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Wednesday 18 March 2020

What it's like at the moment

 I know many people are not mentioning Covid 19 on blogs, but I have decided that I am, and If you're not interested in reading this post, that's fine, i'm putting it here mainly for me to record what things are like here for us at the moment.   But if you do want to comment on what things are like where you are then I'm happy to read them.

This pandemic is like nothing we have ever seen before, we can't ignore it or what is happening around the world.  The closing of shops, offices, factories and schools will have repercussions for a long time to come, not to mention the effect it will have on our National Health Service, and to be honest what is happening is very very scary.  

I'm not normally one for watching the news but I find myself searching out news items and tuning in to hear what the latest Government Cobra meeting is announcing every afternoon, I don't want to get hung up on doom and gloom but I do want to know what's happening.  I have even been drawn into reading a couple of the conspiracy theory's out there, mainly on FB, until I thought, what a load of 💩, why are you even reading this, and click off it.  If you look hard enough I suppose you will find a conspiracy in anything.

Today Boris announced the closure of schools and nurseries from Friday 20th, until further notice, they will however still have to provide care for children who's parents are key workers, Police, Health Services or delivery drivers or for children who are vulnerable.
I have one daughter who is an Early Years nursery school worker, she does not know yet if she will be required to go into work after Friday, if she doesn't, she won't get paid, her boyfriend works at a car plant, there is talk of shutting that, again he won't get paid if they do.  My eldest daughter is a Police Officer, she will have to continue going into work, as her mother of course i'm worried about that.

I don't want to compare how we are doing things differently to other countries, each country deals with things in a way that is best for them, taking advice (we hope) and steps when necessary, and no one knows enough about this virus to know that one way is right and another way is wrong, we have to trust, to a certain extent, that we are being given the best advice and to take responsibility to keep ourselves as safe as we can.

This weekend I should have been going to the craft show at the NEC in Birmingham but of course that's now been cancelled, they will be honoring the tickets for the show at the end of June, all being well.  So many places are shutting their doors as this 'thing' escalates, I fear for smaller businesses surviving these tough times, and of course there are people who are being told to stay at home but wont get paid.  We are usually paid when off sick, not everyone is, but of course companies would not survive at all if they had to pay workers and at the same time were making no money, it's going to be tough on everybody, no doubt about it.

In the supermarket I have managed to get most of the things we need.   They still have a limit on the number of items people can buy, two packs of nappies or wipes, one pack of toilet roll and four of anything else.  Makes sense to me, if people only buy what they need there will be enough to go round, even so, there were no baked beans, nappies, tinned soup or tinned peas on the shelves on Wednesday and low stocks of other tinned food and biscuits.  I didn't look at the frozen section but fresh food seemed to be ok.  Some supermarkets are opening early just for pensioners to shop but there are queues outside waiting for them to open at 8am.  They are starting to close at 6pm.  From what I saw in Aldi people were still buying trolley loads of food though.

Everyone in our office has been given the option to work from home, except us on reception.  I've been a bit peed off about this if i'm honest, not because I would rather sit at home, but because we don't seem to have been considered at all.  An email was circulated saying people could work from home but they were going to keep the office open so that should anyone need to come in, for paperwork or conference calls they could.  As nothing was mentioned about reception we took it that we would be expected to carry on.  What I was not happy about was the fact that nothing was mentioned to us regarding deliveries coming in or the fact that we are the first point of call for anyone and we are the ones out of everyone that come into contact with the most people.

I had to send an email out myself to say please use the hand sanitiser as you come into reception and on returning at lunch time.  I've also put a notice on the door saying the same thing.  To be honest we haven't had that many deliveries the last few days but I'm going one step further now and asking them to leave them in the little porch we have rather than letting them in the building.  Again, this advice has not come from management.  We always joke we are the last ones to be thought about, but this just proves it.

I've just looked at the statistics for tonight, as of 9pm there were a total of 2,626 cases with 676 confirmed cases.  Our borough is showing at 10 cases.

Wherever you are, I hope you are keeping safe and well

-X-

13 comments:

Barb said...

It is a tough time. live across Puget sound from Seattle WA.My DD works in the school system and is waiting for any further instructions. Schools are closed till at least late April. To tell you the truth, they don't seem to have plans as yet. We are not exactly on forced isolation but encouraged to only go out for groceries and medical needs. the US. I had to go to the eye Dr. today and before we got in the office they questioned us and took our temps. Our Church is offering services via Facebook. Interesting times. I hope you and your family keep well!

Denise said...

