If you live abroad (ie not UK), what's life like in your country?

[purrswhileheeats]

Apologies if this has already been done

Here we have to obtain a permit to go out and must carry ID; police are stopping motorists and pedestrians and handing out on-the-spot fines to anyone found without both, no exceptions. Local FB pages inundated with expats complaining they 'can't use the sunbeds on the beach' or complaining they've been fined for not carrying the correct documents.

Weirdest thing though is seeing how the locals have changed. They are passionate, loud people who usually greet each other with handshakes and kisses; I have never seen a nation so subdued. So strange too how a country of queue-refusers can suddenly comply with social distancing, will they go back to normal 'once all this is over'?

South Africa. We have complete lockdown, airports are closed etc. We are not allowed out at all, even to walk the dog or go for a run, but we are able to make essential journeys to supermarket, chemist or for medical reasons. The rural areas are not taking lockdown very seriously and today we have our first case there. So everyone is nervous. We had our 2nd death today.

Our schools have been closed and the kids receive work on Google classroom or via the schools communication system.

We had some panic buying before our lockdown, which included cigarettes and alcohol as these are not allowed to be sold now. Some areas of supermarkets are cordoned off as only essential items can be bought.
We are very fortunate to have been able to buy food to get us through, have a garden to use etc , but many people do not and live in extreme poverty, and this is a huge concern for the country.

@mrsnec your MIL is very lucky, how did she get away with it? Police are very strict here (Paphos) but I agree with you about the mopeds, I can hear one little shit tearing around in the distance

It makes me so sad that the country is this way, all the exuberance and love has gone. I walked through my village today to get to the supermarket and there was only one home cranking up the souvla.

In Iceland
Not a total lockdown but gatherings of more then 20 is banned and you have to keep 2 meters away from the next person in shops

Colleges and universities closed for 3 weeks already - classes held through the internet

Gyms, swimming pools, hair dressers etc all activities that require people to be close to each other is closed

Other schools (for under 16s) are open but with restrictions

Everybody that can are WFH and most people are taking this seriously and are only going out to walk and get fresh air or going to the shops
of course there are always some idiots but now the police are going to start to fine people that are in large groups

We are testing as much as is possible and now over 4% of nation has been tested for Covid

Such an interesting thread! (I'm UK so nothing interesting to add).

@PrimeraVez I was going to say you need to get out more as for me Dubai is in lockdown!

Unless you are on the official list of key workers you can only go out if you have an essential reason (this does NOT include exercise). Everything is shut to the public except food shops, off licences, banks and pharmacies. New enforcement measures came into force today and the fines start from 500 dhms (and go into the 000s) for non-compliance. A number of arrests have been reported in the local press for serious non-compliance (one was someone on-line deriding the official measures in place and encouraging people to join her for a run outside!!). You can also get daily updates on the coved-19 situation and so I’d say it is being treated seriously here and agree there is a feeling of being well looked after. The complete curfew 8pm - 6am is fine by me and around by us at 8pm everyone goes onto their balconies and cheers in support!

You are right that you don’t need to leave home here as everything can be delivered - but I did cycle to Dubai Mall to shop at Waitrose for essential shopping purposes at the weekend - and probably won’t leave our apartment again now until next weekend (I do miss the pool and the beach though!). The Mall with the lights off and empty was weird!

I’m wfh now until further notice.

I can also give an anecdotal update from central Madrid as my DC lives close to Playa Major and is on his 4th week of staying inside (except for food). He was in self-isolation before the lockdown but he is well and he seems pretty relaxed all things considered.

My life..no alcohol or cigarettes
Why not?
That’s peoples coping mechanism

I am in the UK but I have enjoyed reading all the input here. Thank you!

@Patch23042

There was an article about Sweden in the Guardian. Will be interesting to see how that pans out.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/28/as-the-rest-of-europe-lives-under-lockdown-sweden-keeps-calm-and-carries-on

Alberta, Canada - social distancing here but not lockdown (yet).

Schools are closed, gyms, pools, libraries etc. closed, most shops are closed - only supermarkets, pharmacies and some other services like Home Depot are open, no groups of over 15 people, coffee shops etc. are take-out only, city parks are open but playparks closed, some major roads have been closed over the weekend in the city to allow more space for people to walk/run/cycle. Nation-wide the National Parks and Provincial Parks are all closed.

I'm still working but we have a strict system in place. We're a 24 hour emergency hospital so get a lot of referrals from other practices. We have no routine appointments at the moment, accident and emergency only. Our doors are locked and clients have to phone us from their vehicle on arrival and we then admit the animal if necessary. If they're picking up medication or food they have to order and pay in advance over the phone or on the website or app and then when they phone on arrival it will be brought out to their vehicle.

Interesting that we seem to be the only country experiencing food supply issues.

Oh, I forgot to say. There has been a lot of panic buying here. I think there were videos online of the utter dipshits who went nuts in Costco and were buying 500 toilet rolls etc.

