How has COVID-19 affected you personally?

[Arizona Docent]

Very sorry to hear how negatively some of you are being impacted. As has already been stated, no shame in reaching out to others for help. I sort of feel guilty because I have had it pretty good during this crisis (extra time off with full salary). I recently realized that 2020 will be the first full year in over two decades that I have not gotten on an airplane. That is not necessarily a bad thing. However just a week ago I booked a September 2021 flight that lands in Belgium, so I certainly hope the dire situation described above is resolved by then. I think everyone is hoping and assuming a vaccine will be ready this coming spring along with tests that give quick results. This combination would open up travel I think.

 

[Simon Hampel]

South Australia has just announced a 6 day "circuit breaker" extreme lockdown as of midnight tonight to deal with an outbreak developing in Adelaide with nobody allowed to leave their homes for 6 days other than to buy food and essentials.

My wife's parents left Sydney this morning to return home to South Australia - just arrived in the NSW town of Hay where they were going to stay the night.

Now they will need to turn around and come back to Sydney tomorrow, because they won't make it home before midnight tonight and won't be allowed on the roads in South Australia - and they don't want to stay where they are for 6 days - it's a small town with not much to offer.

This lockdown is very sudden and brutal - but then, reports are that this strain in Adelaide is particularly nasty with a 24 hour incubation period!

 

[Jake1508]

People came into work today with masks. Please don’t happen again Rona!!

 

[Jambo]

Well at least the situation in Melbourne, Victoria is gradually getting better. It would be nice to go back to normal life for the first time in more than six months!

 

[KevinB]

Four weeks into the second lockdown and today the Consultative Committee of Belgium's federal and regional governments has done an evaluation of the epidemiological situation and of the lockdown measures.

Although the Covid-19 situation in Belgium has improved very substantially and Belgium is now no longer amongst the worst Covid-19 affected countries in Europe, there is still a heavy Covid-19 load in our hospitals and the case rates still have to decrease substantially further for the epidemic to be considered under control, which our prime minister said will hopefully be the case by mid-January 2021. So Belgium remains in the "descending phase" of the two-phase Covid-19 barometer or "corona switch" that was also discussed today. As a result there will be very few relaxations at this time. Non-essential shops, museums and swimming pools will be allowed to be reopen in the coming week, with strict protocols to prevent crowding and to ensure a minimal risk of Covid-19 transmission. And there will be a slightly looser contact restriction for single people on Christmas and Christmas Eve.

Guiding values of under 800 new daily infections and under 75 new daily hospital admissions were also mentioned as a first target for when further relaxations of the lockdown measures will be possible, although a further decrease beyond those rates is also absolutely necessary and intended. Reaching those first guiding values should be possible by Mid-January or potentially even sooner, if the current rate of decrease continues.

However it remains to be seen what the effects of reopening shops, museums and swimming pools will be - and we also are not yet seeing the full effect of schools reopening after the extended autumn break. Personally I think the reopening of shops probably comes too early for comfort - and I don't really understand the reasoning behind reopening swimming pools and museums at this time. Hopefully the Covid-19 rates will continue to decrease substantially, and these factors will not slow down that decrease too significantly.

Zoos will unfortunately remain closed until at least January 15th, 2021 under the newly announced - and mostly unchanged - rules. A new evaluation is planned in early January 2021, at which time it will be decided whether and for which sectors it is possible to enter the "control phase" of the "corona switch" and which sectors will be able to reopen with strict protocols.

I can't deny being disappointed by today's decisions, but I do understand the reasoning behind at least some of them, and unfortunately I can also understand why zoos cannot yet reopen, but I had still somewhat hoped there would be some perspective for a time sooner than January. I hope zoos will be able to reopen in January, but there is I think also a realistic chance they unfortunately will not reopen until February or March 2021. I really hope they will be able to survive these difficult months. Zoos here in Belgium are unfortunately getting little to no government support.

To add to my discussion of today's government announcements in the other topic, quoted above.

