People in Isle of Man, New Zealand, Australia etc...

[manicinsomniac]

Anyone in those countries or any others with almost no Covid:

Do people in your country now:
blow out candles on birthday cakes
share food (eg everyone's hands in the same bowl of crisps)
shake hands
kiss friends

Purely out of curiosity really. They're just things I can't ever imagine doing again. It seems almost 'dirty' which is pretty sad.

Not me, but a good friend in AucklandZ they are still distancing from most people to a certain extent so wouldn’t kiss friends etc. She also says there is a huge sense of anxiety related to the threat of being locked down again at any moment.

We are not meant to but I hug my friends. It took a while to not feel very anxious even in shopping centres etc but now it is fine. I have to remember not to hug too much in public but that is more because of judging and feeling I should uphold the example and follow the rules rather than because there is any covid.

I live on Guernsey where life is normal and we do all of the above 😀

I still do all of that and live in mainland uk

Interesting; thanks! Glad to know it can come back Morgan. At the moment, I definitely feel SellFridges friend's and mayflower's experiences feel more relatable - I can imagine feeling anxious and 'wrong' about contact - well, forever, really! I hope it does go away!

NameChanged - do you really?! This intrigues me. Would you describe yourself as a covid denier? Anti restrictions? Or someone who is just very relaxed and not worried about covid? Not having a go, just curious.

I'm in the Isle of Man and can confirm that yes we do! Life is back to normal here... other than not risking leaving incase we can't get back!!

Don’t really see people shaking hands any more. Maybe that one is gone for good? All the other things you mention yes, in my experience people are doing those again. Life is fairly normal where I am (Australia, in a part that hasn’t had a case in quite a few months).

NZ isn't really a kiss your friends kinda place. Until after hours, but that's different. 😂

Can we all just agree now that when COVID's over, kissing virtual strangers isn't coming back? Ta.

Haha, fair enough Pics , I didn't know that. It's not something I initiate tbh, but I work around a lot of posh people and spend most of my leisure time around thespians so it tends to be done to me a lot. Until this year, that is.

Yup, Isle of Man is completely normal for the most part. Extra precautions taken around the hospital and some travel limitations, but otherwise everything as pre covid. We are very fortunate.

In NZ, & dont know anyone who's doing the birthday candles thing - unless it's people in reasonably confident bubbles - but I do think in general we've all been getting more lax about social distancing & checking into shops & businesses with covid contact trackers.
Every so often though - like today - there's another case of community transmission & there is a flurry of concern, but sadly it all seems a bit blase.

But also don't know how manageable our current situation is for the long term, ie travel, quarantine management, imports/trade.

In NZ but not in a city/large town and yes, we were with three other couples last weekend for dinner. We all hugged on arrival and departing, had crisps, dips, cheese etc which we all shared. We all served ourselves from large dishes for the main course and I am delighted to say there was NO kissing after dark - at least not with someone who wasn't your partner!

@PicsInRed you must go to some excellent parties

In Queensland, Australia. We've not had any covid yet in my area. We do all of those things but I think you aren't meant to shake hands. Everyone ignores it. Life is relatively normal

Melbourne, Aus here and no, we’re still wearing masks, socially distancing and office workers are still working from home. Having said that I’m sure plenty are hugging, I just haven’t seen it yet.

I'm in NSW, but not Sydney, so no cases for ages, and I would say people are still cautious about those things; no handshakes or kissing or hugging greetings. Most shops still have hand sanitizer at the front and many people still use it; very few birthday parties still. Only thing is; I have noticed fewer and fewer people wearing masks, especially on public transport. At school, parents still have to wait outside for pickup and fundraisers have been all but cancelled. We still sign in at restaurants and cafes. Life feels back to normal with only those minor changes really. We're feeling so fortunate, although I worry all the time about my in-laws in the UK and my friends in the US.

In Melbourne, and no we are not really doing those things. For birthdays people are doing a cupcake with a candle for the birthday kid to blow out, so no-one is blowing over the cake. Not really shaking hands.

In NZ and lots of hugging and kissing here.

Not sure the hongi will survive though. It's the maori tradition of pressing noses/foreheads and 'sharing the breath of life'.

In SA. We just had some restrictions relaxed last night.

People are getting a bit lax now though, quite a few parties starting up and people not wearing masks (they are compulsory here) so we had a family meeting last night (president made a speech) to tell us all off as we don't want a 2nd wave.

Yes, I have hugged people. Not random strangers but those who needed one.

I haven't seen any birthday candles being blown out but quite a few kids have had parties which have been hotspot spreaders. We aren't quite back to normal yet.

@isthismylifenow I thought SA was in a bad way. Not Covid free or low covid like NZ, isle of Mann etc

In NZ, I went to a baby shower on the weekend where there was hugging and platter sharing. In the office we are still having shared morning teas etc. Truly life went back to the old normal for me after lockdown, apart from using the track and trace app, and the lack of tourists on the street.

In QLD and life had been terrifyingly normal for a very long time.

@manicinsomniac I’m not a Covid denier and say around my 93 yr old grandad, I won’t hug him but am still seeing him, as is the rest of the family.
I guess I’m not shaking hands but only because there’s no work meetings.
Any of my friends I’ve seen in recent months, I’ll say ‘are you hugging?’ And they all say yes of course! and give them a big hug hello and kiss as a greeting.
I’m 40 if that makes any difference so not at risk....

[quote damnthatanxiety]@isthismylifenow I thought SA was in a bad way. Not Covid free or low covid like NZ, isle of Mann etc[/quote]
Nothing like Europe or USA, we had our peak in July/August during winter. Yes, we have had 20 000 deaths, and at the moment it seems to be rising again due to hotspot spreaders, about 1000 cases per day. Mostly in one province.

I'm so jealous right now!

Love the candle in a cupcake idea.

namechanged ok, fair enough. I do get that. I wouldn't do it (mainly because of fear of breaking rules tbh!) but I understand why some do.

I'm worried about becoming a term phobe once this is all over. I already have several health issues around eating disorders, anxiety and OCD so really don't need another element to add to that! Although maybe hygiene anxiety will be so normal, it won't even class as a problem any more!!

In an area of Australia with no community transmission for a few months. Life feels almost normal - I feel extremely lucky (and miss my UK family like mad and feel so sad I won't be coming home for Christmas as planned).

No hand shaking at all, but hugs and cheek kisses with close friends, yes. Food sharing - yes, amongst close friends, but everyone is much more aware of hand hygiene. The risk feels very low as we have no community transmission here - any cases are overseas arrivals who are quarantined in medi-hotels.

We are very lucky - I have been tested 3 times since April, each time I got a test within 2 hours of realising I needed one, and have had results back in either 10 hours - up to 36 hours at the longest. I am aware that's very different to many areas. We also don't have to tick boxes for certain symptoms - if you have a bit of a cold, you go to a drive through test and get tested - all pretty quick and simple.