Global Pandemic Lockdown

Started by Snarky, Sat 14/03/2020 11:38:17

Previous topic - Next topic

KyriakosCH

While the deaths here have been negligible (120 or something, in a population of 11 million), it may change with the influx of tourists from heavily hit countries. Usually small hotel owners are elderly.
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Blondbraid

Quote from: cat on Thu 30/04/2020 07:55:10
@Blondbraid
Sounds delicious! I don't eat chocolate, but maybe I should make some kanelbullar next weekend. You usually don't get them here (and IKEA is closed as well)

Luckily, next week the rest of the stores + shopping centers are going to open here. I'm looking much forward to it, because I need some important stuff and had some bad experience with mail order recently. Also restaurants will finally open mid May.

You should definitively bake your own kanelbullar if you have the time for it, I've never found a store-bought one that could match fresh homemade ones, plus it's a great activity to do with your kids!
Quote from: Andail on Thu 30/04/2020 09:10:15
As many have noticed, Sweden is taking a very different route here.
I don't want to be another hobby epidemiologist, so I'll just try to convey what the Swedish authorities are doing and saying.

1. We don't think this is a hoax, or exaggerated. We all believe it's very real. We don't congregate and rally to protest the restrictions, like the American rednecks. A vast majority of Swedes actually take a lot of distancing measures.
2. Tegnell isn't a manic street preacher. He's the spokesperson of the national health agency. It has hundreds of scientists and experts.
3. The fundamental idea, based on their simulations and models, is that voluntary social distancing works pretty much as effectively as a hard lockdown. Whether this will turn out true or false is impossible to say at this early phase, but the numbers are quite alarming.
4. A complete lockdown has a number of bad side effects, like increased domestic abuse, children removed from the safety net of society, isolation fatigue and depressions, etc. Can you say it's worth it? Hard to know at this point. But we Swedes have a strong belief in the system.
5. We're doing much worse than our Nordic neighbours, but quite average in a larger perspective. We're not in the top ten when it comes to deaths per capita. We've also reported more deaths than most countries, and Sweden is one of few nations that haven't underreported our deaths.
6. I'm personally a bit divided, and I definitely think there are some areas where restrictions could be much harsher.
As a fellow Swede, I can confirm all of this. Too many people seem to think Sweden have done no measures at all, which isn't true, and while there are less restrictions, everyone in the news and on the streets alike are still talking about the virus and many commercial signs have been replaced with reminders to keep one's distance and keep one's hands clean, so you can't miss that the corona situation is still ongoing.


LimpingFish

Sweden is a country of 10 million people. Ireland is roughly half that. One is in "total" lockdown, the other is taking a more voluntary approach.

Both have around 20k cases (Sweden has double the confirmed deaths).

What does this prove? Dunno. :-\

It lends credence to the claim, though, that lockdowns and social-distancing generally work to slow the spread of the virus, either separately or in tandem, and that people who are ignoring one or the other (or both) are a danger to themselves and to others.
Steam: LimpingFish
PSN: LFishRoller
XB: TheActualLimpingFish
Spotify: LimpingFish

dactylopus

Quote from: Andail on Thu 30/04/2020 09:10:15
As many have noticed, Sweden is taking a very different route here.
I don't want to be another hobby epidemiologist, so I'll just try to convey what the Swedish authorities are doing and saying.

1. We don't think this is a hoax, or exaggerated. We all believe it's very real. We don't congregate and rally to protest the restrictions, like the American rednecks. A vast majority of Swedes actually take a lot of distancing measures.
2. Tegnell isn't a manic street preacher. He's the spokesperson of the national health agency. It has hundreds of scientists and experts.
3. The fundamental idea, based on their simulations and models, is that voluntary social distancing works pretty much as effectively as a hard lockdown. Whether this will turn out true or false is impossible to say at this early phase, but the numbers are quite alarming.
4. A complete lockdown has a number of bad side effects, like increased domestic abuse, children removed from the safety net of society, isolation fatigue and depressions, etc. Can you say it's worth it? Hard to know at this point. But we Swedes have a strong belief in the system.
5. We're doing much worse than our Nordic neighbours, but quite average in a larger perspective. We're not in the top ten when it comes to deaths per capita. We've also reported more deaths than most countries, and Sweden is one of few nations that haven't underreported our deaths.
6. I'm personally a bit divided, and I definitely think there are some areas where restrictions could be much harsher.
If only there weren't so many idiots.  I would rather voluntary social distancing and self isolation be the way here, but there would not be enough volunteers to make it work.  I hate the idea of giving up liberty for safety.  If they were only going to hurt themselves, I'd say to hell with them, but they spread the disease to others and make for a very dangerous situation.  Some people need laws and orders to keep them from doing dumb and hazardous things.  They're kind of like those people who say the only thing that keeps them from murder is their god saying "Thou shalt not kill."  They need to have some morality and rationality of their own.  Common sense is not very common.