The two things I am missing the most - visiting zoos and Sunday visits to my grandmother - I will probably have to miss until at least mid-January 2021. And while I understand to a large extent the necessity of the decisions of my government I am also disappointed at how much longer these dark times will be lasting.

Lately I haven't experienced the stress and anxiety that I did earlier in this second wave anymore, but I have experienced substantial mental fatigue, frustration, pessimism and hopelessness, depressed/down feelings and decreased joy in many activities. I am not always coping very well with the current situations and its lengthy duration and uncertainty.

But we will all have to get through it. I really hope things will continue to improve sufficiently for there to be some hope for better times in (early) 2021. There is perhaps some light at the end of the tunnel now, but not yet any way to know for sure when we will reach a better situation.

With regards to activities outside the house the one thing that I currently have left - and which I am grateful for - is walks in forests and nature. I have already done a couple in the last few weeks and I plan to do some more if the weather allows. I found that I really enjoyed those walks.

 

[KevinB]

To add to my discussion of today's government announcements in the other topic, quoted above.

The two things I am missing the most - visiting zoos and Sunday visits to my grandmother - I will probably have to miss until at least mid-January 2021. And while I understand to a large extent the necessity of the decisions of my government I am also disappointed at how much longer these dark times will be lasting.

Lately I haven't experienced the stress and anxiety that I did earlier in this second wave anymore, but I have experienced substantial mental fatigue, frustration, pessimism and hopelessness, depressed/down feelings and decreased joy in many activities. I am not always coping very well with the current situations and its lengthy duration and uncertainty.

But we will all have to get through it. I really hope things will continue to improve sufficiently for there to be some hope for better times in (early) 2021. There is perhaps some light at the end of the tunnel now, but not yet any way to know for sure when we will reach a better situation.

With regards to activities outside the house the one thing that I currently have left - and which I am grateful for - is walks in forests and nature. I have already done a couple in the last few weeks and I plan to do some more if the weather allows. I found that I really enjoyed those walks.

I just need to vent a little bit about the current Covid-19 situation here in Belgium, as things are looking far different from a few weeks ago.

The lockdown that started in November was very effective in containing the number of infections and Belgium went from being the worst or one of the worst countries in Europe in terms of per capita infection rates to being among the best. But in the last few weeks the case rates have leveled off completely on a high plateau and in many parts of the country they are slowly increasing again. Last Friday our government decided to not step up and tighten the measures, aside from some stricter travel rules, but to focus on increased enforcement and to a lesser extent on motivating people to observe the rules.

While I understand the reasoning behind my government's decision to focus on enforcement of existing rules - and many experts have said the same thing - I personally question how effective this will be, and find it to be a choice with too much risk and uncertainty involved. Some experts have called for a short term (a few weeks to a month) even stricter lockdown, like the one we had in the Spring or even stricter - and I side with them.

Yesterday the expert heading the scientific advisory committee to the Belgian government commented in a newspaper interview that she believes that many of the current restrictions will likely only be able to be relaxed around Easter. That to me feels like a gut punch - it is so far away, and it is still only a maybe. At this point no-one even knows if we will ever get out of this situation. One just has to hope that businesses - like my beloved zoos - will be able to survive for several more months with little to no revenue.

Lately I have struggled to find any real view of a light at the end of this very dark and very long Covid-19 tunnel and to see any reason for hope or optimism for a better future. I still want to hold out some hope that 2021 will be better than 2020, but at least the first quarter or so of the year is almost certainly already a loss and won't be any better than 2020, and might even be worse. And even with regards to the spring and summer no-one really knows at this point whether we will be able to enjoy anything of the usual. Will we even ever be able to do anything again before somewhere towards the end of 2021 a large proportion of the population has been vaccinated (providing that the vaccine actually works)? Will we actually ever return to a more normal world again?

There seems to be little hope I will be able to visit my grandmother or my beloved zoos again anytime soon - and I really miss those parts of my life right now and try hard not to think of it too much. I continue to feel a lot of mental fatigue, frustration, pessimism and hopelessness, depressed feelings and decreased joy in many activities lately. To be honest the only thing I have truly fully enjoyed lately is reading, and I probably should do more of it. I have discussed coping strategies with my therapist and I am implementing them as best as I can, and they do help, but not as much as I would want them to.

