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In Belgium, schools are closed for summer. Luckily, because numbers have been rising for 18 days in a row now. Tomorrow, our government will decide if we have to go in lockdown again. To be continued...

Stay safe!

Numbers are rising here as well. School holidays are already over in some states and many people have been traveling, despite the situation ... experts fear that those returning home, no matter if they've been in Germany or abroad, will bring a further rise in numbers.
There isn't exactly talk of new lockdowns yet, but it is a distinct possibility. People are weary, less observant of the proper hygiene protocols these days. (I'm internally shaking my head at those 20,000 idiots who rallied in Berlin, with no masks and no distance to each other, alongside people spouting conspiracy theories and alongside known neo-Nazis... )

Stay safe and vigilant, people - as much as we may wish for it, this isn't over yet!

People, what's the status where you are?

There are 224,448 cases in Germany and the numbers have been steadily rising for the past two weeks. We used to be at a point where no more than 200 cases were newly counted each day - and now we're around 1,400 new cases each day. Thankfully, fatalities remain lower than in other countries, currently at 9,235...
My state has 972 cases, luckily still one of the lowest nationwide - but still a steep rise in numbers to where we were before. My county district stands at 137 cases, which is about 64,4 cases per 100,000 citizens.

It's all very worrisome. Most people know we need to remain vigilant ... and then there's those that can't resist traveling, bringing back the virus. There are test centers at every major airport and people returning from high risk countries have a duty to get tested - and it's been proven that most new cases can be traced back to travelers. I used to be an avid traveler myself, so I can understand the desire to get out, and pretend everything's okay - but it isn't, and people should be more considerate of that. I personally think that the longer this goes on, the harder it is to adhere to the necessary steps ... people get weary.
Life isn't as it used to be ... and I'm less and less certain it'll ever go back to what it was...
Stay safe!

Very short answer: numbers have been rising every day since the start of the summer holidays...
Schools will reopen in 2 weeks. I can't help but feel anxious about that.

People are refusing to adhere to the rules because " schools are allowed to reopen and my child will be meeting up to a thousand other pupils a day, so why should I limit my social contacts to 5 a month?"

There are no confirmed cases in my village (10,000 inhabitants) this week. There are outbreaks in some larger cities, like Brussels or Antwerp.

More and more people are getting ill in retirement homes ( history repeats itself).

We are moving to level 2 lockdown from midnight on Monday (17 August).

We have been recording an average of 3,000 daily cases this last week

Schools are reopening tomorrow....they will rotate the kids...one week school then one week home schooling...

We'll finally be able to buy tobacco and alcohol products. The curfew will remain in place from 22h00 – 04h00

Confirmed case 587 345 Deaths 11 839

Our government lined their pockets involving funds meant to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its actually shocking how they using this health crisis to unlawfully enrich themselves

Then to top it off we have something called Loadshedding.....it is a measure of last resort to prevent the collapse of the power system country-wide. ... By switching off parts of the network....Our Power supplier had corrupt leader...the money wasn't use to do maintenance but to pay for a luxury living....

So half the time you sit in the dark but luckily Winter is almost over

Isn't it funny that last year it was crooks that were wearing masks and now you a crook if you don't wear one ....

I'm sending my son to school today for the first time since the first of March. Schools fully re-opened last week but we decided to give it another week to see how is goes. We made this decision with no little trepidation but what can we do? We can't wait any longer.

Hi everyone, my best wishes to everyone. Paris looks unreal. Everyone masked. Even at work except special cases. Cafes and restaurants spilling out on the streets so social distancing can be respected at best. I still work mostly from home as required. I caught this stuff (or it caught me) in april. Mild streak. Wasn't in hospital except one day on O2. knocked me off for 5/6 weeks. Still tired. Can't taste much. We still have very few social contact on account of protecting family, friends and anyone, really. I really hope this stops one day. Reading a lot to keep my head above the clouds... thanks to everyone for giving news from all around and providing us with intellectual nourishment. My best wishes and heart goes out to you.

[mention]bookabook[/mention] I'm glad that you are better now and I hope you will be fully recovered soon. Everyone I know who got it says it takes a while to get back up on your feet.

I also hope we can see the light at the end of the tunnel soon. It's been going on for so long and no real signs of relenting.

Best wishes to everyone!

I'm sure everyone is sick and tired to hear about that dratted six-letter-word, but here's an update from Germany.

The news of the last few days have been dominated by a steep rise in numbers - exactly as most experts have expected to as soon as autumn and later winter rolls around. According to Johns Hopkins, we're standing at 320,495 infections (a plus of 4,721 to the day before) and 9,609 deaths (15 more than yesterday) - thankfully still comparatively small numbers compared to other countries. For now it seems that the majority of those infected have to deal with a not-so-serious case and while our hospitals do fill up steadily, we still have room for severe cases in need of respirators.
There have been local hot spots in bigger cities such as Berlin or Frankfurt, with local lock-downs as consequences. While it was mostly people traveling who were responsible for earlier outbreaks, is it now attributed to mostly private parties of those stupid enough not to stick to the rules.

