COVID-19 thread

[linguistcat]

I wish where I live would shut down again for a bit. We still have a few new cases everyday, but people act like nothing is going on. At least people tend to wear masks, but not all do.

[Moose-tache]

Against all advice, I spent the last couple of weeks traveling for a funeral. As someone who spent the entire pandemic holed up in one place, it was eye opening to see how people in different cities/countries have reacted.

First, different preventive measures have been embraced by the people. In one city, for example, people take social distancing seriously outdoors, with no mask usage at all, while indoors they use masks with no effort at social distancing. I'm not sure I saw one person make an effort to maintain 2 meters while wearing a mask. It's strange to me that people are perfectly capable of doing both, but only do one at a time. In another city, things were even worse. I wondered if maybe I could see a correlation between compliance and politics, but some of the most diligent people I know are conservative in their politics. However, in the second city they shut down all the bars, which in the first city were wide open, full of unmasked shouty people.

I'm used to living where heavy-handed public enforcement of lockdown is the norm, but I guess left to their own devices people can't be trusted to take basic measures.

[doctor shark]

Against all advice, I spent the last couple of weeks traveling for a funeral. As someone who spent the entire pandemic holed up in one place, it was eye opening to see how people in different cities/countries have reacted.

First, different preventive measures have been embraced by the people. In one city, for example, people take social distancing seriously outdoors, with no mask usage at all, while indoors they use masks with no effort at social distancing. I'm not sure I saw one person make an effort to maintain 2 meters while wearing a mask. It's strange to me that people are perfectly capable of doing both, but only do one at a time. In another city, things were even worse. I wondered if maybe I could see a correlation between compliance and politics, but some of the most diligent people I know are conservative in their politics. However, in the second city they shut down all the bars, which in the first city were wide open, full of unmasked shouty people.

I'm used to living where heavy-handed public enforcement of lockdown is the norm, but I guess left to their own devices people can't be trusted to take basic measures.

I had to move in the middle of the pandemic (well, I moved at the end of April), so it was quite a surprise to see the difference between the situation in Luxembourg versus that in the Netherlands: in Lux., masks were made compulsory extremely early, plus most stores ended up being closed for two months... whereas in the Netherlands, only contact-related businesses, like hair salons, got closed, and masks became compulsory only this past week! In general, though, people were quite well-behaved during the summer, maybe with the exception of what I saw in Scheveningen, but I think the massive uptick largely corresponded with the arrival of fall and people now spending more time indoors combined with the resumption of the school year.

[Ares Land]

Okay, this is based on my personal experience, so it's anecdotal, but there seems to be a worrisome and very sharp increase in mental health issues.

I learned of several suicides or suicide attempts following the lockdown.

One person I know relapsed into severe clinical depression. A neighbour is suffering from depression too (apparently he had no previous episode, but started showing symptoms during the lockdown).

Several coworkers have turned very agressive. One of them sent incoherent, rambling and agressive emails during lockdown. He got better as the situation got back to normal, and his behavior became erratic again after the curfew was announced. (He had a full blown manic episode during a Zoom meeting yesterday.)
Others, again, show all the signs of clinical depression.

Relevant: https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/c ... ar-3010169

This reflects poorly on ourselves, as a society. We're terrible at caring for the weakest, and evidently our lives are stressful enough to make many people collapse under any extra stress.

[Moose-tache]

Since 2000, suicide in the United States is up 31%. Among women, the rate is half again what it was a generation ago. This was already shaping up to be one of the greatest public health crises of the 21st century before the pandemic.

[Ares Land]

Since 2000, suicide in the United States is up 31%. Among women, the rate is half again what it was a generation ago. This was already shaping up to be one of the greatest public health crises of the 21st century before the pandemic.

In France, the suicide rate actually went down but depression has been on the rise since about 2010.
I can't really say anything conclusive, since my evidence is after all anecdotal. But some studies look scary:

Compared with a global estimated prevalence of depression of 3.44% in 2017, our pooled prevalence of 25% appears to be 7 times higher,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 0020300545

In other depressing news, we're probably going into lockdown sometime soon.

To say that I have mixed feelings about this is an understatement.
On one hand, well, what else is there to do at this point?
On the other hand, the economic and social implications of a new lockdown are frightening.

There's also talk of an extended curfew instead, which would be marginally better for the economy, but I'm afraid it's too late for that: at this point. I'd rather have a lockdown right now than half-measures and a longer lockdown later.

[Ares Land]

OK, it's official announced! Man the bread machines! Everyone to the toilet paper aisle! This is not a drill!

Schools remain open this time. But I imagine they'll be closed soon.

[Torco]

Here we've been under curfew since october of 2019 (unrelated to covid, mostly to exert repression on protesters). I don't think it's helped stop things much.

Man, I could do with a few more months of lockdown though, working from home is much more pleasant than going to the office.

[Ares Land]

Here we've been under curfew since october of 2019 (unrelated to covid, mostly to exert repression on protesters). I don't think it's helped stop things much.

Man, I could do with a few more months of lockdown though, working from home is much more pleasant than going to the office.

On a purely personal level, I'm actually fairly happy about it. Lockdown's relaxing in a weird way.