Right now it just feels like I'm surviving rather than living, and definitely not thriving, and without any kind of end in sight. I want to be hopeful and hope for a different, better future, but it is very difficult right now.

Tomorrow and Tuesday I will be working two more days, after that I will be off work until January 4th. Not because of Covid, this is normal for government employees here. I am going to try to use my time off to hopefully find some mental relaxation.

 

[Ned]

In the UK we've been in lock down for pretty much the whole of this year. Yesterday I found I'd developed a pressure sore on my coxis from sitting in the same chair for too long! Time to get up and do something.

 

[littleRedPanda]

I've avoided this thread since my last post, as I know how much worse other people are than myself. However, I am really fed up. After taking a week off work after that post in October, purely because I felt so low, I spoke to my boss to express that I couldn't see my mood picking up and subsequently left the company.

I can support myself for a good few months still, but have a job lined up for March onwards by which time I might have had the first vaccination and the weather will have picked up a bit. But the prospect of having to jump through hoops to get a trip abroad this year is very demoralising. Although it's too early to even plan UK breaks in June, I looked at the Newquay Premier Inn for June and was shocked at the price for three nights. There are of course many alternatives, but I can't be bothered planning anything yet after having everything thrown out of the window last year.

Buying a drum kit has helped, but my ability on that is as basic as my guitar and bass playing, so anything I record just reminds me of a bunch of thirteen year olds getting together for the first time, without any real musical direction.

I should have spent time going through all my zoo photos to get rid of the rubbish and near duplicate images, but that just made me sad knowing I can't go anywhere to get more photos. Hopefully, zoos might be reopened by the end of March, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Ned]

I've avoided this thread since my last post, as I know how much worse other people are than myself. However, I am really fed up. After taking a week off work after that post in October, purely because I felt so low, I spoke to my boss to express that I couldn't see my mood picking up and subsequently left the company.

I can support myself for a good few months still, but have a job lined up for March onwards by which time I might have had the first vaccination and the weather will have picked up a bit. But the prospect of having to jump through hoops to get a trip abroad this year is very demoralising. Although it's too early to even plan UK breaks in June, I looked at the Newquay Premier Inn for June and was shocked at the price for three nights. There are of course many alternatives, but I can't be bothered planning anything yet after having everything thrown out of the window last year.

Buying a drum kit has helped, but my ability on that is as basic as my guitar and bass playing, so anything I record just reminds me of a bunch of thirteen year olds getting together for the first time, without any real musical direction.

I should have spent time going through all my zoo photos to get rid of the rubbish and near duplicate images, but that just made me sad knowing I can't go anywhere to get more photos. Hopefully, zoos might be reopened by the end of March, but I'm not holding my breath.

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time of it. I know what you mean about holidays, not being able to plan or book anything and having nothing to look forward to, I’ve decided to forget about holidays for now and focus on stuff I can do.

I’ve tried learning instruments myself but never get very far, I think you have to just love practising or else it becomes a chore. I have found a few distractions that I enjoy, I bought some dumbbells as I’m doing very little exercise and have surprised myself by actually enjoying weight training. I’ve written a novel which I’m just editing. I started watching a Youtube channel Bald and bankrupt which has inspired me to film my local area and play around with video editing.

I suppose that ultimately you’ve just gotta have some kind of faith that it will all be over soon and we can have our lives back.

 

[littleRedPanda]

I started watching a Youtube channel Bald and bankrupt which has inspired me to film my local area and play around with video editing.