So, in the meantime, I'm glad that there are lockdown orders in place (for now), because the threat is very real and people are literally dying in large numbers that can be significantly mitigated by such measures.  It just sets a deadly precedent for what the government is capable of, so I'm wary.

Snarky

Quote from: cat on Thu 30/04/2020 07:55:10
@Snarky
I just looked up skolebrød and it looks delicious. How did yours turn out?

OK, which I consider a disappointment. A well-made one should be delicious (and I'm usually pretty good at making them). But I just reheated one, and accidentally lightly toasted the coconut flakes: that actually made it better!

I don't think I've made kanelbullar (cinnamon rolls) in at least twenty years. Maybe I should go for that next. I bought some licorice powder for baking that I've never found a use for, but I've seen kanelbulle recipes that call for it.

Reiter

A third voice from the Cinnamon Kingdom.

Quote from: Andail on Thu 30/04/2020 09:10:15
As many have noticed, Sweden is taking a very different route here.
I don't want to be another hobby epidemiologist, so I'll just try to convey what the Swedish authorities are doing and saying.

1. We don't think this is a hoax, or exaggerated. We all believe it's very real. We don't congregate and rally to protest the restrictions, like the American rednecks. A vast majority of Swedes actually take a lot of distancing measures.
2. Tegnell isn't a manic street preacher. He's the spokesperson of the national health agency. It has hundreds of scientists and experts.
3. The fundamental idea, based on their simulations and models, is that voluntary social distancing works pretty much as effectively as a hard lockdown. Whether this will turn out true or false is impossible to say at this early phase, but the numbers are quite alarming.
4. A complete lockdown has a number of bad side effects, like increased domestic abuse, children removed from the safety net of society, isolation fatigue and depressions, etc. Can you say it's worth it? Hard to know at this point. But we Swedes have a strong belief in the system.
5. We're doing much worse than our Nordic neighbours, but quite average in a larger perspective. We're not in the top ten when it comes to deaths per capita. We've also reported more deaths than most countries, and Sweden is one of few nations that haven't underreported our deaths.
6. I'm personally a bit divided, and I definitely think there are some areas where restrictions could be much harsher.

All very good points, indeed. I fear that we simply cannot tell how this will all end until the immediate danger is over, and we can tally the costs.

As for me, I cannot say that I am particularly pleased with the response and the measures in place. I think it would have been better to batter down the hatches earlier, and taken decisive measures when it would have mattered. Nonetheless, the chief words are 'would have'. It is too late, and the route has been chosen. There is nothing for it, but to obey the restrictions and hope for the best. It is as it is, and I think it is better to save the shouting for when it is over. Although, I must admit that the tactic is working better than I would have thought. Keeping most people mostly safe most of the time, as it were. For all its faults, this lockdown-light method is at least reasonably substainable, in the long term. Some seem to not give a fig for distancing or isolation at all, but if most people do, most of the time... Well.

The chief problem was that the infection rather quickly wormed itself into care homes for the eldery, where a lot of the casualties seem to stem. If it was a calculated risk or a failing of the system, I cannot say. I expect the answer will be thrashed out when the counting begins.

All of this is terribly easy for me to say, however. Although a lot of appointments I had in mind for this year are cancelled, my life is mostly normal. I cannot work from home, so it is business as usual. The shops are open, and with the initial panic gone, nothing in particular is missing - yet. It is a risk to calculate, to go out and support local businesses or to stay away. Many pubs and restaurants are open (since they cannot afford otherwise, and the authorities would rather not make them close and pay the difference), and you are at once encouraged to support them and to keep yourself at home. Calculated risks, all around.