Toilet roll, cleaning products, hand soap and hand sanitiser have definitely been in short supply. There have been some empty shelves of those, tinned foods, fresh meat and dry pasta but it's not too bad now as most stores are limiting purchases. Apparently there's been a surge in demand for maple syrup so people still have their priorities straight

Spain here. Lockdown just got tighter. 8yo hasn't left the house since we went to the beach on the 14th. DH and I take turns to walk the dog, one morning one evening.

DH WFH anyway. I'm on video calls 3-4 hours a day so DS has to naff off to the office with DH!

We need to take a document out with us every time we leave the house stating our purpose (shop, pharmacy, banking, delivering something to a vulnerable person etc).

Dogs on leads, must rinse the ground where they do both #1 and #2. Wash their feet when you get home.

We're not allowed out to do exercise of any kind. We live in a flat so can't jump about to Joe Wicks as it pisses off the neighbours downstairs and I don't want that, they're lovely.

Streets are sooooo spooky! It's the feeling of bring the last person on earth when you go out with the dog, or look out of the window. No traffic noise. No sirens - no traffic means no need to put sirens on, and we live near a hospital.

It feels like everyone is already dead and there are just a few hangers on left. Sorry, very depressing, but it's been a fucker of two weeks with no end in sight.

Oh, but shops are stuffed full if everything: loo rolls, bleach, eggs, flour, fartisan croquettes, alcohol!

Francina670
Interesting that we seem to be the only country experiencing food supply issues.

Australia ran out of toilet rolls (not food I know!) before we did. In fact it might have been the footage from there that kicked it all off here

In Thailand.

Supposedly on lockdown with a curfew of 7pm ~7 am, but information is a bit vague. Travel to the next province is prohibited and people have been told not to return to their hometowns if they work away.
Malls etc. are closed, swimming pools are closed, some beaches are open, some restaurants are open, but many are take away only.
Shops can refuse entry if you are not wearing a mask. Many non essential shops are closed.
Local schools are on summer holiday, but international schools closed about 10 days ago. Students are taught remotely and dd 1 has a regular time table of 8-3. The school said this will continue until at least April 30.
Songkran (a major Thai holiday) festivities have been cancelled. The streets are quiet, but people are still going out.

Denmark here. just going into week 3 of lockdown, schools universities, pretty much all public buildings and services, most people working from home if possible. Schools etc running online, its very digitalised here so contact with public services online is running normally. There have been a variety of payment agreements made with the hope of limiting redundancies, although not capturing everybody there is a degree of security for many who otherwise would be financially struggling.

Seems calm. Scandinavians pretty conformist so most people take it seriously. Handshaking has stopped, and hugging isnt a thing anyway. If anything Im getting more eye contact and acknowlegement when out than ever before, just from a safe distance. Not seen any policing of movement though everyone has received emails from the police about social distancing etc. Handwashing advice and sprit everywhere.

Most places seem to be following lockdown well, bit of a problem in the larger cities with the sheer numbers of people trying to get out and exercise. There have been some attempted opportunistic crimes and frauds reported. Im out in a less densely populated area and it is pretty calm, see people out exercising alone or in family groups but giving a wide berth. All shops pretty much normal, with distancing measures except apparently the thing you stockpile here is yeast for baking so it can be hard to find that.

There have been some good public decisions made eg about trains and buses which are still running but there is mandated booking and distancing seating in the trains, and increased numbers of bus services so that people can distance appropriately

Im a key worker and its quite reassuring to see what has been put in place, in my area we are not overwhelmed at the moment and there is a large capacity to increase our ICU and ventilated spaces, but the main wave is expected to peak over the next 2 weeks. Only then can we tell whether there is enough capacity for all people needing hospitalisation and intensive care. Numbers of positive tests, inpatients and ventilated patients increase every day but so far not exponentially. Lockdown extended to 14th April at a minimum so at least 2 more weeks to go though.

Interesting thread!

It is interesting.
Especially to read about Dubai sanitizing the streets and roads.

And in Spain, washing down where dogs do their business and cleaning their paws.

I'm in the UK and live on a thoroughfare to the park and have been wondering if the pavement and grass outside my house is full of well trodden Covid.

Another one in Ireland, in the west, fairly rural. We've been in partial lockdown for three weeks, since the schools closed, full lockdown for a week.

I can't work from home so I've been laid off for as long as it takes. It's a strange feeling. I am leaving the house once a day for a walk with the dog, and once or at most twice a week for food shopping. We can go out in a 2km radius from home for exercise, but further than that for food. I'm sticking to local shops and not going into the nearest city like I usually would for more choice. Compliance with the new rules seems to be reasonably good in this area, especially in the last week. Went out for my walk today and it was very quiet. Normally on a sunny Sunday you'd meet half the village.

Our local supermarkets were stripped bare the day the schools closed, but supplies are now back to normal. The only thing I can't get is flour, especially strong white flour, but there's no problem getting anything else at the moment.

I’m in rural France. We live in a small village but it’s like a ghost town. In the last 2 weeks I’ve left the house twice to go shopping. No food shortages here at all. My Dd’s have not left the house/garden since 12th March. We are lucky in that we have a nice sized garden for them to play. We’ve also used the time to plant an allotment. My DH goes out once a day to walk the dog. For personal exercise you can only go for 1 hour and a maximum of 1km from your house. Every time you leave the house we have to fill in an attestation to say why we are going out and carry it with us. A new one for each trip out. Big fines if you don’t have one with you!