I do some video editing for a friend's band, but they can't record at the minute, so that's another hobby kind of hit the buffers.
I was bingeing on Bald & Bankrupt too, but haven't looked at the Asian videos yet. I dug out my Learn Spanish book and CD set I barely touched since getting it 4 years ago and should try again. I've always fancied going to South America

 

[Julio C Castro]

I’ve had a mixed experience regarding COVID 19. Working in the veterinary field, I was lucky to maintain my job and thankfully not get sick from COVID due to working overnights by myself. My immediate family also have been lucky so far to not have contracted COVID. Also due to my job, I was able to qualify for the COVID vaccine and now fully immunized. I felt like crying out of joy and relief the moments I received both vaccines, as well as feeling guilty I was able to receive it ahead of others :/ But for the bad part, my uncles and aunts in Mexico have contracted COVID with one of my family members that may be at the end... We await every day to see how they are doing but we all know that this doesn’t have the outcome we want. Living here in Los Angeles, where it is very bad with what’s going on, I live in constant fear my father or mother may getting sick and my father is severely immune compromised. I do count my blessings every day and am grateful to be around still. Please do your part when it comes to this virus. I know many of us miss how life was prior to COVID but I do think we can all come out better out of this by learning what we can do for others. Yes no one likes wearing a mask, they suck and are very bothersome. But if it means that we can slow the spread and not potentially get others sick, it’s the right thing to do. Be safe out there and if you are able and wanting to get the vaccine, by all means go for it please!

 

[KevinB]

Lately I've been feeling very negative, frustrated, stressed and hopeless again.

It looks like Belgium is rapidly heading for a third wave of Covid-19. Until last week the case rates were quite good and Belgium was doing well, but lately the case rates, especially the numbers of positive tests and of hospital admissions, have risen rapidly. The more infectious and dangerous British strain of Covid-19 quickly becoming ever more dominant is one of the major causes of this, but lack of observance of the rules, increased contacts and recent relaxations probably also play a large role. Hospitals have rung the alarm bell and have stated that they are seeing very clear signs of the onset of a third wave. It now only remains to be seen how big the wave and the disaster will get.

Our government decided today to postpone earlier announced further relaxations and to re-evaluate the situation next Friday. But it seems highly unlikely things will have improved by then, and probably the situation will only have further worsened, making the necessity of further postponements, roll-backs of relaxations and stricter rules an almost certainty. Despite our government's statements that we can overcome this resurgence and that things will get better after March, it seems highly unlikely to me that the "spring of renewed freedom" that was talked about just earlier this week is going to come to fruition in any meaningful form. I don't even hold out much hope for the summer anymore - it seems likely that 2021 won't be any better than 2020.

It seems like the recent relaxations, including allowing more youth activities to take place and the reopening of hairdressers and zoos in Mid-February (with a very busy first week for zoos) came way too soon, and may well have contributed at least in some degree to this resurgence.

Personally I feel very guilty that I actively supported the calls for a rapid reopening of zoos and welcomed this relaxation being implemented way earlier than originally planned and on a political decision made against the explicit advice of a committee of experts. I also feel very guilty that I myself participated in this with two visits to my local zoo in two weeks, one occurring on a fairly crowded day.

I have always been an advocate of a strict and prudent line in the control of Covid-19, and have always opposed risky relaxations, and now just because I really, really wanted to go to the zoo again I let that slip. I feel that my judgement in this was severely clouded by selfish concerns and a lack of consideration for far more important societal matters. I actually feel like I may actually have contributed a little bit to the beginning of a third wave. I blame myself for several errors of judgement sufficiently severe to be called absolutely unacceptable and unforgivable. I may not have done anything wrong legally here, I have in my opinion most certainly done something severely wrong morally and societally. And I will be imposing some harsh punishment for this. I could and should have known better and will have to bear the consequences for my irresponsible actions.

Covid is not yet over at all. To anyone living in affected areas: stay safe and stay home as much as possible. Please do not take any unnecessary risks. If you don't absolutely have to go somewhere, please just don't go anywhere and stay home. My best wishes to everyone.

 

[Arizona Docent]

It looks like Belgium is rapidly heading for a third wave of Covid-19.