I am not fond of the chosen path, but it is the one we have now, and even if they did implement the response I would have liked to see at the start of this dreary business, it is too late now. It is no less than my duty to comply, and hope for the best. One day, it will all be over bar the shouting.

Blondbraid

It's also worth noting that most of the foreign news articles showing pictures of Swedes sitting in crowded cafés is completely misleading, weather intentionally or not (seriously, some of those pictures clearly look like stock images taken in the middle of summer), and I can say from personal experience that while people are moving out in the streets, virtually all restaurants and Cafés are empty and most people buy take-away if they get something at all. Wherever they get all crowded restaurant photos from, I have no idea, but I haven't seen any such sights this year where I live in Stockholm.


Mandle

Quote from: Blondbraid on Fri 01/05/2020 22:51:42
(seriously, some of those pictures clearly look like stock images taken in the middle of summer)

So, the media gets a story about crowded restaurants in Sweden but have no pictures so they google "crowded Swedish restaurants" and use one of the stock photos for their article?
Sounds sleazy enough to be true.

cat

Kanelbullar turned out fantastic!

Slasher

Quote from: cat on Sat 02/05/2020 09:00:04
Kanelbullar turned out fantastic!
Aww... very delicious.. where's mine (laugh)

Now I want to bake... its a great way to spend time alone  ;)

Mandle

Quote from: Slasher on Sat 02/05/2020 10:05:47
Now I want to bake... its a great way to spend time alone  ;)

Don't you mean "get baked"?  (laugh)

eri0o

Hey, it's good to skim this thread and see everyone is alive. :)

cat

Finally, things are slowly returning to normal here. Last weekend, I finally got a proper haircut, went to a restaurant and had a barbecue with friends.

You still have to wear a mask in shops and stuff, but at least people seem to get fed up by it and complain, which makes me happy (You have to know that people in my country love to complain. At the beginning of this whole shit, people were so scared that they would accept anything the government said. This made me more afraid than the virus itself)

Blondbraid

Quote from: cat on Wed 20/05/2020 09:06:56
Finally, things are slowly returning to normal here. Last weekend, I finally got a proper haircut, went to a restaurant and had a barbecue with friends.

You still have to wear a mask in shops and stuff, but at least people seem to get fed up by it and complain, which makes me happy (You have to know that people in my country love to complain. At the beginning of this whole shit, people were so scared that they would accept anything the government said. This made me more afraid than the virus itself)
Yes, that's what's worried me about the whole lockdown, I've heard some scary stories of several leaders using it as an excuse to indefinitely implement more authoritarian laws, and paired with people straight up cheering on things like apps that trace the movements of the infected, all the ingredients for a dystopia is right there in the making.

For all the criticism the Swedish policy has garnered, I still think it was the right decision.


Slasher

Hope everyone's well and keeping busy..

Moresco

Quote from: Slasher on Wed 20/05/2020 10:28:37
Hope everyone's well and keeping busy..

Yep! Making games over here!

I've been working during lockdown, so it wasn't much of a lockdown I guess.  Rent's paid, things are the same as they have been, really.   Not too many people here in Vegas seem to be taking the virus seriously, which I think is a mistake.  I don't worry because I literally go to the office, work on games, come home, work on games.  I never went out before! ha
::: Mastodon :::

KyriakosCH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY6fzOorQKg

I would have wanted someone else as head of Labour than Starmer, but come on, Boris looks and sounds like a complete fraud.

This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

BarbWire


Well, I'm sorry to say this guys, but it seems to me that the human race is
well and truly screwed. Nature has been fighting back, of late, culminating
in coronavirus. If, as some of the experts suggest, we will never be free of
this disease, homo sapiens could be wiped off the face of the Earth and it
will be no great loss. The damage caused by us will soon be healed. The
planet will be reborn in its former glory where flora and fauna can flourish.


KyriakosCH

Maybe we also were just the flora and fauna, until the previous species messed up ^_^
This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Crimson Wizard

#299
I am not sure if BarbWire is serious...

EDIT: maybe that was a joke... I don't know. nevermind.

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk