How are you all dealing with coronavirus and the restrictions... #2

Discombobulated - Thanks! That is what I think. If the vaccines don't prevent transmission, what is the point of a vaccine passport? I'm not antivax, but four doses in a year seems like a lot, especially when the jury is still out as far as a benefit of a fourth dose for someone like me. It feels like it is all about control, not public health.


The new Health Minister comes off as a total idiot, so her coming on TV saying we need another does does not inspire any confidence. Every day there are news articles basically scolding people for not going for the 4th dose. I wonder if enough people don't get it they will finally get rid of the passport.


Of course, the announcement of the expiring vaccine passports has caused huge lines at the vaccine centers. Initially, my municipality had eight centers, but now there are only two. It's almost winter, mornings are cold, so standing in line for hours with the low temperatures is not appealing at all.


I sort of wonder if they are doing it because most people received Sinovac initially. Most people I know who got Sinovac wanted the 4th dose since Sinovac seems to be less effective. If so, they should require the 4th dose for people that got Sinovac.

I am going to wait. We were talking about going to lunch on a Saturday at a nearby restaurant. They have outdoor seating, so I don't need the stupid passport for that.

That's a bummer. Are elections coming soon? Maybe someone will run on a health freedom ticket. Maybe you could protest by licking a politicians face like that hockey player we have. Brad Marchand.

This is a new government that has only been in charge for two months, although it feels more like two years. The other candidate initially ran on getting rid of the mobility pass, but he added the health undersecretary from the previous government to his campaign in the second round. She was a big proponent of the pass and he no longer talked about getting rid of it. He had a lot of other issues with his platform too. We really had two unlikable polar opposites as options.

Haha! Maybe someone will lick the president's face. He already had a rock thrown at him.

The excessive fearmongering from the government and media continues here. I am so sick of it. What was the point of becoming one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, if we are still being scolded because case numbers are up (but nearly all asymptomatic or mild cases)? There was also a tirade from a news anchor that people let down their guard by daring to not use a mask outside, which is permitted. The ICUs are close to empty. At this point the Covid numbers they report are like trying to count every sniffle during a non-Covid fall/winter and make people hysterical about it.

Reading the news today, funny to see these two headlines right next to each other:
"COVID numbers extremely low - incidence below 200" (in Germany) and
"COVID numbers exploding: Portugal dealing with new variant"
Dear new variant, please just eff off.

Things seem pretty much back to normal here. Masks are only still mandatory on public transport - in Germany that is, I was in NL last week and no masks anywhere. Not even in the hospital. Also traveled in Belgium, where masks were still mandatory on public transport at that time (it ended a few days later) and only about 10% of the people on the train were actually wearing masks. And we're still working from home, but mostly because people are so used to it and don't want to go back to the office. (I would want to go to the office, not full time but at least a few days a week, if I worked in a nicer team )

I'm hoping if there's a new wave, it at least holds off until September. I've started booking my travels for July and August. Another thing that worries me is gigs might get cancelled if artists test positive, and money spent on travel will be wasted.

The latest rapid Covid tests provided by the govt. were made in China and tell me to download some app. I don't think so.

All of the lateral flow tests I used here (different brands) were made in China.

We have a local factory making tests so I am very annoyed to have been given tests made in China. I also don't like people being encouraged to download apps which will harvest their data. We have no privacy laws here so this app could legally grab a person's contacts, track all their incoming/outgoing calls, etc. This company got 1.3 billion dollars from the govt. and will make god knows much much more selling harvested data.

My husband tested positive the other day. I guess whatever we had a few months ago wasn't Covid after all? I had travel scheduled at the end of the month but the people I was meant to see aren't comfortable so at least one part of the trip is cancelled.


I am really struggling with the guidance. According to the CDC website, I am free to roam as long as I am symptom free, test negative, and wear a mask. The mask stays on until June 22. I was supposed to attend a gathering this weekend and will stay home instead. I have something scheduled next week. The guidance says I can do it (assuming I'm still okay), but is it more ethical to cancel?

Hey @hvert snap! My husband tested positive yesterday too, he’s in bed right now sleeping and has a nasty cough but I think if he gets no worse it’ll be okay. How’s your H doing?

I wouldn’t assume he didn’t have covid a few months ago, I know a few people who’ve tested positive again within a few months.

I guess it’s personal choice, whether you go to the event next week, and whether there’s anyone vulnerable or not going to be there. Also if your husband is testing negative by then which hopefully he will be.