Very sorry about the situation there (and all over the world). Other generations have lived through difficulties (Spanish Influenza, world wars) and of course many people in impoverished countries have a bad life even in so-called good times. I have a selfish reason for wanting the situation in Belgium to improve, as I have a plane ticket for September. But of course I can postpone my trip if needed and in light of the real problems people face (not just Covid, but otherwise) my "problem" of a postponed trip is so inconsequential it is almost absurd to even call it a problem. Thankfully like @Julio C Castro I have a job that got me priority access to the vaccine and I received my second (final) dose a few days ago. For those who have not yet received it, be aware there is a reaction (typically more severe on the second dose) that will leave you feeling a bit sick for a day or two afterwards.

 

[Ned]

For those who have not yet received it, be aware there is a reaction (typically more severe on the second dose) that will leave you feeling a bit sick for a day or two afterwards.

After the first dose I felt a weak and had the shivers. I hope I don't get a worse reaction with the second.

 

[Julio C Castro]

Very sorry about the situation there (and all over the world). Other generations have lived through difficulties (Spanish Influenza, world wars) and of course many people in impoverished countries have a bad life even in so-called good times. I have a selfish reason for wanting the situation in Belgium to improve, as I have a plane ticket for September. But of course I can postpone my trip if needed and in light of the real problems people face (not just Covid, but otherwise) my "problem" of a postponed trip is so inconsequential it is almost absurd to even call it a problem. Thankfully like @Julio C Castro I have a job that got me priority access to the vaccine and I received my second (final) dose a few days ago. For those who have not yet received it, be aware there is a reaction (typically more severe on the second dose) that will leave you feeling a bit sick for a day or two afterwards.

I think out of most my coworkers, I had the most mild symptoms from the second dose. I had a dull headache the day after, we had a few call outs from my job due to their reaction to the vaccine and they felt as if they had a bad flu for a couple days :/ But that is a good heads up about anticipating more intense symptoms following the second vaccine.

 

[KevinB]

Very sorry about the situation there (and all over the world). Other generations have lived through difficulties (Spanish Influenza, world wars) and of course many people in impoverished countries have a bad life even in so-called good times. I have a selfish reason for wanting the situation in Belgium to improve, as I have a plane ticket for September. But of course I can postpone my trip if needed and in light of the real problems people face (not just Covid, but otherwise) my "problem" of a postponed trip is so inconsequential it is almost absurd to even call it a problem. Thankfully like @Julio C Castro I have a job that got me priority access to the vaccine and I received my second (final) dose a few days ago. For those who have not yet received it, be aware there is a reaction (typically more severe on the second dose) that will leave you feeling a bit sick for a day or two afterwards.

I would say don't wait and just postpone or cancel your trip already, to be honest. Right now there is no reason to believe Covid is going to be over or fully under control in Belgium in September. I don't know what you are planning to do here in Belgium, but it will almost certainly still be affected by restrictions.

With regards to vaccinations: here in Belgium so far the campaign has been a complete and utter disaster with delayed and reduced shipments of vaccines by the pharmaceutical companies, numerous communications, logistical and organizational errors and distrust in vaccines in general (partially to disinformation) or in certain vaccines (most notably AstraZeneca).

As someone in their early 30's with no risk factors that does not work or volunteer in the healthcare industry it will be a while still before I will be able to get a vaccine. The original planning was to start vaccinating the larger population in May, but I don't see that happening now before summer or even autumn, unless something drastically changes very quickly.

 

[Ned]

Lately I've been feeling very negative, frustrated, stressed and hopeless again.

It looks like Belgium is rapidly heading for a third wave of Covid-19. Until last week the case rates were quite good and Belgium was doing well, but lately the case rates, especially the numbers of positive tests and of hospital admissions, have risen rapidly. The more infectious and dangerous British strain of Covid-19 quickly becoming ever more dominant is one of the major causes of this, but lack of observance of the rules, increased contacts and recent relaxations probably also play a large role. Hospitals have rung the alarm bell and have stated that they are seeing very clear signs of the onset of a third wave. It now only remains to be seen how big the wave and the disaster will get.

