So... going to Albania in 2 days. There have been 12 cases in this country, but the government is taking EXTREME measures. And for good reason I think, because their health care system cannot deal with large numbers of patients.
They fine people who have been to Italy and Greece in the past two weeks if they do not quarantine themselves. Greece has 90 cases, my country has 503 cases.
They closed all restaurants and bars in the two biggest cities. We never planned to go there, but they are “initially” closing them in these two cities. Which sounds like the rest of the country may follow.
“Rama added that this was not a time for holidays and recreation outside the house, but a time of war and that this war is only won by limiting personal freedom, by radically changing one’s lifestyle and by protecting our own families from contacts with the outside.“
So... going to Albania in 2 days. There have been 12 cases in this country, but the government is taking EXTREME measures. And for good reason I think, because their health care system cannot deal with large numbers of patients.
They fine people who have been to Italy and Greece in the past two weeks if they do not quarantine themselves. Greece has 90 cases, my country has 503 cases.
They closed all restaurants and bars in the two biggest cities. We never planned to go there, but they are “initially” closing them in these two cities. Which sounds like the rest of the country may follow.
“Rama added that this was not a time for holidays and recreation outside the house, but a time of war and that this war is only won by limiting personal freedom, by radically changing one’s lifestyle and by protecting our own families from contacts with the outside.“
Eep.
Albania is on lock down this weekend. Everyone is supposed to stay inside. No traffic allowed in all major cities.
We are flying there now, then renting a car. Not visiting any major cities, but hard to avoid them when driving to our first road trip stop.
So my 10 days vacation in Albania got cut short to a 3 day trip... like, by our own choice. A lot of countries are cancelling all flights and we don’t wanna get stuck. Also, no one here is allowed to drive anywhere so we’d be in the same place for 10 days... all restaurants are closed, bars are closed. It’s kind of bizarre how strict the measures are, but it’s probably for the better.
This is just not the time for any vacation and there are worse things than a cancelled trip.
Flying back tomorrow, fingers crossed that planes are still going!
Shutting down directly causes economic damage I think.
But countries like Albania and to a lesser extent Italy, cannot deal with so many people being hospitalized. Mainly the elder people do need medical care. So in that sense I completely understand that it’s taken very seriously and that no risks should be taken.
There are zero confirmed cases in my town btw, so it's really hard for me to appreciate the severity of this. There was one known case last week, so I don't know what happened there.
The only signs that something is amiss is the panic buying of toilet roll and pasta. Otherwise we're all going about our normal day.
My dad had to cancel his trip lol. Netherlands is on lockdown.
Not on full lockdown, but restaurants and bars are closed. Hotels not sure.
Our PM held an intense speech for the citizens last night. He said the only way to fight the virus now is to build up "group immunity" against the virus, meaning a majority of the people will get the virus and then we have built resistance against the virus. Pretty scary stuff, but I guess it is reality. So now media says about 60% of us will get it, but not everyone will have the severe illness. Gotta be careful around the elderly and vulnerable people.
My uncle survived cancer - he cannot get it or he will not survive. That's really really scary given that 60% of the people will get it. He self-quarantined just in case.
The PM said a country can basically do 3 things:
1. Nothing and just let the virus do the work - it works for the group immunity, but then the hospitals cannot deal with the number of patients and it will be complete chaos and no way to protect the vulnerable.
2. Complete lockdown, no one allowed to go on the streets, close all borders, etc. This is what some countries (like Albania) do. But this option means that there may have to be a complete lockdown for a VERY long time.
3. Social distancing, working from home, severe measures but not a complete lockdown, so the virus slowly spreads and we're flattening the curve. Many will get the virus, but over a longer period.
Our country is going with the 3rd option and I think this is good. But I foresee a problem with countries that go for the second option, because they will not create this group immunity - and once they go back to normal, the virus will spread. Their only hope is the vaccine.
Yes it does mean that you can only get it once, in theory. There have been reports on people getting infected twice, but apparently these are due to errors in tests or people with disfunctioning immune systems.
As long as the majority of the majority builds up immunity, I think group immunity becomes a thing. Unless they got it completely wrong and we're being fed this to calm folks down.
This vid suggests a country can always go with option 2 for a short amount of time when it’s really needed - but option 2 in an early stage is not a great idea:
I usually like working from home 1-2 days a week so I don’t have to sit a total of 2.5 hours a day in the car. But damn 2 days in, at least two full weeks to go, and it’s so fucking boring.
I’m planning to take an online course in data science/programming.
Also got some idea for a game that I’ve hosted before on a couple other forums like 10 years ago. Will start a thread to see if ppl would be into that.
I am definitely also worried about all these democracies turning into dictatorships (pretty much). Even our country where we have a partial / "intelligent" lockdown. Even if it's all for the better, governments are very keen on using their power.
And from my pov, this is going to last a long, long time. Suppose a state/ country succeeds at eliminating the virus - no new cases for 2 weeks - great. Then what? They'd be stupid to open borders because one infected traveler from wherever and it's back. Borders closing for months, a year, idk?
