Covid 19 - Updates from your zones

[Vulpes]

In Canada, the situation is very different across provinces and territories. I'm fortunate to be in Newfoundland & Labrador, where we haven't had a new case confirmed in weeks, and only 3 known active cases. On the downside, that means people are pretty lax, so when (not if) another outbreak happens, it'll spread fast despite the low population density. There's a reason the health minister refers to "practicing" good hand hygiene and physical distancing - if we're already accustomed to doing it, spread will be slow when an outbreak starts because we won't have to re-learn it. I'm tired of wearing a mask and slathering on hand sanitizer whenever I'm out doing errands, but I keep doing it so I won't forget that we're nowhere near back to normal.

[Yastreb]

I've had the good fortune to avoid any actual encounters with the conspiracism spawned by COVID-19... until today.

I ventured forth to exercise and get some supplies, and chanced to meet someone I knew from a local restaurant - a regular customer that I'd chat amicably with when we happened to be there at the same time. I commented that his mask wasn't quite properly secured, and he replied that he found it stifling, before saying that Alan Jones¹ had called the whole COVID-19 matter alarmism, went on to tell me that the we shouldn't be meekly falling into line with the losses to our lives and freedoms, and so on and so on, and was starting on the World Health Organisation's One World Government plans, when I quietly said that I didn't wish to discuss it, and politely disengaged.

Fortunately, on the way back I encountered a neighbour I rarely get to see, and we talked for a while, and I felt better for that.

1. Not Alex Jones; Alan Jones is a Sydney-based reactionary shock-jock who has said may contemptible things, but at least he's not a complete raving looney.

[RanVor]

853 new cases today. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that.

[wavewright62]

 :'( RanVor and all stuck in untenable situations. Like Vulpes' analysis of the situation, NZ has become quite complacent. In our case, we haven't had a single case outside of managed isolation (for returning NZers) in months.  But while most of us accept "when" an outbreak will happen, the vast majority of us are carrying on normally.  (As normally as a populace denied its addiction to cheap winter holidays in 'the islands' can be.)
 We're meant to be signing in everywhere on the government's contact tracing app, and getting tested at any sign of symptoms, but it's not happening.  While we as a country were really effective in keeping to lockdown in March-May, I doubt we'd cooperate nearly so well in a second wave.

[lumilaulu]

I doubt we'd cooperate nearly so well in a second wave.

That seems to be a recurring theme. And we are currently in a second wave. Not a second lockdown (although one province is in a lockdown-light, sort of), but some of the restrictions that had been lifted have been put into place again.

And of course it doesn't help that we're in the middle of one of the worst heatwaves on record. Yesterday there was a massive fight at the beach, with people refusing to wear masks and keep their distance.

[wavewright62]

New Zealand had over 100 days with its only cases in managed isolation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. 
Notice the past tense. 
Four cases of unknown-origin community transmission in a family in Auckland, more cases very likely, and BOOM! Auckland is back in Level 3 lockdown and the rest of the country in Level 2.  Level 3 means stay home except for access to essential services, although children of workers employed in essential services can go to school (most pupils stay home), and you can get takeaways and deliveries under certain conditions.  Level 2 allows small local gatherings with physical distancing and sanitation protocols in place.
Supposedly this is just for three days, while they attempt to trace the source of the disease in the first person in the family to get it.  They are also doing contact tracing for the workplaces and other places this family has been.
Nobody believes we're coming out of lockdown in just 3 days.

[Jitter]

Oh no Wave! We read about one case in NZ but I didn’t realize it was unknown origin community transmission. (See how I used that like an everyday term)

[Mebediel]

:| I hope that they do manage to trace the source of the virus soon and that people adhere to the lockdown procedures, no matter how long this lockdown ends up being. Stay safe, Wave!

Meanwhile my university is opening campus to the undergrads with the specification that anyone who comes to campus has to get tested every two weeks and that anyone else who comes to campus (ex. to pick up books from the library) has to have negative test results dating to four days prior to coming to campus. I don't see how the university admin expects this to be a better option than keeping campus closed entirely...but classes start in two weeks, so we'll see how things turn out. I'm not optimistic though.

[Mirasol]

Oh no Wave! I hope they find the source soon! And may your university´s ambitious plan work Mebediel, at least for a while. Stay safe all of you!

In Germany schools are now starting as "normal" again in the first states, despite cases being over 500 a day again (we were down to under 200 before I think, but nooo, this is no second wave at all...). "Normal" meaning with all the students. Who is supposed to wear masks how and when varies greatly in every state, sometimes even every school.
Cases are going up that fast because people are returning from vacation in risk areas. But somehow nobody saw this coming. Now tourists are supposed to be tested upon returning, but that is only really actionable in air ports, so all those people who go by car can just drive past the testing stations (that were also only put in place after quite a few people had already brought home the virus).

My state has only started summer holidays (six weeks) about two weeks ago, so we don´t have many cases yet. My school´s current plan is to open for all students with mandatory face masks outside of the classrooms and a signed paper that says you are not sick (weren´t in risk-places or in contact with sick people etc., but no test is required and only signed by your parents), but many teachers don´t have a lot of hope that this will go well for more then a few weeks. Most of them expect a second school closing.

I´m getting less optimistic the more I hear from the states that opened again, at least one of the schools there had to close down already because of cases.

[lumilaulu]

Cases are going up that fast because people are returning from vacation in risk areas. But somehow nobody saw this coming.

Yeah. Tourists bringing it back with them is exactly how the first clusters started in Belgium, and I'm sure in many other places as well.

I wish my own country, and the surrounding countries (being a remote island nation is an advantage for once!), would take this as seriously and act as decisively as New Zealand.

[Jitter]

Finland is starting school this week. In many cities it started today, my kids are starting tomorrow. Masks are not required at school, the government is preparing recommendations* for everyone to wear masks in public transport and other public spaces where distancing isn’t possible. Not in school though.

We are currently at around 20 cases a day, but the weekly and forthnightly numbers have doubled so the curve is starting to become unflattened again. There is still some “this could be the beginning of the second wave” from the authorities but come on, of course it’s the second wave! Here’s hoping we manage to keep it restricted as well as we did in the spring, but I’m not so sure about that.

* apparently there is no legal way to make such a thing mandatory

[wavewright62]

I'm curious whether in places where masks are not required, whether there is going to be any push-back against those who choose to wear them.  I'm not saying anyone (especially a child or teenager) will wear one if they don't expressly have to, but this might set a precedent in places where there is push-back about wearing Muslim head and face coverings.

[Mirasol]

* apparently there is no legal way to make such a thing mandatory

They told us that too in the beginning, but apparently they found a way now.

[Yastreb]

* apparently there is no legal way to make such a thing mandatory

The Victorian State Government thinks otherwise. From the vic.gov.au website Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions Victoria (emphasis added):

From 11:59pm on Sunday 2 August, face coverings will also be mandatory for all of Victoria.
The same lawful exemptions that currently apply in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, will apply across Victoria. These include if you have a medical condition or other condition that impairs your ability to wear a face covering, doing strenuous exercise or if you are unable to do your job while wearing a face covering.
Wearing a face covering protects you and your community by providing an additional physical barrier to coronavirus (COVID-19).
People who do not wear face coverings and do not have a lawful excuse can be fined $200.

[Jitter]

I obviously meant no legal way to make it mandatory in Finland. Of course laws can be changed, but that's a tenuous process and since Finns tend to follow recommendations pretty well it's probably what we'll be getting.