Our government decided today to postpone earlier announced further relaxations and to re-evaluate the situation next Friday. But it seems highly unlikely things will have improved by then, and probably the situation will only have further worsened, making the necessity of further postponements, roll-backs of relaxations and stricter rules an almost certainty. Despite our government's statements that we can overcome this resurgence and that things will get better after March, it seems highly unlikely to me that the "spring of renewed freedom" that was talked about just earlier this week is going to come to fruition in any meaningful form. I don't even hold out much hope for the summer anymore - it seems likely that 2021 won't be any better than 2020.

It seems like the recent relaxations, including allowing more youth activities to take place and the reopening of hairdressers and zoos in Mid-February (with a very busy first week for zoos) came way too soon, and may well have contributed at least in some degree to this resurgence.

Personally I feel very guilty that I actively supported the calls for a rapid reopening of zoos and welcomed this relaxation being implemented way earlier than originally planned and on a political decision made against the explicit advice of a committee of experts. I also feel very guilty that I myself participated in this with two visits to my local zoo in two weeks, one occurring on a fairly crowded day.

I have always been an advocate of a strict and prudent line in the control of Covid-19, and have always opposed risky relaxations, and now just because I really, really wanted to go to the zoo again I let that slip. I feel that my judgement in this was severely clouded by selfish concerns and a lack of consideration for far more important societal matters. I actually feel like I may actually have contributed a little bit to the beginning of a third wave. I blame myself for several errors of judgement sufficiently severe to be called absolutely unacceptable and unforgivable. I may not have done anything wrong legally here, I have in my opinion most certainly done something severely wrong morally and societally. And I will be imposing some harsh punishment for this. I could and should have known better and will have to bear the consequences for my irresponsible actions.

Covid is not yet over at all. To anyone living in affected areas: stay safe and stay home as much as possible. Please do not take any unnecessary risks. If you don't absolutely have to go somewhere, please just don't go anywhere and stay home. My best wishes to everyone.

I don't think you need to feel guilty, it's natural to want to get out and do stuff. Lockdowns maybe effective at suppressing the virus but there are all sorts of mental and physical health implications. There are also people losing their jobs, businesses, and relationships because of lockdown. It's a bit of a blunt instrument but until now it was all we had. Hopefully the vaccine will change that.

 

[KevinB]

I don't think you need to feel guilty, it's natural to want to get out and do stuff. Lockdowns maybe effective at suppressing the virus but there are all sorts of mental and physical health implications. There are also people losing their jobs, businesses, and relationships because of lockdown. It's a bit of a blunt instrument but until now it was all we had. Hopefully the vaccine will change that.

Right now it is being proven that it was just too early to go out and open things up again, and I was wrong in supporting and making use of that, and I could have and should have known better. A few weeks ago reopening zoos outdoors only to me just appeared to be safe and sensible - but that was based on a possibly deliberately incomplete picture of the situation.

The way the vaccination campaign is going - or perhaps more accurately not going - here in Belgium I can't hold out much hope for vaccines as the true exit from this crisis anymore. Something really needs to change drastically and quickly with the vaccination here if we want to have any hope of getting out of this at any point in time, let alone at any point in 2021.

 

[Alopex7]

I don't want to open can of worms, but I think the mental and economic aspects of this pandemic are nearly as bad as the virus itself... Our zoo closed for months, I lost a loved one (God willing one), my workplace didn't hold its fun competition that I participated in 2019, politics went weirdly... I used to dislike wearing mask, but I am fine with it now.
Edit: I was put on quarantine for 10 days which was boring!

 

[Ned]

Right now it is being proven that it was just too early to go out and open things up again, and I was wrong in supporting and making use of that, and I could have and should have known better. A few weeks ago reopening zoos outdoors only to me just appeared to be safe and sensible - but that was based on a possibly deliberately incomplete picture of the situation.

You're not alone in supporting an early opening up of things, look how many world leaders have made that mistake. In the UK a far too lenient attitude towards Christmas has cost thousands of lives but do you think there would have been much support for the cancellation of Christmas? You can't judge yourself using hindsight.