I live in northwest Georgia, USA. Schools are closed for 2
weeks but that may change. Many restaurants have closed their
dining rooms but you can go to the drive-thru window and
get your food order. Lots of meetings, sports events, etc.
have been cancelled or postponed. Churches are having services online. I work at my son's garden center. We are
still open but are offering curbside pickup and we deliver.
Many people are hoarding food and toilet paper! Lots of empty shelves at the grocery stores, Walmart, dollar stores, etc.
Only 1 person has tested positive in our town. I hope this
virus goes away soon and we can all try to return to
normal. Many blessings to you all.

butterfly said...

Hi Maggie , It's such a big change for us all.
I am now looking to ordering my food from online I found there are farms that are willing to sent veg boxes out and they carry lots of what we need milk and eggs bread also.
Our shops are now only letting you buy one or two of the same products.
People at home can start new hobbies . and now the weather will be getting better we can get outside .
It's not easy , but we need to stay positive .
I will be talking to friends and ladies from my club who are on their own , every few days to see they are ok ,just a call to hear your voice really lifts them.
Take care and stay safe .

Jo said...

We've never seen anything like this before in our lifetime, and you're right, there will be repercussions, the economy will suffer for a very long time. Mick's been asked to work from home as much as he can, and Daniel and Jasmine have been told to work from home, which is good as Jasmine is in a high risk category. Eleanor, working in a hospital laboratory, will have to continue working though. There seems to be two states of mind, those who are determined to follow everything that's said to the letter, self isolating and cutting themselves off from the world, and those who are just carrying on regardless. Mick called round to see my dad last night and passed a pub with people spilling out the doors. Mind you, the prime minister's own father has said that if he wants to go to the pub then he'll go, what can you do?

Jeannieuk said...

Working on Reception requires a special skill set which people don’t realise. I remember running an extremely busy reception single handed talking to the management every day more than anyone else in the company. They forgot me at Christmas - no invite to the company do, no present, no Christmas informal party as I wasn’t allowed to leave reception! Red management faces all round. I left them! (I checked what I’d written and spell checker had turned skill to kill ha ha ha!) x

Julie said...

It is a very scarey time Maggie. We are self employed and due to my own health issues and DH heart op earlier this month have not been out the house for almost 2 weeks now! Take care x

Poppypatchwork said...

I'm worried, we all know someone who is at high risk, and loads of people who are still going about their work. We are staying in, we have a bit more food, but we have not stocked up. It's now a case of not wasting anything (something we are good at) and stretching our fresh veg and meats to make more meals. 12 weeks is not a long time, but so much can change.

Clare-Aimetu said...

We all have different circumstances both health wise and financially but this is affecting us all. I am halfway through my chemotherapy treatment so our household is in self quarantine and I expect that will be for many weeks. Stay safe everyone x

Jackie said...

In most of my country (Canada) schools are closed indefinitely. Those that can work at home are (including our youngest son who just got the okay to work half days at first to see how that works, he is injured and can not leave his house).

Grocery stores are having problems keeping their shelves stocked, and people are purchasing items to resell at a marked up price to desperate souls.

Still there are heartwarming stories of people dropping off groceries to those in need, or housebound, of people paying for items that cash strapped others can't, or just those that smile and shout across the street to say hello.

God bless.

Rhona said...

I'm in New York where schools, bars, restaurants and gyms are all closed. Yesterday it was announced that all firms must have at least 50% of their staff working from home. I'm thankful that my daughter is now working from home, but her hubby has been laid off. My son is in the military and things are crazy. I worry for his safety and not just due to the virus.
I'm thankful I have my cross stitching to keep me busy and calm.
Stay safe and stay healthy everyone.

Christine Hancock said...

It is scary times but we're tough and can survive.. and as a crafter I can keep occupied for a very long time. We're getting our garden straight and so generally keeping busy. But can't help feeing anxious. Keep safe

wisps of words said...

Thank you for blogging about this! Good grief, why not? We are all in this together. And when is there a better time, to keep in touch with each other, in this safe way???

Those I blog with, are dealing with it. I have been posting daily, with a mixture of normal and this new normal. From the point of view of "what's happening in my neck of the woods." Which happens to be in the North East of the US.

This is totally new. How could anyone or any government, been fully prepared, way ahead of time?

But we have been getting prepared for being home, for a couple of weeks... Prep, I mean. Hope this teaches us all, to keep a well stocked pantry, from now on.

Terrible things are happening, and wonderful, helping things also.

Gentle hugs
Be calm
Stay safe
🌱 🌱 🌱

Anonymous said...

you boomers are shutting down the entire economy because you're afraid of a flu. Seriously, can you boomers kill yourselves? You are the most selfish generation to ever exist. You don't give a shit about climate change, why should we young people give a shit if you get sick and die of some virus? I HOPE the virus gets much stronger and kills you all.