Coronavirus...post your thoughts here...

[DAnCSF]

So I was just wondering, the pandemic probably has allowed lots of people to re-discover or pickup new hobbies such as fish keeping. For me it was diving deeper into my fish keeping and exploring the world of FB and fish keeping groups. Now that the pandemic is in a new phase which I consider as living with CV. It's never gonna go away, but how we deal with it, is a personal choice. In any event how you feel about your fish? In what ways has the pandemic been both a help or hindrance. This is just a thought provoking question and a way to vent or free some emotions. For me the pandemic, has allowed me to dive a bit deeper into the hobby. I was always in the hobby but not as carefully as I should have nor as knowledgeable as I should have been. As a teleworker, I've the time to observer my fish more carefully than in the past and see that fish really do have personalities etc.....any thoughts or vents.

 

[Colin_T]

Update from Australia.

I don't know what's happening in the rest of the country or the world because I don't normally get a TV signal. But on the news just then (yes its 6am and I have TV, woo hoo, there's nothing on but woo hoo), they have found 3 new covid19 mutations. There are 2 that are omicron x delta strains and a third one I couldn't catch the name of. All 3 are more contagious than delta and appear to have come from people who had the delta strain and omicron strain at the same time.

There was information about the common cold/ flu virus and they reckon Australia could be in a for a really bad flu season because we haven't had it here for the last 2 years. But with the borders open, they say the normal flu will be here soon and if you catch covid (or any of its strains) and the common cold/ flu, you could be in significantly more trouble than if you catch either virus on its own.

As for Western Australia, we have 5000+ new cases each day. We have about 2 million people in the state and half of those live in Perth (the capital city). Most of the cases are in Perth and the south-west.

My car finally got fixed and I went shopping last night (Friday night). The first store I went into had an Indian guy and his son. Both had masks around their neck but not covering their mouth or nose. I politely asked them to put their masks on because I have health issues and don't want to catch anything. They walked out of the shop and did not put their masks on.

The next shop I went to had a bunch of people (mostly Asian but some white) who had masks covering their mouth but not their nose. I was getting stressed by that stage and started telling people to wear their masks or I was calling the cops. Most people covered their noses when I said that.

The third shop I went too and the lady at the self serve checkouts was coughing away. She had a black mask on but it was not fitted well. I'm hoping she didn't have the virus because she was literally 2 feet from me when coughing and I don't want to catch this virus.

So the government is telling everyone they are doing a good job by wearing masks when lots of people aren't wearing them properly or at all. The virus is spreading around the state at a rapid rate and there are electronic billboard signs on the side of the roads saying free testing, etc. But the testng places are only open between 6am & 4pm. Well what about people that can't get there during those hours?

The health authorities are recommending people with underlying health issues get a 4th jab before winter, and also to get a common cold/ flu vaccine. I haven't had my 3rd vaccine yet and can't get one even though the government is telling everyone there is heaps of vaccine available from chemists, doctors and all sorts of places. The chemists I have been to during the last month have no vaccine. The doctors have none and you need to book a few weeks in advance to get one from them. I don't know where the vaccines are but they sure as heck aren't in WA.

If everyone was wearing their masks correclty like they are meant to do by law, I wouldn't be as stressed out. But when turkeys don't wear them because they don't want to, they should be locked up and never let out. I am sick of jerks breaking the law and putting my life at risk because they don't want to wear a mask in public. Boo hoo. I have health issues and don't want to catch your damn virus, wear a mask you scumbags. sorry venting.

 

[Oblio]

@Colin_T - I'm glad you got your car fixed. I'm hoping your other crisis fall as well.

 

[Colin_T]

Update from Australia

Last week we were getting 10,000 new cases of omicron each day. It has dropped this week and is around 7500 per day.

People still aren't wearing masks properly or at all. At the supermarket a family (mum, dad and a couple of kids) all walked in with masks on. Then the mum takes hers off completely and walks around the shop without it on. WTF.