Unfortunately for us our business is classed as none essential so we have had to close for now. It’s not good.

USA, Midwest in a medium-sized city. Two weeks ago we went to stay with DH's family and our state had just 5 cases. We visited the aquarium and botanical gardens and ate out every day. In reality, it was everywhere but they just weren't testing, we probably should have exercised our better judgement in retrospect.

Now we've over 900 cases (population 6 million) and our city has been under a shelter in place order for 2 weeks. Schools closed, restaurants are carry out only and only essential businesses open.

Our state Governor has not taken this seriously. He's devolved everything to the cities and it's compromising the integrity of quarantines. For the most part, people are abiding the orders but you can tell key workers are really strained. There is little enforcement right now, but I think that will change. You could feel the anger rising this weekend with people going to Home Depot and neighbours getting together.

Just outside Boston. we are on a lockdown at the moment. Everyone around here seem to be abiding by it. All bars restaurants etc were closed 2 weeks ago. We have no restrictions on what stores we go to and every store Ive been in so far are following distancing rules. We were all told to stay home on Tuesday of last week unless we were considered essential.
My supermarket was fully stocked this weekend, unlike last time I was there 2 weekends ago, there were restrictions on quantities though. Only 2 toilet rolls, 2 loaves of bread etc. Liquor stores are open and it turns out marijuana dispensaries are also considered essential, not that i use them just that it amused me.
The schools have been closed for 2 weeks now Dd2 is 15 and in first year of highschool. Not much in the way of work being sent home. She has spent the last 2 weeks playing animal crossing and painting.
Dh has lost his job, as has Ds1, totally different fields but both due to covid.
I am working from home at the moment but if this goes on for more than a couple of months and I lose my job we are so stuffed as I carry the family health insurance. Ds2 has already lost his so I hope to god he dont get sick.
I spent 30 years in the clinical lab field, changed to medical device R&D a few years ago. Friends of mine still in clinical field are being furloughed due to the red tape involved in being able to do the covid testing. They have the test all set up, they are in the second biggest clinical lab in the state but cant do them due to red tape.
Everything is strange

Cayman Islands here. We're ahead of the game hopefully. Forbes article below lays it out but our government is doing a sterling job of trying to keep ahead of the curb and is a very positive article for us.

All non-essential businesses have been closed (most for a while) and most who can are WFH. We were on complete lockdown from weds 7pm - Sat 5am and now in phased supermarket openings.

Alas though, our tourism sector is at the mercy of when other countries manage to bring their infection rates under control. We could potentially operate in a micro bubble if our numbers don't increase over the next few weeks, however all hotels are closed, airspace closed and cruise ships banned and we will struggle to recover for a long time. That being said, our government are putting the residents' health above all else at the moment. They will then have to focus on the health of local businesses and identify ways we can save them.

flip.it/6nPgFb

I'm in New Zealand. We are in day 5 of lockdown. Lockdown is going to last at least a month but longer if transmission is still occurring.

Schools and unessential businesses closed - pretty much only supermarkets and banks open. Obviously no cafes or restaurants but our takeaways and food delivery businesses are also closed. As are our liquor stores but you can buy wine and beer from the supermarket.

Everyone else must work from home or not work. You are only allowed to have contact with your household members.

We are allowed out to exercise as long as we keep 2 meters apart and we are supposed to keep in our neighbourhood.

Travel around the country is limited to essential workers only and that includes local public transport as well the ferries and airports.

We had our first death yesterday. But our numbers are still pretty low but climbing. There is a lot of testing going on. I'm hopeful that we can stamp it out here and life can go back to normal in a month.

Japan here.

We have been VERY lucky so far and have had a baffling low number of cases (people have said the authorities were suppressing cases so that the Tokyo Olympics could go ahead, and now that the Games have been postponed, cases will rocket) - its not actually that simple (or devious!), but we are now seeing more cases every day - especially in the Tokyo area and surroundings.

Japan closed its schools nationwide very early on - February 27, and many companies organised WFH, but its very much a presenteeism culture so people feel they have to go into work, no matter what. All cultural and sporting events were cancelled, postponed or took place with no audience (sumo etc.)

Tourism has taken a HUGE hit.

However life carried on as normal for many, with trains etc still crowded.
Everyone wears masks though and of course there are no social customs such as handshaking/hugging.
We can go out freely for walks and drives and can use public transport.
Shops and restaurants have been open up to now, but I think that will change.

From this last weekend, Governor of Tokyo called on people to stay home this past weekend - and many big stores, etc were closed. It helped that it snowed in Tokyo yesterday (!) so people hunkered down at home over the weekend.

We have been requested to work from home if we can , and I have been doing that from last week.

Again, the situation will change dramatically if cases continue to rise. And the nation was shocked this morning as it was announced that a famous Japanese comedian had died of coronavirus - he was 70. He was kind of on a par with Billy Connolly? so people are very shocked and maybe they will realise that this is a serious issue.