Over here household members can do anything now and don’t even have to test but I’m keeping away from others as much as possible. I’ll go to work at the weekend but I won’t volunteer with the elderly group, it’s not worth the risk even though it’s a small risk.

An elderly friend (83) currently is very unwell with covid after a relative visited her whose partner was sick at home with covid. I can’t understand why someone would do that.

I'm sorry your husband caught it also! Mine is about the same. Napping, a cough, some aches, but really not too bad. He's about the same today as he was yesterday. Now he's telling me that he think symptoms started on Sunday but the first I heard of it was Tuesday when he said he thought he might be getting a sore throat. Our place is so small that it is probably a wasted effort to keep apart, but I am avoiding contact and we are both masking when we are momentarily in the same room.


Our guidance is the same, household members can do what they want as long as they are masked. Are you advised to wear a mask? In some countries, people who test positive are asked to stay home 'if they can,' which I find somewhat shocking! On the other hand, from what I am reading, it seems that we are *most* contagious before we have symptoms so maybe it's the people who have been exposed to Covid who need to stay home rather than the people who already have it!


I also don't understand visiting people at high risk when living with someone who has Covid. The day before he tested positive I saw an elderly friend and really hope I didn't pass anything along. I hope your 83 year old friend comes through okay. We are very lucky that this disease causes so many fewer deaths now than when it first appeared.


I have an appointment next week to take care of some paperwork. Someone will hand me something and I will sit with it for a bit and hand it back. It's a public building so there may be other people inside but I don't think I will have any problem keeping distant. There is a mask mandate for the building, mandatory distancing, and the area I'm visiting is appointment only (although it's possible this policy posted on their website is out of date). I think what feels wrong to me is that if this were a friend, I'd tell them the situation and let them decide. Since it's an appointment that will be inconvenient to reschedule, I want to keep my mouth shut (assuming I'm negative and symptom free).

I've kind of forgotten about covid with everything else I have going on. I still wash and santize my hands, and I wear a mask to medical appointments but covid is the least of my worries right now.

Yes @hvert the guidance for household contacts recommends wearing a mask indoors, and avoiding crowded indoor spaces and vulnerable people. Like yourself I really had to hunt out that information and I suspect most people have no idea about it.

Our info states that infection can incubate 10 days from exposure, okay that must be based on some evidence but in the real world I’ve never come across that personally. It seems like a few days with omicron at least.

I can see your dilemma, can you take a rapid test beforehand to reassure yourself?

I think that's what I am going to do. I will test that morning and if I am symptom free and negative, I will go. We also have the ten day count down from exposure which starts for me on the day my husband can leave the house. A friend of mine came down with Covid recently over two weeks after his spouse developed symptoms. I wonder if it didn't come from someone else because these latest versions are just so quick. My husband probably got it on Friday and says he first noticed something off on Sunday. I think it's already peaked - he seems much better already. I hope your husband has turned the corner as well!

Thanks @hvert yes I think he’s had the worst day on Wednesday when he tested positive, no idea when he picked it up but the line was very dark so I’d guess there was a good viral load there (my own experience was fainter lines before and after). I may suggest another test tomorrow, tests aren’t free here now but I built up a reserve when they were.

Glad your husband is picking up and if it is about a week for him it seems like you (touch wood!) are in the clear. I also read you are most infectious just before symptoms begin, it feels kind of strange to live so closely with someone and not pick it up doesn’t it?

I’m feeling a lot of relief right now - all my anxiety in 2020 was wound around him being clinically vulnerable and my being an essential worker scared I’d bring it home to him. So much anxiety! Yet in the end I got it and he didn’t catch it from me and now he has it but thank goodness it seems mild although he has different symptoms to me (I think I had Delta as I had the classic taste and smell gone which I’m glad he avoided).

England is one of the “stay at home if you can” places for positive cases, in fact my colleague turned up at work earlier this week with a positive test and thought she had to come in! Thankfully she was sent home, we are lucky our company will still pay sickness from day one but not all do.

Fingers crossed you’ll stay negative and get to that meeting, I think you’re being far more considerate than many would be.

Canada seems to have dropped most restrictions. Full crowds at Symphony Hall with no masks. the only thing is that they make you go online 24-72 hours before traveling there to fill out a form to attest that you have no symptoms. They have my vax card of file because I had to upload it. No boosters required though. Boston still has mask mandates, but they didn't check vax cards at the ballet like they did at the symphony.