One of the staff members refused to put his mask on when I was going to head down the isle he was in. I left the store because of that.

Queensland is dropping all their mask laws and just letting anyone do whatever they want. Go to a pub, nightclub, major sporting event regardless of it you have been vaccinated or not, and no masks required. People are asking if this is because of the upcoming election, who knows.

Idiot governments all across the country are dropping mask laws and encouraging people to catch the virus, claiming the ppandemic is over and there's nothing to worry about. Meanwhile the hospitals are filling up and people are dying in them because of the virus.

This isn't over by a long shot. There are more mutations appearing every few months and the vaccines aren't stopping them. Without masks and social distancing, these viruses are going to spread like wildfire.

 

[Naughts]

Update from Australia

Last week we were getting 10,000 new cases of omicron each day. It has dropped this week and is around 7500 per day.

People still aren't wearing masks properly or at all. At the supermarket a family (mum, dad and a couple of kids) all walked in with masks on. Then the mum takes hers off completely and walks around the shop without it on. WTF.

One of the staff members refused to put his mask on when I was going to head down the isle he was in. I left the store because of that.

Queensland is dropping all their mask laws and just letting anyone do whatever they want. Go to a pub, nightclub, major sporting event regardless of it you have been vaccinated or not, and no masks required. People are asking if this is because of the upcoming election, who knows.

Idiot governments all across the country are dropping mask laws and encouraging people to catch the virus, claiming the ppandemic is over and there's nothing to worry about. Meanwhile the hospitals are filling up and people are dying in them because of the virus.

This isn't over by a long shot. There are more mutations appearing every few months and the vaccines aren't stopping them. Without masks and social distancing, these viruses are going to spread like wildfire.

We have a very different viewpoint now in England. There are zero restrictions - travel, isolation, mask wearing etc. have all been lifted. There is no free testing or routine testing anymore (with a couple of exceptions in health and social care sectors).

It is recommended that Covid positive adults try to avoid others for 5 days, just 3 days for children.

The government deem that there is now sufficient protection in the society due to vaccines and natural immunity that COVID presents a low risk of serious illness to the vast majority of people. This, plus a greater understanding of the virus and improved access to treatments, means we can now focus on how we live with COVID without the fear that there used to be.

Obviously work absences are still a big challenge, and the numbers of cases are still very high (albeit dropping now after the Omicron BA2 peaked), but we are happy to be just getting on with it now.

 

[Gaz111]

In England you can go to work and people are where I work (building site) as sick pay is next to nothing on the books and subcontractors get nothing when testing was free they told everyone they had it and we made them work outside wear a mask indoors this week a bloke was Ill but said he wasn’t going to pay for test so was treated the same. It’s a funny old virus when you have some that can work, my 92 grandad had no more than a sore throat and 30 year olds bed ridden seems to really matter who you are as fit people and unhealthy get hit hard or not at all

 

[Essjay]

I have some test kits left - I tested positive this morning, my husband did last Friday and my older son came down with the same symptoms as my husband on Sunday, though he doesn't have a test kit to prove it. They've both been extremely tired - spent most of 3 days in bed - and very disorientated. Away with the fairies as we'd say. I feel like I have a cold; sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, laryngitis, coughing. I'm tired but only through waking up every hour through the night to blow my nose. I have to wait and see if I get my husband's symptoms but at the moment I've had worse colds than this.
Both our children visited on Mother's Day, 11 days ago. My younger child had a headache and a bit of a cough and only knew he had Covid at his routine Monday morning test at work the following day. He's not stopped apologising since.

 

[Rocky998]

I have some test kits left - I tested positive this morning, my husband did last Friday and my older son came down with the same symptoms as my husband on Sunday, though he doesn't have a test kit to prove it. They've both been extremely tired - spent most of 3 days in bed - and very disorientated. Away with the fairies as we'd say. I feel like I have a cold; sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, laryngitis, coughing. I'm tired but only through waking up every hour through the night to blow my nose. I have to wait and see if I get my husband's symptoms but at the moment I've had worse colds than this.
Both our children visited on Mother's Day, 11 days ago. My younger child had a headache and a bit of a cough and only knew he had Covid at his routine Monday morning test at work the following day. He's not stopped apologising since.

