Quarantine/Social Distancing

Those practicing social distancing and/or in quarantine at the moment, what have you guys been doing to pass the time?

I can only say that I've been practicing for this my whole life! ;)

I'm not in a full time position and luckily they have kept me, only a few hours a day at a box office that is closed to the public except via phone or email. So I take over for my manager and sift through emails and answer phones etc.

Though I'm not in quarantine and still am doing errands and such, I've been playing a lot of Super Mario World recently, which I had been nostalgic for. I am very vocal and it's been so long since I've played (back in the gameboy days) that I'm like, where did my skills go, I thought I used to dominate... unless I didn't have any real skills to begin with ha!

Also, since our libraries are closed, I've been going through/ organizing my collection of books and am re-reading a dystopian series (Unwind) that I love. Thinking of Percy Jackson next since those were a big part of my life growing up.

Not in quarantine myself either, but the government is pushing on the whole social distancing thing. It's odd to get used to as my friends and I usually shake hands and hug when I get to work in the morning or when we go out. I also make a bunch of french press coffee on my lunch break every day and fill about 20 little shot cups with them for everyone. Well, not everyone...there's over 100 people there so it's fun to watch them run up to that little kitchen room to try and bag some. That may have to stop for a while as they're working on setting us up to work from home for 2 weeks, though they say it could be a month, depending.

I don't party, drink or club, so it's not so bad if I do have to quarantine. Most I ever do is go shops if I need anything, hang out with close friends at a cafe/go out to eat, or go fishing. Either that, or I'm at home with family or playing guitar in my room. There's also plenty on Youtube - documentaries, tutorials and funny tv shows we don't have here like 8 Out Of 10 Cats. I highly recommend that show if you're a fan of a good laugh :)

Just sucks that all our grocery store shelves keep getting emptied. Our government keeps telling people not to panic buy or hoard and to leave groceries for other people that need it. Felt like pasta and went to buy some...nothing. No eggs, barely any milk and the price of meat has practically doubled...God only knows why. It's not like we import it. Australia usually exports beef, etc. Sucks.

We are in the at risk group so are self isolating. Im stuck in bed and house most of time so no change for me in terms of what to do with my time. More difficult for my husband but we have plenty of Audio books, Dvds, tv and computer access and each other to talk to. We've discovered a local farmer who can deliver all sorts of supplies so should be fine with regards to food and milk.

Maher, hope the work at home goes well. Lots of people are transitioning to that and may do so until middle of May here. Have fun youtubing! I am definitely going to be looking for some goofy videos or random things to make me laugh. Hate that about the hoarding though. Wish people would understand that that kind of panic buying, whether it's for selfish reasons or someone just isn't thinking it through, makes matters far worse. I've been avoiding the grocery store and just going to some dollar stores here, but my mom has said chicken is hard to find and a lot of things are sparse by the afternoon. Grocery stores here are actually hiring people to help sanitize and stock and it makes me feel for those workers because they are at risk too, but they are keeping things going.

Milly, all the best to you. Hopefully you can continue to stay safe and keep busy with those audio books and activites to keep you busy or entertained! Very neat about the local farmer.

I just found out about a really cool trend now, setting up Christmas lights to give those in quarantine or self-isolating some hope and light in spite of the dark times. I may do this, since not ALL of our lights are back in the attic!

We shifted work to home too. Since it's media and publishing everything has been under control just as if working from office. It's all online.

So the fun hours start after 4 and usually I am killing free time by baking and eating. Baking... eating.. baking..

I've sent my staff to work from home and meeting clients either by phone or on-line. I do come into the office - the building is nearly empty and I'm alone all day.

At least I can play my music now without disturbing the staff.

I was given the option at first to work from the office, which I prefer as I'd rather not mix home & work. I accepted, but then HR decided that everyone had to be working from home by the end of next week in case our government decides to shut down the state, which they already said they wouldn't, but it's government, so who knows?

Eliminating travel time is a perk, especially since it takes me 40min to get to work despite living 15min away thanks to Sydney traffic, but there's just something about working from home that I don't like. My previous role paid a decent amount of overtime because of tasks that had to be done outside of our shifts & on weekends, but this one doesn't. My boss and I are pretty thorough with our work, so it's inevitable that we'll be pulling extra hours because of not having to drive home or being bored at home anyway. Benefit to the company, but not for us unfortunately. It's easy enough to say 'just do your regular shift then', but I hate not getting things done when I know they're there, especially when the bread and butter of our technicians on the road depends on how well we work in the office :/

Larry...I think your wife is a stewardess...is she still flying?

