vacation. The state of emergency and curfew were lifted. Last Valentine's Day we were at this resort hotel down in the south enjoying ourselves. We didn't really plan it because it was Valentine's Day, it was when a friend of mine was able to come stay with the pets. Anyways, we had such a great time. Covid was something that was far away still. Then, March arrived. On March 3rd the first case was discovered in the country. The first case in my municipality was on March 17th. Then, the lockdowns started and nothing has been the same since.

Yes everyone has suffered to some degree I feel. I must admit I feel heartily sorry for the young just because they have had stressful interference with their studies and exams - one friend's grandson (very bright boy) seems to have lost focus and given up.

But as I said to a friend just because some people are suffering more does not mean you yourself is suffering less.

Some days I feel fine and others not so much. What you describe @rechu about losing motivation describes me. I feel "what is the point?" sometimes.

@rechu, I can’t even guess how tired you may be having permit to go out for two hours at the weekend at this point in time. After so many months of restrictions. I feel for you dear, your husband and your doggies.

I’m gonna rant a little.
From what I know restrictive measures in Germany as still pretty severe until they see the numbers of infections decrease until an easier to handle point. Here, the news are seeing with good ideas what in Germany is being done as opposite as what we are doing here in Spain. We have the threshold in the number of contagious to relax measures at 500 while in Germany is at 100.

I understand that there are two different countries and German Economy is more powerful and diversified. The capability of a country and the other to provide with help to the different economical sectors is far cry from one country to the other. But, even though my country have more relaxed measures people seems to not being never satisfied. They go on failing to comply with the rules.

Yesterday I went to the country side. We were the first to arrive to the place. We were running out words along the day while we see us surroundings by large groups of people, many of them, even tried to disrespect our security distance until we made comments such us: I can’t believe my eyes.
They finally understood and went further.
This is only a single anecdote that happened in a little place of one city. I don’t even want to know what it may be happening in other places and cities.

I feel more compassion for elderly people who neither dare to go out for a walk.

Well, it depends on what you see as strict measures, I guess. Here in Germany, restaurants, cafes etc and non essential stores are still closed. Going out to a eat or have a coffee during a pandemic sounds strange to me now. But we never had a curfew or needed permits to leave the house.

I do think they have finally made one right move in making home office mandatory whenever possible. Too many companies were still forcing their employees to work at the office unneccesarily.

But..... 500??? as in new cases per 100.000? I thought for losening restrictions in Germany, it would have to be under 50 or 35 even. 500 sounds VERY high! I read somewhere at under 100 schools could open again. Personally back when I was in school, I would have LOVED to have online classes. For people who don't have a lot of friends in school or are bullied even, it could be a blessing

According to new calculations, my turn for getting the vaccine will be between, if I remember correctly, August 2022 en May 2023. Yes, 2023. But of course it's constantly changing because of the supply issues.

I know this is going to sound harsh but when you hear about people in their late 90s dying after getting the vaccine and it's explained as "the vaccine didn't kill them, they would've died anyway" I can't help but think "well that's a waste of the dose then" I know it sound heartless and I'm really not, I'm just so sick of everything.
In my home country, I think now the 63 and 64 year olds are up, because they're using AstraZeneca now, which wasn't approved for 65+. First we start with the really really old people who don't even leave the house, and then they move down 25 years. So my 72 year old diabetic dad is not getting his vaccine yet, but younger people are and older people have theirs