COVID-19......Your Situation

[redbikejohn]

Still at work. Heathrow cargo. One of the guys on our shift has been forced to go home as his father in law has been tested positive! Luckily he works in control room and I work on tool in cage system but as it spreads so easily I'm a bit concerned. Not mentioned it to mrs as she'll worry herself to bits.

[AlanHolt]

So, day 12 of lockdown in Spain and the numbers are rising. I know I have to go out and get food and water (we live off-grid so need to buy or bottle water from the font in town), and some medicines from the pharmacy. I also had to collect a new bank card which was in another town, as my current card was going to expire in a few days time. So, because we are under lockdown, a trip like this needs careful planning. We can only leave the house for certain reasons, and all the reasons are valid, but I need a document explaining my origin, destinations and reasons, along with my own personal details. I prepared the document last night, printed it this morning and the page was blank. I’ve run out of black ink in my printer. I changed the font colour to blue and printed it again. Success. Passport, documents, shopping list, prescriptions, empty water bottles, ok, lets roll.
I drive to Flix to collect my bank card, not a single roadblock or police car en-route. Stage one complete. On my way to the pharmacy, I see two police vehicles, both occupied with two officers in the front seats, and I also pass one checkpoint where the three officers are stood together chatting, on a day when it is announced that 700 ‘agents’ have tested positive for Covid-19.
I arrived at the pharmacy, no gloves, no masks, no thermometer, but they had everything else. I tried to pay with my card, sorry, cash only. When everywhere else is asking us to pay using card to stop money which may be infected from changing hands, at the pharmacy I had to dig into my pockets and hand over money and notes which could then be passed onto someone else, and I had to receive change that could also be infected.
On to another pharmacy, again, no gloves, no masks and no thermometers. So it seems that by following the governments advice, and staying at home for as long as possible has meant i’ve missed out on buying essential PPE.
On to the supermarket. As I walk to the door, the security guard explains that I can’t go in unless i’m wearing gloves. But I can’t buy any! Well put two shopping bags on your hands and you can go in. So with a plastic shopping bag on each hand, he sprays the handle of the trolley and allows me to enter the store. I head straight to the vegetables and realise how difficult this is going to be. Try to open a plastic bag whilst wearing plastic bags on each hand. Its impossible. People around me who had surgical gloves on we getting on fine, those of us who were unable to buy gloves and were sporting carrier bags were simply getting annoyed at the whole situation. Some shoppers simply removed the bags, bagged the fruit and veg they wanted and then put the bags back on. Frustrated, I quickly got the items I needed from that store and made my way to the checkout. Even putting the items on the conveyor was like a scene from the Krypton Factor. The cashier said the bags-as-gloves thing was ridiculous, as I struggled to get the bank card out of my wallet.
I had one more stop, which was initially to just get Tofu, but was not to get the majority of the food shopping. I took the gloves out of the first aid kit I had and put them on and walked towards the store. The security guard stopped me at the entrance and told me I had to use antibacterial gel on my gloves, and once I had done that, I had to put their disposable gloves over the top of my gloves. This wasn’t as bad as having to wear shopping bags, but still seemed a bit pointless as they didn’t seem concerned with sanitising the trolley handles. But I was able to wander around, got all but one item on the list and headed to the checkout with what I hoped would be a months worth of shopping. Whilst scanning the items, the cashier who had been wearing her face mask and gloves, removed the mask, started panting, saying she couldn’t breath with the mask on, then continued scanning my shopping. I paid and left, and received the most disgusting look from the security guard as I exited the building. Why? Because I need food? Because I followed government advice and now I can’t buy the PPE they want me to wear? I’m the one now at risk of getting Covid-19, thanks doing what I was told, others not doing what they were told, and a lack of PPE.
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[daveuprite]

So, day 12 of lockdown in Spain

That's a fascinating post, Alan. Just goes to show how chaotic it can be when everyone is kind of making it up as they go along, and when the ground is moving each day. We're just a few days behind you in France I think. Cases in Eastern France and Paris are flying up fast. A couple of people from my commune have been taken to Limoges hospital with Covid. The lockdown was extended for a further fortnight last night, but that was inevitable, and it will probably repeat several times. Me and Tracie are thinking possibly June/July for lockdown and maybe end of the year for social distancing, but who can be sure right now? Apart from a handful of tractors, driven by people we know anyhow, there has been absolutely zero traffic here and it's eerily quiet even for a place that is usually quiet anyway. It must be really weird in the capital cities.

[soho]

So, day 12 of lockdown in Spain

That's a fascinating post, Alan. Just goes to show how chaotic it can be when everyone is kind of making it up as they go along, and when the ground is moving each day. We're just a few days behind you in France I think. Cases in Eastern France and Paris are flying up fast. A couple of people from my commune have been taken to Limoges hospital with Covid. The lockdown was extended for a further fortnight last night, but that was inevitable, and it will probably repeat several times. Me and Tracie are thinking possibly June/July for lockdown and maybe end of the year for social distancing, but who can be sure right now? Apart from a handful of tractors, driven by people we know anyhow, there has been absolutely zero traffic here and it's eerily quiet even for a place that is usually quiet anyway. It must be really weird in the capital cities.

Really eerie, just been out for some milk & a paper. Stood in the middle of Oxford Circus looking North to the BBC and East toward Centre Point, South toward Piccadilly ................A ghostly feeling for sure.