I've been over in Bali recently and, although I returned to Australia on 11th March (before our government enforced the 14 day isolation law) I have been self isolating since my return although I have no symptoms . I was tested on Friday and should have the results back on Monday...a text message for a negative and a phone call for a positive result...fingers crossed for the test message haha!!!

I'm not a big TV lover so my garden is looking spectacular right now :)

I live in New York, so we are on full lock down as of tomorrow evening. All businesses are shut down except essential. I work at a homeless shelter so for me, I am working still. One of my folks is currently being tested, if positive, then only four staff will be locked down for two weeks. I did not make the cut to be locked down so I may be at home doing paperwork from home. Today is the last day that I can go check on my grand babies 11 miles away, just taking them food and comfort items. The grandsons will wave at me from the window.. ha. Jim and I are taking this time to redecorate the house, and do projects we have been putting off, watching movies and writing. My Robyn is back on chemotherapy so she is in complete isolation but she is doing much better as she is in drug rehab and has made huge progress with that. We video message daily and she sings to me <3

I started going to the lab twice a week. I'm usually alone, working for my research. And then I go to the university lab to work on my other research. I'm using all kinds of sanitizers, antiseptics, alcohols, disinfectants to avoid getting the virus. I always wear my lab coat, face mask, medical gloves, even before the covid-19 crisis.

There is still not a single case in Syria. Thankfully. Our hospitals aren't ready at all for such a pandemic. I'm both careless about myself, and terrified that the people I love might be in danger, if the virus spreads here.

First case in Syria was registered today. People are acting so stupid, not giving a damn about the quarantine. I won't leave my home until this crisis ends.

Australia's government just announced a shutdown for NSW and Victoria because people ignored social distancing guidelines. Thousands of people decided to have a day out at Bondi beach and cafes etc on Friday. Now all cafes, restaurants, cinemas, places of worship, clubs, pubs, etc are closed. Food shops can only do takeaway orders, as with cafes. Basically any primary location of congregation has been banned for at least the next 6 months. Schools are still open as there isn't enough evidence to show that children contract & spread the disease apparently.

Here in WA our borders will close indefinitely tomorrow. What worries me is the fact that, for all the time I've lived here, there has been a standing joke that WA stands for Wait Awhile because we are so isolated from the rest of Australia but now this could become a reality. We have been told that trucks from over east will still be allowed through but today the selves were even emptier than they have been. All our cafes/pubs etc closed their doors at midday today and it looked really strange walking through the shopping mall where all the tables and chairs had been removed...it was a very eerie feeling.

I haven't seen my grand kids in three weeks and that has been the hardest thing for me...my little granddaughter was given the Aussie of the Month Award last week but the assembly was cancelled (not that we could have gone because of the self-isolation thing) but she didn't get to stand in front of her fellow peers which is a big thing for a 7 year old when receiving an award.

On a more cheery note...I got the text message today...not the phone call :)

-------------------------------------------------------
NOURA

Please keep safe...you have been through so much already so I'm sure you know the drill but...I still worry about you :(

Poor kid...that would be hard. I remember when I used to get awards in primary school, it was a big thing, especially when they call your name out at assembly.

First day working from home today. It's a weird feeling. I'll admit that it's convenient, but I'm used to having workmates there and joking around and whatnot. It's just weird working out of my room. I mean...my boss doesn't really care as long as I get my work done, so can break all I want or play guitar between tasks and what have you...but it still doesn't sit right. Of course I'm very thankful I still have a job and I thank God for that for however long I'll have it for. It's just so damn odd having your social life practically removed. I don't go out much at all anyway, but now that it's been taken away...I want it because I know I can't have it. Fascinating how the mind works hey?

This morning Security had to escort out two men from the local DIY store because they were actually going around spitting in the store. A local gym was visited by the police last night because the owner was refusing tk close his 24 hour gym. There are stories of many scams cropping up on the net and via phones and some scrupulous people are calling on the elderly and isolated offering to get shopping then disappearing with their money.

On the other hand genuine people are helping those in need and sharing what resources they have popping over to neighbours and sharing resources and some shops and restaurants are giving out free meals and masks to the NHS and most vulnerable. It's times like this where people start to show what they are really made of.

