Surviving the pandemic is an imperative. It is not something that is merely optional. But how is surviving the pandemic and maintaining a stability possible? The pandemic places restrictions on our movements. It is the driving reason for financial collapse in major markets. In short, it has changed lives.
How much it affects you may depend on where you are located. In the United States there is a request that restaurants and bars close, except for take out food. Cinemas are closed. And sports are halted. Conventions and large meetings are being cancelled.
People are requested to limit gatherings to ten or less people. This restriction impacts planned events, with major gatherings being cancelled, some with the hope of rescheduling at a later date. This limitation also affects planed weddings. Club meetings are cancelled. Even churches are closed. The Archbishop of New Orleans gave a dispensation to allow Catholics the option to not attend Sunday Mass. Then, he ordered the cessation of all public Masses, Stations of the Cross, and even Confessions. In this highly Catholic area parishes raise money during Lent by selling fried fish plates. Not this year. People are not eating in, so the comradery is lost.
Schools were closed with just the weekend notice for parents to find alternative care for their children should they have to report to work. But many have no work to which to report.
Doctors are cancelling visits for checkups. Even my eye doctor cancelled a visit I had scheduled for over a week from now. Dentists are being restricted to necessary work only, so having teeth cleaned is not happening.
Comments
It seems some animals, dogs in particular, enjoy human company, so they are doing well with their families home. The same report indicated cats, loners, are having a problem adjusting.
blackspanielgallery, Thank you for the practical information and the product line.
Are animals being affected by the pandemic? Do I remember correctly a headline about a cat in England being the first animal known to have the coronavirus? If so, that doesn't appear to have extended restrictions to domesticated animals (even though an area veterinarian, who posts amusing observations on the mall billboard, noted that "Our patients hate social distancing").
Lockdown and SOPS during pandemic are nearly the same everywhere.
M. U. is known even here.
You have hit upon one of Britain's greatest problems, the over-dominance of London. South eastern England tacitly conspires in this marginalization of much of Britain, though the present government claims that it wants to rectify the situation.London,though, is the part of the UK worst hit by the virus. I suspect that it is very much like New York in this respect. New York's problems have been aired on British news.
Talking of Manchester United, I live less than a mile from where they play.
Frank,
The news showed the cheering for the health workers in the U. K. There were uniformed people who could have been police standing well spaced in front of a large building clapping, at least a dozen of them. I suspect it was London, which the media seems to think is all of the U. K. Then they shower Prince William's three children clapping. Other than Manchester United when the World Cup is being played I doubt they realize Manchester is an actual place.
Morale boosting is important.
We in the UK had a morale boosting exercise in which at 8 pm last night the nation was filmed applauding the NHS [National Health Service.] We came out in the dusk and clapped and cheered. My street was filmed by Channel 4 news and they aired a brief interview with my wife. At the end I was briefly filmed in the street cheering. No one was directly healed through this, but the healers were boosted, so maybe they were empowered to carry on.
Marsha, I always use Chrome, but I can use Edge, and I still have Internet Explorer available. Try resetting your router.
Frank, I agree. I am in a position not far removed, except by an ocean, from yours. My small online selling business has been reduced to about half, and the companies that supply me with things to resell are not shipping, but that is on minor concern.
MBC, I am in Louisiana, which is also hard hit, a result of Mardi Gras.
Let's all be as positive as possible.