In general, rural areas fare better than conglomerated areas. The county/parish I work in has had a total of 47 cases since it all started, with only 3 deaths and no new infections for a couple of days. The county/parish where I live has had a total of 181 infections (+2 to the day before) and a total of 2 deaths. Those are some of the best stats nationwide and experts largely attribute it to both areas being sparsely populated swaths of land (and no party scene for the young and reckless to speak of).

While I do feel safe where I am, my stomach churns with worry as I look into the state of things worldwide. Most of my US friends are paralyzed with fear not only over the pandemic, but also the upcoming election and the very real possibility of a certain someone refusing to move out of office in case of defeat. I can only pray and hope that all will go over well and that we'll soon have some kind of vaccine available.
Until then, please, everyone stay safe and keep your chin up, do everything you can to minimize the spread!

Hello everyone, as with everywhere in the world, the second wave hit Sri Lanka much harder than the first.

We are 9 days in a period of curfew in the province where I live but the president says it will be lifted on Monday. It's a choice between dying of Covid of dying of starvation for many people here and most would prefer to take their chances with Covid. It's a sad situation.

There are many more deaths this time round too but I don't know if it's because there are more daily cases, However, research has found that the strain which is spreading through the country during this second wave is one where there is a much higher viral load than the previous, which might explain the much higher number of daily positive cases.

On the other had, there is no doubt that everyone here became extremely complacent due to the very low numbers from the first wave. The public felt the danger was over and by September we were back to normal and acting like there is no pandemic going on. We thought we had it beat, as with many other countries and our wonderful leaders did nothing to prepare for the second wave, which consequently will leave our healthcare system struggling. We had months to prepare and plenty of money but no new hospital beds or ventilators were bought or prepared. I fear it won't be long before we reach the limits of our hospitals.

asolitaryblue wrote: ↑Fri Nov 06, 2020 7:02 pm On the other had, there is no doubt that everyone here became extremely complacent due to the very low numbers from the first wave. The public felt the danger was over and by September we were back to normal and acting like there is no pandemic going on.

Same here, which is utterly frustrating...
I want to howl at all those people who are still downplaying everything, some even going as far as to completely denying that something is seriously wrong.

The first lock down in March I took pretty well because it didn't deviate much from my usual pattern - staying home with a good book. This second wave, however, has me mentally thrown. My feeling even more unease now is largely due to the masks everyone has to wear everywhere - as someone nearly deaf and dependent on facial expression and reading off the lips in order to understand anything, my world has grown very quiet and fraught with misunderstandings. It's rattled me much more than I thought possible.
So I'll keep praying that it'll be over eventually and some sense of normalcy returns...
Stay safe, people, now more than ever!

In Belgium, we are down from about 20.000 cases a day to 6000 cases a day.
You might think this is good news, but that's not true. They are just not testing anymore. Officially because our laboratories cannot cope... Our "posiitvity rate" is not really going down.

Before, you were tested when entering the country or when you were in contact with someone who had tested positive. Now, you're only tested when you are having severe symptoms for a couple of days.

Moreover, there are more and more people who don't want to be tested, even when having symptoms. That's because they don't want to go in quarantine.

There's a "lockdown light" here: non-essential shops/restaurants are closed. Schools are on holidays now. These holidays have been extended by a week, until November 16.

Not wearing a mask in public has become a criminal offence in South Africa and carries a hefty penalty....so I was looking for interesting mask and saw some crazy ideas...

Vagina-scented face masks are a thing and, yes, they’re selling like hot cakes

Introducing vagina-scented masks…

New Jersey native Angela Anderson has been making a killing with her online business. The 55-year-old founded Coronapussy, a company that sells vagina-smelling face masks for $4.99

The strangest thing is that she managed to sell 500 in the first 24 hours.

Anderson thought of the idea after being fired from her hotel job, and decided on supplementing her income by designing a mask different from any other.

“Next week we’ll release another 500 units for sale at the same price, they’re not made fast… otherwise the aroma disappear in a few hours,” she told the online publication.

We know what you’re thinking: how does she acquire that “authentic” smell for her masks?

She explained that a fine cloth is placed in the vagina for two hours and then glued inside the mask.

“With (these) face masks you can be protected and also enjoy that vaginal smell that people love. This idea is working out,” she said.

And apparently business has been booming for Anderson. So much so that she plans to add a penis-scented mask to her collection.

COVID brings out the crazy in people...

OMG, [mention]AddictedToReading[/mention], that makes me wanna retch...

In my county, medical masks are mandatory ... either surgical masks or full-on FFP2. I have a hard time breathing with FFP2, so surgical masks it is for me, every time I go out. The stupid thing is: People put a lot of creativity into their masks when this all first started ... and now they're not allowed to use them.

I'm glad to say I've had my first Covid jab (astrazenica) no after effects, so happy days