Yes, Hellon. Rosaura is a Flight Attendant for United. Fortunately they've cancelled most international flights, although Santiago, Chili is still open and my niece is there as a I write. Rosaura is to start a four-day pairing today but I'd wish they'd put a hold on domestic flying as well.

My daughter, Jessica, just learned that a co-worker had a fever of 104 F over the weekend.

Daughter Lauren's show (Hallmark's Home & Family) is suspending filming.

"On a more cheery note...I got the text message today...not the phone call :)" - that's great news, Hellon.

All nonessential businesses have been closed for about a week now in Nevada. Not everyone was taking it seriously so our governor issued a follow up yesterday stating that any nonessential business that remains open will be fined up to $1000 a day. Grocery stores, mechanics, hardware stores, etc. are deemed essential. Somehow my fiancé’s job as a project manager for a construction company falls in the gray area and his company is going to stay open until forced to shut its doors. I’m not thrilled about that.

My classes have been moved online and I may not be able to graduate in May. My internship with juvenile probation can no longer be onsite/in person, which is what I’m most bummed about (though of course I understand). Anything that I can do for my internship remotely will pale in comparison to the valuable experience I was getting in person. Fortunately I already work as an editor from home, so no change there.

All of my neighbors are older adults who fall in the at risk population so I have been running errands for them. I don’t live with my parents but I am trying to limit how much they have to go to the store by ordering everything they need for them online and having it delivered to them. They live in California where a shelter in place order was issued. I think my parents are finally taking this thing seriously.

I’m swamped with work still so keeping busy at home has not been an issue. And when I don’t have school work or work work to do, there are always home improvements to work on. We built the final back fence in our backyard over the weekend. I’m happy about that.

Hi everyone! Finally today Michigan is in shut-down! I work at a dealership and they were doing business as usual as of this past week. I opted on Sunday that regardless I was not going in, even if it meant using my vacation days. This morning the government announced the shelter in place for the next 3 weeks. My boss called me and told me any hourly people were being laid off, salary was to still come in. They are continuing with a skeleton crew because I guess its important to sell a car, (that's sarcasm, btw). my youngest daughter and her husband are expecting baby number 2 any day and we are watching Lilly when that happens, I didn't want to risk possibly bringing something home, giving it to Lilly who in turn could give it to her soon to be baby brother. Plus my husband has a heart condition-so I am happy to stay home. I've been working on some craft projects and some cleaning I've been putting off, binge watching shows. Andrea, I've been worrying about you knowing you work in a group home. I know your residents mean a great deal to you. Hopefully everyone is practicing good cleaning habits, especially if you have to be out and about. Stay safe-

Larry I hope your wife and family stay safe...my thoughts are with everyone facing this horrible, horrible situation. I saw on TV today. a subway in New York absolutely jam packed with commuters during peak hour...most had no masks on...most were sharing a pole to hold on to..WTF???

Mr Trump is hoping to have the country up and jumping for Easter....I mean, really?

As restrictions escalate here in WA, we are now limited to buying one carton (that's 24 cans/bottles) of beer a day...the average household would normally buy 1 carton per week so where is the mentality here I wonder? More panic buying is now going on with people hitting up numerous bottle shops to stock pile on something that is not a necessity and...if the government hadn't put restrictions on would still have been plentiful....go figure :)

Glad to hear updates from everyone!

Jane - I will say this a million times, you have such a genuine and gentle heart. Seriously. Glad you are on this Earth and thank you for all you do helping others. Good luck with the work load and wishing the best for you always.

Brenda - I feel like here in Indiana, we follow Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. We had the "stay at home" order issued to be in effect today. Thinking of your family!

Hellon - great news indeed! And about your comment on Trump and Easter, I had to laugh. I have the same reaction (that "really?!!"). I can't find rhyme or reason anymore when our "leaders" are oblivious, when it first was talk that Coronavirus will go away on its own or that we will conquer it simply because we're Americans... clearly not understanding that's not how any of this works.