[MacAnDàil]

It will likely depend on your living and working conditions, as well as your financial situation. Also personality: introverts will appreciate a lot more. I did not particularly enjoy the first round, even if I understand the utility, but I've since moved to a flat twice the size, with a garden so it should be easier this time around (if Réunion is affected, it's not clear yet).

[Arzena]

The plague continues to ravage Texas, though not every part of the state. I live in its capital, Austin, and plague conditions are minimal. This has made people (myself included) somewhat lax about safety procedures. Bars and restaurants welcome patrons once more. Mask wearing (outside of where it's mandated like grocery stores) is slipping.

Elsewhere in Texas the situation is pretty dire. Places like El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley, the Gulf Coast, and the Panhandle suffer from widespread plague conditions.

Governor Greg Abbott would rather not be dealing with this situation. Of the Republican governors in the United States, he is one of the better ones to live under during this time (when the standard, mind you, is the literal floor) but he's clearly wants to open the state's economy as fast as possible. Fortunately, however, the man is a slippery lawyer at heart who wants all options of escape open to him. Thus he can't commit to lockdowns and mask mandates, but at the same time he won't spend political capital to drastically reopen the state or be vocal about that sort of thing like the Governors of Florida and South Dakota.

[alynnidalar]

It will likely depend on your living and working conditions, as well as your financial situation. Also personality: introverts will appreciate a lot more. I did not particularly enjoy the first round, even if I understand the utility, but I've since moved to a flat twice the size, with a garden so it should be easier this time around (if Réunion is affected, it's not clear yet).

Very true. At the beginning of the lockdown here I was in a very small apartment and it was hell. I've since moved to a medium-sized house and it is amazing what having south-facing windows and more than two rooms can do for your mental health!!

[Linguoboy]

I'm much better placed to weather this round now that I have a flatmate, who happens to have a car. Today while he was waiting for me to finish up with the dentist (only the second medical appointment I've had all year, after my annual physical), he went to the grocery store for toilet paper "just in case". We now probably have a whole year's supply. He's rather introverted, which means he's almost never in my space when I don't want him there but we get along well, so when I do seek him out, we typically have great conversations. The rest of the time, we're using text and chat on the regular to keep abreast of each other's plans, health, and state of mind. And he fixes things. All told, it's a pretty sweet arrangement; the only member of the household who's not thrilled with it is the cat.

I'm worried about a lot of my friends, though. Fortunately, most of those thrown into unemployment seem to have found something again or have enough support (generally from a partner) to hold out for a while. Quite a few have health issues and could end up really fucked if hospitals get overwhelmed again. (Did I mention that my flatmate used to be an EMT and has a great deal of useful medical experience?) And even those without chronic mental issues are struggling with anxiety and depression right now. Even assuming the best possible electoral result next Tuesday, it's going to be a loooooooong winter.

[Ares Land]

@Linguoboy: that about sums up my feelings.
(Subsituting the flatmate for extroverted kids with no concept of personal space)

[Torco]

It will likely depend on your living and working conditions, as well as your financial situation. Also personality: introverts will appreciate a lot more. I did not particularly enjoy the first round, even if I understand the utility, but I've since moved to a flat twice the size, with a garden so it should be easier this time around (if Réunion is affected, it's not clear yet).

Very true. At the beginning of the lockdown here I was in a very small apartment and it was hell. I've since moved to a medium-sized house and it is amazing what having south-facing windows and more than two rooms can do for your mental health!!

Man, if this remote work shit gets normalized I'm gonna buy me half a hectare somewhere shitty and just work over Starlink.

[Kuchigakatai]

Very true. At the beginning of the lockdown here I was in a very small apartment and it was hell. I've since moved to a medium-sized house and it is amazing what having south-facing windows and more than two rooms can do for your mental health!!

What is particularly nice about south-facing windows? I say this as someone with east-facing windows, and who likes all that sunlight in the morning.

[alynnidalar]

Because you get significantly more sunlight than north-facing windows, which is all that my apartment had.

(also, I'm fairly far north in the northern hemisphere, so especially as it gets on toward winter, the sun is increasingly to the south of me anyway--I get more consistent sunlight throughout the day with south-facing windows than I would with east-facing ones)

[linguistcat]

Very true. At the beginning of the lockdown here I was in a very small apartment and it was hell. I've since moved to a medium-sized house and it is amazing what having south-facing windows and more than two rooms can do for your mental health!!

What is particularly nice about south-facing windows? I say this as someone with east-facing windows, and who likes all that sunlight in the morning.

Assuming you're in the northern hemisphere, south facing windows tend to get sunlight all day even if it's less direct than morning east facing windows or afternoon west facing ones. North facing ones of course get very little or no sun, and so are good if you live somewhere that tends to be warm but you still want a view. Switch north and south if you live in the southern hemisphere.

[Kuchigakatai]

Thanks for the explanation! I hadn't thought about that at all.

I've heard from real state agents in Vancouver that south-facing houses often sell for more because of a fengshui belief of the Chinese, who often believe having most light entering from the south is "healthy". Suddenly, that belief makes a lot more sense to me, as China is in the northern hemisphere!

[Raphael]

And England's going back to lockdown for all of November.