I hope you and your family get better!

 

[Essjay]

My husband is almost recovered, though he still feels a bit 'not quite with it' and my son is past the worst. Presumably we've got Omicron BA2 which isn't as severe as the earlier forms.

I'm waiting to see what the next few days bring. If I disappear you'll know why - I'll be asleep in bed.

 

[Naughts]

I have some test kits left - I tested positive this morning, my husband did last Friday and my older son came down with the same symptoms as my husband on Sunday, though he doesn't have a test kit to prove it. They've both been extremely tired - spent most of 3 days in bed - and very disorientated. Away with the fairies as we'd say. I feel like I have a cold; sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, laryngitis, coughing. I'm tired but only through waking up every hour through the night to blow my nose. I have to wait and see if I get my husband's symptoms but at the moment I've had worse colds than this.
Both our children visited on Mother's Day, 11 days ago. My younger child had a headache and a bit of a cough and only knew he had Covid at his routine Monday morning test at work the following day. He's not stopped apologising since.

Get well soon Essjay. Rest, paracetamol, rest, ibuprofen, more rest. Oh, and don't forget to rest.

 

[Essjay]

Don't worry, I will

 

[Essjay]

I didn't actually need any paracetamol/ibuprofen, just Olbas Oil (for a blocked nose at night). And I didn't get any rest as I had to look after my husband, cook meals etc. OK, I did let the housework slip a bit
Maybe I'm lucky, maybe it's because it's Omicron not one of the previous variants, but if I hadn't tested positive I would have thought I'd had a mild cold.

 

[Colin_T]

Latest update from Western Australia.

The state government has removed most of the laws about social distancing, masks, social gatherings, etc. They don't care and are letting it run wild now.

The premier of WA, Mark McGowan and his family have the omicron strain and even though one of his children was taken to hospital because of the virus, he does not think it's a problem any more.

I am now even more concerned about my own health because people don't have to wear masks in public places like shopping centres, government departments, petrol stations or doctors clinics. So people with underlying health issues are now going to be exposed to large volumes of the virus when they go shopping for food and groceries, get fuel or visit the doctor.

Making matters worse is close contacts don't have to stay home and are allowed out in public unless they are showing symptoms.

People are contagious and spread the virus before they show any symptoms. This is how omicron has spread so fast. People catch it and pass it on before they get a runny nose or cough/ sneeze.

The Australian and state governments are doing everything they can to help spread the virus. They don't care about anything now except opening the country back up and making money.

This pandemic is far from over and the more people travelling around the world, the more it will mutate and spread and the more long term issues that will occur.

It's not hard for people to wear a mask in public to reduce the spread of the virus. It's certainly easier for people to do that than bury people that have died from the virus.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

My husband is almost recovered, though he still feels a bit 'not quite with it' and my son is past the worst. Presumably we've got Omicron BA2 which isn't as severe as the earlier forms.

I'm waiting to see what the next few days bring. If I disappear you'll know why - I'll be asleep in bed.

Hope they both recover soon, COVID is nasty stuff. My sister has had it once and she couldn't taste anything for a full month.

 

[Essjay]

We are all recovered from Covid, after mild symptoms. I lost my taste for a day - but I always do when I have a cold, and I had just cold like symptoms. To be honest, I've been more ill with a cold than this episode of Covid. Who knows, maybe I had a particularly mild variant.



The only casualty is my hair. I was going to have it cut before Easter, then my son phoned to say he'd tested positive so I knew I couldn't make an appointment until I knew I was clear. By then it was Easter. The woman who does my hair only works Fridays and Saturdays and the next free appointment after Easter is in two days time. I've been ticking off the days till then, it's driving me mad