I feel like there's a discussion to be had about "essential" vs "non-essential". Our governor gave a list, though it wasn't that helpful, and more so gave employers the option to continue to stay open or not. Should it take a government mandate for employers to listen? Or is this giving them more freedom/trust? Would it cause more unrest if the government truly enforced this stay-at-home order? There seems to be a lot of contradictions. Which makes me think, in an ideal world, it'd be great if we could all say only a few things are deemed essential for our livelihood, but does capitalism or consumerism play into this? When everything feeds into everything else. In our city, there's a pretty well-known business that I would not consider essential (not government or food distribution etc). There was a LOT of uproar in the community with concerns in the past few weeks that they would not close. Employees were apparently being penalized for even bringing up the idea of a few weeks off. The owner is a billionaire and the concern was if the company prioritized profit over people. I've heard that they are now following the governor's mandate and only keeping "minimal" staff, though you have to wonder how employees are being treated behind the scenes, when it should be simple enough that they want to be cautious and take a week or so off for their health (and the health of others).

Curious to see how and if education is affected after this pandemic. I noticed colleges seemed to be proactive in transitioning to online classes? It's weird to me that elementary schools only closed last week, and I've heard from some local teachers that they are trying their best but e-learning is not a viable option for everyone. It should not be assumed that elementary or high school students (or their families) have internet access. For something like this, when schools are mandated to close until the first of May, was there even an emergency or disaster plan in place?

Grocery stores are desperately hiring here, and if I was out of work and had no other income, I would have no choice but to apply for a job there. I heard that workers are receiving a bonus (I would hope so), though I can only imagine that kind of things they are facing from customers outraged about what is and isn't available.

If anything comes out of this pandemic, I hope it's a recognition and better treatment for employees. Also a better understanding of unemployment (and not so much judgement or regulations though I am sure they are in place for a reason). I don't know how true this is but if your employer cuts your hours for a few weeks, and you are still technically employed by them, are you even eligible for unemployment? Plus the talk of being able to receive $1000 checks a month isn't even that much when you factor in rent alone, which for a lot of people, is close to that. Thoughts?

Excuse all my rambles - had to get this off my chest! XD

Six cases here so far. My hands are dry from all the alcohol. Our respected university stopped paying us, they won't give us salaries until the quarantine is over. That's what they said. Some people I know are almost out of food, our neighbor and I are giving them some rice and fruits, but that's all we can do.
Homeless children, yes CHILDREN, are being arrested for not staying HOME during the lockdown. I mean, seriously?

Things are a mess here. Soldiers are starving, because nobody can travel to bring them their meals. Their meals were anyway not enough. Two potatoes and three eggs a day. For soldiers. For people who are holding guns to defend us. I want the virus to wipe us all out of this planet. We are not humans. We are savages.

^ I cannot begin to imagine what you are feeling just in witnessing this. The amount of rage I feel just reading your words. How inhumane and criminal and... heartless. Why would someone punish children (or adults or anyone), who may not have a place to stay at, as if it were their fault? Same with those who aren't getting paid and may be low on resources. On basic human needs. I don't understand.

Yeah. Today I registered myself to volunteer and distribute food to the houses in Lattakia. We will start tomorrow. It made me feel good. At least some people are trying to help.

8 cases so far. It's not a big number. But it would be horrible if the virus spreads here. Not enough hospitals, not enough equipment. My sister volunteered to help in the hospital next to us. Even though I begged her not to. She isn't a doctor or a nurse, she is an engineer, but she had an emergency first aid course and they need people to move patients and sterilize equipments, make calls etc.

Regular people are trying to help as much as they can, while billionaires isolated themselves in their big houses and didn't offer any help. All the organizations here (Red Cross, JCI, UNICEF...etc) are not helping. Not even financially.

The UK is on lockdown

however I work for NRS Healthcare so I'm still working. My job is to install hospital beds and hoists in patients homes so that they can be discharged from hospital.
It's been a bit manic as my local hospital is discharging as many people as they can to free up beds on the wards.
Thursday I installed a bed in a lady's home who was supposed to be in hospital for another 10 weeks.
Shows just how serious the NHS is taking this.

Just a shame to see so many people ignoring the advice to stay indoors as I drive about.

My family and I usually send support money via Western Union to our family in Syria as they're quite poor, even though living in Tartous. With conditions the way they are now on top of their previous difficulties, it's increasingly difficult to live there from what they say. The WU website doesn't allow you to send any money to there, even if it's for family support, but works when done at the counter in a post office. They cap you at sending a maximum of 150,000 Syrian Pounds (which doesn't get much for a big family at all) per month, per recipient. Not much at all for a family of about 10 or so + children. Prices of basic food items there were ridiculously high before COVID-19, especially meat, which they'd be lucky to have on special occasions if used sparingly. It's bound to be worse now with supplies running even more scarce.