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[daveuprite]

So, day 12 of lockdown in Spain

That's a fascinating post, Alan. Just goes to show how chaotic it can be when everyone is kind of making it up as they go along, and when the ground is moving each day. We're just a few days behind you in France I think. Cases in Eastern France and Paris are flying up fast. A couple of people from my commune have been taken to Limoges hospital with Covid. The lockdown was extended for a further fortnight last night, but that was inevitable, and it will probably repeat several times. Me and Tracie are thinking possibly June/July for lockdown and maybe end of the year for social distancing, but who can be sure right now? Apart from a handful of tractors, driven by people we know anyhow, there has been absolutely zero traffic here and it's eerily quiet even for a place that is usually quiet anyway. It must be really weird in the capital cities.

Really eerie, just been out for some milk & a paper. Stood in the middle of Oxford Circus looking North to the BBC and East toward Centre Point, South toward Piccadilly ................A ghostly feeling for sure.
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Wowo, that's freaky. My first proper job after Uni was working at English Heritage, 23 Savile Row - just round the corner from Oxford Circus. I used to get the 23 bus from where you took that second pic, to Paddington Station. It would crawl all the way through dense traffic and shopping crowds, to Marble Arch and up Edgeware Road. I would often jump on as it drove along (back in the Routemaster days) at a jogging pace!

Have you ever watched the film 28 Days Later ? A zombie movie set in a totally empty London. The opening scenes look like your photos, except the filmmakers had to film them at about 5am on Sunday Summer mornings to get quiet enough streets....

[soho]

Wowo, that's freaky. My first proper job after Uni was working at English Heritage, 23 Savile Row - just round the corner from Oxford Circus. I used to get the 23 bus from where you took that second pic, to Paddington Station. It would crawl all the way through dense traffic and shopping crowds, to Marble Arch and up Edgeware Road. I would often jump on as it drove along (back in the Routemaster days) at a jogging pace!

Have you ever watched the film 28 Days Later ? A zombie movie set in a totally empty London. The opening scenes look like your photos, except the filmmakers had to film them at about 5am on Sunday Summer mornings to get quiet enough streets....
[/quote]

The Busses are hiding round the side of John Lewis

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[mark vb]

So, day 12 of lockdown in Spain

That's a fascinating post, Alan. Just goes to show how chaotic it can be when everyone is kind of making it up as they go along, and when the ground is moving each day. We're just a few days behind you in France I think. Cases in Eastern France and Paris are flying up fast. A couple of people from my commune have been taken to Limoges hospital with Covid. The lockdown was extended for a further fortnight last night, but that was inevitable, and it will probably repeat several times. Me and Tracie are thinking possibly June/July for lockdown and maybe end of the year for social distancing, but who can be sure right now? Apart from a handful of tractors, driven by people we know anyhow, there has been absolutely zero traffic here and it's eerily quiet even for a place that is usually quiet anyway. It must be really weird in the capital cities.

Really eerie, just been out for some milk & a paper. Stood in the middle of Oxford Circus looking North to the BBC and East toward Centre Point, South toward Piccadilly ................A ghostly feeling for sure.
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Yeah, that's certainly freaky.... I know those roads well - for a few years on the trot my student summer vacation job was working for Westminster City Council's street cleansing dept as a roadsweeper, along Oxford St to Marble Arch/Park Lane. It got so busy with tourists after 9.30 or so, that the rest of the day had to be spent emptying the bins as sweeping was pretty much impossible. In 1981 I had the 'honour' of sweeping the royal wedding route along The Strand

[Tramp]

lol you want to try working as a hgv driver...most factorys that are open refuse to allow visisting drivers be it delivery or collection to use the toillets on ste ....violation of basic human rights....so yep we are pissing everywhere normality....the services on roads are omly open for fuel by card no food or showers..so if you work away you kinda stink and going for a shit is ....plastic bag time. ..

the amount of people who dont get the 2mtr rule or wear gloves is crazy in Europe....no wonder they are droppoing like flies....last point of contact needs isolation...gloves will save peoples lives...just use only once....dont get me started on distribution depots...forklift drivers swapping keys and talking and eating near each other...

mental health and divorce rates are going to sore ..

[AlanHolt]

When Spain declared it was in a state of emergency, the first thing stated was all our rights had been suspended. These are difficult times. At the moment, the UK is only undergoing lockdown light. Spain is currently on phase 1 of the state of emergency, so you can only imagine what stage 2 and 3 will be like.

[zimtim]

Just been out for supplies.
My local village all queuing to get in, one in one out. That local Sainsbury's, Tesco and the pharmacy.

Next villiage along again queuing one in one out in pharmacy, and the local hardware shop is allowing people in at all they have erected a counter at the door and the staff will get what you want.

Went into Hythe to Lidl.

No queuing
No sanitiser available to wipe down trolley luckily no had my own home made brew.

Out of the 50 odd customers I saw only 5-6 of is had gloves and masks.
Others walking around and not giving any space at all.

The worst offenders were the 20-30 olds and oddly a few elderly gentleman.
Just seems the message about how serious this is, isn't getting through.
Managed to get all I needed but there were some restrictions.

Still no loo roll. (Think he real cause for the loo roll shortage is all the teenage boys being at home wanking themselves to death on internet porn)

Hopefully I won't need to go out for another couple of weeks