OT : The Coronavirus. Has it reached you yet? How are you?

I do not know a single person who had or has it.

Save from people who died of it.

Everything is pretty much back to normal at work, except for the fact we have a bunch of new employees in training. Hearing people on the public transports while I commute, on the streets, at work and at home, it seems we are now slowly entering a new phase in the crisis.

It's the beginning of the grind or the long haul. We'll see more and more impatience, desperation and exhaustion (both physical and psychological).

I mean, most people do wear the mask (probably 95% from my ballpark estimate) on the public transport but there is still a noticeable number of people not wearing any at all despite all the warnings and signs. Also there seem to be a growing number of articles, mostly opinion pieces, questioning the whole thing and asking whether everything was or still is necessary. Don't get me wrong, I do think that some decisions made by the government weren't right and I can understand why those decisions were made but I'm not willing to throw everything out the window.

On the desperation and exhaustion fronts, while the crisis was at its peak a little while back, it seems that most health workers and people in isolation tanked to make it through because the idea was that it was a rough patch. While it "worked", reality has set in that we may not be able to go back to "normal" as fast as we'd like. Combine that with the fact that financial support from the government won't last forever and you have people, like some of my coworkers and neighbors, who feel more and more anxious about the future.

All this leads me to think revelation is the best word to describe the "experience" so far.

I mean, in the first months, the crisis revealed to the government and the people, just how prepared they were for such an event (let's be honest, globally we weren't). It happened by highlighting the flaws in the procedures and the fact that some countries decided to cut their spending on PPE and reducing their reserves in the last few years.

On the field, it revealed who is a team player and who is a liability to an organization. I mean, sure we knew some coworkers never took hand washing seriously and they have been warned but even when the shit hit the fan some refused to actually do things correctly unless someone was standing right beside them and watched them. It also revealed the flaws in the PPE and general equipment distribution process.

On a global scale, it revealed who understands what is being said and who does not (like how to wear the mask properly), who can use common sense and who can't (like those toilet paper hoarders, especially in a province that produce it) and who can do some fact checking and who can't.

To each, it revealed just how mentally and physically though we are. Everybody has a different threshold before breaking down but some reached it already while others can still go on. Some do rely on others to make it through, like some coworkers who kept questioning others about how they were feeling and would actually mirror their answers. In those instances, it seems that they would hang on for as long as the people they perceived as though would hang on.

The word surreal could also be used to describe what it felt like boarding the subway (called Métro in Montréal) with only 6 other persons at rush hour. When I say the subway, I mean the whole train, not just my wagon but the whole train only carried 7 passengers on one go at some point.

Well that's about it for now, stay strong!

Asymptomatic people wouldn't be doing any of those, and I would expect most people who are suffering badly from Covid-19 would be at home quarantining/bedridden, so they wouldn't be out shopping.  

And how many times does it have to pointed out that there are lingering effects to those who survive covid, it isn't just about how many people died.  Eduardo Rodriguez developed a heart condition due to covid, I'd say that's pretty serious.  It isn't about 'living in fear', it's about not spreading the disease to people who are more susceptible to it than you may be.  It's that simple.  

The television was telling us to be afraid long before covid came around.   

Was shopping in Lidl on Tuesday night. Four members of staff on view. Two without masks, two wearing masks but both had pulled them down below their noses. So effectively all massless.

This is is a country where masks in shops are compulsory.

What a fucking joke.

we just launched a space ship to Mars today - estimated at $2.46 billion dollars from a sciencemag.org article (March 2019) - nice to see we've got our priorities right during these times

I want my 2nd Stimulus Check

I never turn down free money like free food

No, i've been outside but only on our property or in the immediate vicinity of our house walking the pets. I've not been in another building or seen anyone other than my wife since March though and I've enjoyed it, it's been a nice break from society.