They still find a way to help their neighbours though, even with what little they have. I find it amazing that in a war-torn country like that, with all the political heat going on and this new pandemic sitting atop it all like a hot press, the poor "lower class" people seem to have more decency and sense than the common folk in our societies that strip grocery stores clean and hoard essentials without thinking of others. Not all common folk of course.

The main messages in our societies are "do what makes you happy" and "10 ways to get rich quick!". In my mind at least, this has just played on people's greed and selfishness, which is probably why we have many daft people ignoring lockdown, isolation & social distancing rules. They think of their own interests and decide to congregate at beaches like Bondi and Manly because they can't go for more than a day without either clubbing, pubbing or hanging out, even if at the cost of harming other people and taking away even more of their freedoms as a consequence. Pretty disgusting.

It's bleak and depressing, I know, but it's true. At least from what I can see happening in Sydney anyway. Though at the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, I still believe there is an underlying agenda and that there will be more laws passed restricting people further once this blows over.

At the risk of sounding incredibly boring, I don't believe there is any sort of agenda or conspiracy theory about any of this. I think this is just one of those unfortunate events that happen - and will continue to happen - now and again and we, throughout the process, prove ourselves to be nothing but the animals we are. Selfishness, survival, thoughtlessness, violence, anger, distrust - choose one or all. But certain acts of kindness and selflessness balance all those things to a certain degree.
I don't believe there is any point in belittling ourselves overly. When we do that, we are only showcasing how arrogant we are: that somehow we should be better and react better in these circumstances than animals. But the truth is, we are animals, and we are not particularly worse or better than any other - just devastatingly and tragically more intelligent. Perhaps that in itself should be a reason for us to strive for more, but it will never be enough. Everything is and always will be instinct, as depressing and humiliating as that may be.
We will get past this but we will not learn a single thing; history certainly supports that. Individually, we all understand how irresponsible we are but collectively, we are entirely inept.

Genuinely, though, I hope everyone is well and those that they care about are safe.

I agree with you to a degree, Mr Pickard. History repeats itself, but we never seem to learn and we do resort to instinct in times of panic. That fight or flight response seems to take over, though it's nice that there are some people out there who genuinely want to help and do their part.

Time will only tell how much the world might change after all this. I hope you're right and things go back to normal with no politically opportunistic laws or regulations being passed, but I suppose it's my instinct that is leading me to believe otherwise, since there's been a very noticeable trend of that happening after nearly every major event here, particularly in New South Wales.

Saudi Arabia has handled it very well. They shut off flights, and issued quarantine and curfews as soon as the virus numbers began to steadily rise. There is a 3PM - 6AM curfew with severe fines if you disobey. I'm still working from home...it's really strange being away from my family during this time. I'm away from everyone really. I know social isolation in the UK means that I'd be on the same boat too, but I wouldn't feel as far away. There are flights heading back home in April, but I think the UK will be at its peak then, so my thinking is that I'm better off here, even if it is kinda lonely. Trying to count my blessings at the moment as there are millions and millions worse off than I. :)

Hope you're well all by the way. I've missed you guys.

10 cases so far. 2 deaths.

One of the two women who passed away KNEW she had the virus, because she had all the symtomps, and didn't go to the hospital or isolate herself, saying it's just "flu", that's what her son told the doctors. She kept socializing with people, and those people are now isolated in the hospitals. People like that are the reason that the virus may start spreading.

In Dubai right now.
Left Europe in Feb.
A friend in Saudi told me to leave Europe asap.
Thank God I listened to him.
And to all the pnq members, a little request...

Stay home, stay safe.

I wish I could stay home

my job won't allow, I visit between 20-30 homes a day.

It is important what I do, just feel a bit like cannon fodder. Especially as the bosses are working from home.

I just caught a glimpse of our first check point here in WA. From midnight tonight we are no longer able to travel region to region. The police were present and flashing signs were being installed warning motorists that they could not pass through unless they could produce a permit...all very apocalyptic . Our state borders have already been closed and now it's regional :(

Saving up the biggest crush hug for all my friends.

Me too Kev. Can’t wait for bear hugs.