We have none of those restrictions. Only need vaccination proof for travel to certain countries.

Canada is also doing the 'stay at home if you can.' The US really is too, but it's just up to the individual to choose to ignore the guidance that says 'stay at home for five days,' because there's no provision in place to keep their job safe or provide missed paychecks.


I also feel less anxious now, even less anxious than I did two days ago. We are just in a different place now than we were when this started. My husband was more vulnerable in 2020 than he is now, the disease is less deadly, we've had all these shots. Right at this very minute I am actually more annoyed with the part of my trip that was completely cancelled even though my husband will have been done with his quarantine period for two weeks by that point.

Our adult son has it now, he’s okay, so far quite mild symptoms and he said only a faint line so hoping he’ll recover quickly.

We got told our covid sickness policy is changing at work, it’s now on the same as any other sickness so we’ll not be paid first 3 days. They said “it’s just the same as a cold now” - I don’t know what to think of that tbh because in so many cases it’s true but there are others were it isn’t. We work with the public.

I think I’d feel very awkward working alongside someone with covid and if it happened on a week like this where I have a hospital appointment I’d be very anxious to avoid. Or what about if someone had a holiday or travel pending and needed a clear covid test.

What do others think about this?

I don't know what to think anymore. Ideally, people should get paid to stay home for any sickness. It would let the person recover and stop the spread. Isn't that better for the employer in the long run, to have one person out sick instead of half the staff sick and working at 60%? Or does it not matter since we aren't as contagious once we start having symptoms? I never liked it when coworkers came in sick and would not want someone who had Covid coughing near me.


On the other hand, it's all starting to seem a little ridiculous now. The guidance we have here is very confusing. 'Five days isolation if symptoms are improving.' My husband's cough sounds the same today as it did three days ago. He never had a fever and never felt that bad. I have no doubt his cough will sound the same two weeks from now. What's he supposed to do, stay at home until then?

The same here. And I also try to avoid crowds with an exception of a concert I was gonna to attend on August, but the vocalist has retired from singing and all the concerts were cancelled. 🥲

Eating out isn't a big deal to me anymore. Before covid I'd go out to eat sometimes twice a week and my vacations were planned around meals. I have my annual summer trip coming up in August and I don't care about the food part. Whatever other people want to do is fine. Food was always a big part of this trip for me in the past.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discombobulated Our adult son has it now, he’s okay, so far quite mild symptoms and he said only a faint line so hoping he’ll recover quickly. We got told our covid sickness policy is changing at work, it’s now on the same as any other sickness so we’ll not be paid first 3 days. They said “it’s just the same as a cold now” - I don’t know what to think of that tbh because in so many cases it’s true but there are others were it isn’t. We work with the public. I think I’d feel very awkward working alongside someone with covid and if it happened on a week like this where I have a hospital appointment I’d be very anxious to avoid. Or what about if someone had a holiday or travel pending and needed a clear covid test. What do others think about this?

@Discombobulated
I am sorry to hear your son has Covid. Hoping for a speedy recovery for him.

I am not happy with everyone in general that is downplaying Covid as there are still many more cases than a cold but thankfully a lot less deaths.

I do not work anymore so I hesitate to put my 2 cents in but I get people smiling at me I think because I still wear a mask. I really do not care what people think, for me I am erring on the side of precaution. @CANDC

@CANDC nothing wrong with wearing your mask at all, it’s no fun getting covid. Our son’s looking a little better today thanks but he’s got youth on his side, triple vaccinated too.

Most of the colleagues I spoke with are uncomfortable with people coming into work while they have covid, but there’s little choice in the matter. I know some of my colleagues were wary of being near me this week with two household members having covid and I don’t blame them. Certainly neither my husband or son wouldn’t have been able to work this week, my husband’s retired fortunately and my son can work from home.

What concerns me more are the extremely elderly customers we have coming into the store, I don’t think it’s sensible to have covid positive staff serving them.

Here they are going to send kids on winter break earlier and extend it a week. The pediatric ERs are at risk of becoming overwhelmed. It's not so much COVID from what I have read. It's some COVID plus other viruses like the respiratory syncytial virus. With all the lockdowns and Zoom schooling, many children's immune systems did not have exposure to different viruses and other germs, so they haven't developed properly. Now that they are back to in-person school, day care, etc., they are transmitting all types of viruses. It's been colder than normal lately, so it is hard to ventilate classrooms as well.