On my Friday routine I got me some baked fish, kibbeling and then went to the supermarket at 11 am. Crazy stuff...
Toilet paper was almost gone!
:simmissy:
I asked one of the Supermarket crew if they would get new supplies and she said:
"For sure. Tomorrow morning we will have plenty again." And I replied:
"Cool. I will just have to use leaves till then." She looked at me like
"Seriously?" and then laughed so hard. ;-)
But yes, people are stocking up over here as well. Canned food. Paracetamol (only allowed 2 packages per client.) Hand sanitizer and wipes were out. But all would be in stock again tomorrow.
Life over here goes on, even though it is much more quiet on the streets.
Gatherings are forbidden for more than 100 people. Still 100 people. Nursing homes are still open, restaurants, bars etc. Hope do you keep distance. People can still travel, inside the country and abroad, by plane, train, car, bus, so the virus can spread freely.
Schools are still open. How ridiculous is that? So you ban events for more than 100 people, but schools with 350 to 1500 students, parents, grandparents, teachers and all, are still open. Reason: Children are less vulnerable to the virus, so to not place a too heavy burden on the parents that need to go to work. If the children would be home, they would need someone to stay at home with them. Economy thinking!
Sure, children are maybe less vulnerable, but it's the parents and grandparents that pick them up, teachers that teach. It also shows how economy has replaced family as cornerstone of society.
IF you want to keep the system running, why not close parts. Kids from 13 year on are mostly perfectly able to stay at home by themselves if needed. A lot of parents work shifts as well. Maybe they can even work different hours, so they overlap each other.
Our railway company has taken trains out of the service in peak hours because of less passengers and sick leave. People are urged to spread their travel, so peak hours won't be so busy. But most trains are always loaded between 7 and 10 am and 4 pm and 7 pm. Ridiculous. People are species of habit. They don't just change their behavior and routine... It's not in our mindset.
A lot still think:
No one is telling me what to do!These are soft measures and won't help much at all. Still no one is wearing a mask. Everyone still runs around, travels, shops, goes to work. Tests are hardly done. No one knows how much people they tested. And now they even decided to not test health workers in a lot of hospitals anymore, because the limited availability of test kits.
I mean..
I predict that within a few days extra they will close schools anyway and people are urged to travel as little as necessary and avoid contact as much as possible. Air traffic will be banned. Events with be banned altogether. In a few weeks max our health care system will be overheated and people are sent home. And so on, and so on...
I am always very practical and I still believe that 98% of our population will come out of this just fine, but the measures that are taken are at least six weeks late.
As difficult as it is, they should have taken China, Singapore and Hongkong as an example on how to prepare. In availability of test kits, health care workers, masks etc. And that is my biggest concern with this.
Because exactly that lack of action will cause the economy to crash, with unemployment, recession, bankruptcies, country defaults and a whole lot of turmoil to come. That is what makes me furious. Not the virus, because most of us will beat that, but the lack of action. It is why I always say to go from your own judgement and not listen to those who think they know better because they have a tag on their jacket that says "leader". They don't know better, so use your own brian!
It wouldn't surprise me that certain groups in our global society use this as a trigger to start looting and rioting, pulling other "normal" citizens with them in it.
One more thing and than I will close this rant. I do believe this is not a weeks or months thing. The simulation in October had a frame of 18 months, with the world being in total chaos by then.
All we can do is keep a sane mind, prepare what we can afford to prepare, help those in need around us and go from the knowledge that if you are an average healthy person, you will come out of this crisis just fine. Maybe with some bumps in the road ahead, but we will come out of this alive.
Okay, with apologies for the long post, now I am off, trying to score some more toilet paper..
*end of Mezzo's Friday the 13th Rant*
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