Life IS back to normal... not here but in Germany

[AvenueQ]

Last weekend my 77 year old mum in Germany travelled 400 miles by train to visit her 81 year old sister and her husband. Stayed at their house for four days. While there went to cafes, shops, church. Met my cousin and family. Went for dinner at my aunt's friend's house.
Same weekend my niece in Germany went for a sleepover at her friend's. Another adult friend in Germany went on a weekend break with his family, stayed in holiday apartment.
Meanwhile infection numbers still low.
This might all blow up - or give us lots of hope!!

@Staysafer what are you accusing me of?
Mid April, just before easing incl schools, shops in Germany, daily confirmed new cases in mid to high thousand.
Now, daily confirmed cases here in mid to high thousand.
Source: worldometer

Our leaders have completely and utterly fucked this up basically and they are struggling to find a way out. As an island we should have been at a clear advantage to other European countries, yet here we are, one of the worst in terms of numbers.

DS is studying in Germany and has been back there for the last 3 weeks.

Lectures are all online, bars are open but only outside. Streets are very busy with lots of people around.

There are no infections at the moment in his town. He knows this because the Germans have been testing a lot, and tracking infected people. They've done this throughout the pandemic, one reason their death rate is so much lower than ours.

He also had to quarantine for the first 2 weeks, but they are lifting that on a state by state basis now.

Our government is fucking useless.

@Staysafer what are you accusing me of?
Mid April, just before easing incl schools, shops in Germany, daily confirmed new cases in mid to high thousand.
Now, daily confirmed cases here in mid to high thousand.
Source: worldometer
I don’t think that’s quite right. I’m in Germany, and restrictions didn’t start easing until the end of the first week in May (at the earliest: I had to look this up), when cases on Worldometer were routinely under 1000 here, if not lower.

Schools are also definitely not back to normal in Germany. My 8 year old can go in only one day a week, separate desks in the school hall, must wear a mask except when at desk etc
Also masks must be worn in shops and on public transport.
The guidelines vary by state though so it could be different in other parts of Germany.

I also get the impression that cases are being traced and tracked and there isn’t the sense that a lot of people are wandering around asymptomatic like in the UK, so even if the recorded numbers are similar between when Germany started to relax things and the UK now, the actual numbers won’t be.

Also I agree that relaxing didn’t happen here until May.

Very similar to what Arf says where I am. It’s MORE normal, but by no means normal. Children can go to school 2 days a week for 3 hours (mine only started today). Masks have to be worn inside in public (shops, transport) and by children at school. Restaurants and hairdressers are open, but you have to give name and contact details and they note time of arrival and departure for track and trace. But it’s very organised, and hasn’t felt at all haphazard, which I have really appreciated.

@DramaDromedary

Would you say that people have accepted mandatory restrictions in public places - eg face masks - in order to have restrictions loosened in private/indoor spaces? Are you allowed to visit family indoors or not yet?

@redolent that’s an interesting question, and I think the answer is no. The mandatory face mask thing has been in place for a good few weeks, and I’m pretty sure (why is my memory so hazy???!!) preceded the easing. It has actually made going out a much more comfortable experience. When it wasn’t compulsory, I felt a lot more distrust and aggression from people in e.g. the supermarket, but now that everyone is wearing them people chat and smile again. There has been railing against the restrictions though, don’t get me wrong. For a couple of weeks the hairdressers were open, but the playgrounds were still closed, and many felt that older people could now go out and get their hair done once a week, and that children were the only ones still suffering, with nowhere to play, no contact with friends and no school.

We can now meet with one other family at a time. But we can do that as many times in one day as we like. It doesn’t make an awful lot of sense tbh, but still, it feels like a gradual, controlled easing, which I think is important. It’s meant that people haven’t gone hugely crazy, but we can see friends and go on little outings. We have had children round to the house, and we had a barbecue with some friends the other day. Baby steps.

@DramaDromedary

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.zeit.de/amp/wissen/gesundheit/2020-04/corona-lockerungen-massnahmen-ausgangsbeschraenkung-oeffnung-laeden-infektionsschutz]]

Problem here is people already screaming for lockdown to continue, second spike. You only have to see it on mumsnet to wonder why we are so slow. Sure blame the government but when the government trying ronease things, media and everyone else is going crazy at them for doing it.

Cant have it both ways.

@Redolent in some parts of Germany visiting another household wasnever forbidden

@AvenueQ fair enough. Tbf, that was a very minor easing that made no difference to my life, so I had forgotten about it! Nothing like what’s happening in the U.K. at the moment. I guess we could compare it to the opening of the garden centres there?

I would say it was more easing than here.

in some parts of Germany visiting another household wasnever forbidden
I gotta say, I think this is a really important point too: that easing is done in Germany state by state. That makes so much sense to me. A virus outbreak is mostly a local phenomenon. So after the initial lockdown, a localised easing (and tightening) of restrictions according to outbreaks in the region seems like a sensible way forward. I can’t understand why you’d do it nationally beyond the first steps.

I would say it was more easing than here.
How so? It was just the opening of slightly smaller shops (with compulsory mask wearing). No school, playground, meeting with friends, going anywhere, playing sport. It seems a world away to me, but perhaps I am wrong.

@DramaDromedary though the regional differences in easing were not fully down to case numbers but to regional political leaders wanting to gain profile.

The regional differences in easing were not just down to differences in case numbers or science, but political leaders trying to gain profile

When Germany started easing lockdown new cases of coronavirus were under 1,000 a day there and their population is 20 million people larger than ours. So, for us to start easing our lockdown at a similar point we should be looking for c750 new infections a day. Our current rate is at least double that.

So Germany are more back to normal but not back to pre covid
I think I remember reading that we didn't actually lock down much later in terms of numbers than Germany as well
But it's not normal anywhere much yet I think NZ will be first to go to almost normal , but obviously not totally normal people having to quarantine

@Porcupineinwaiting about 16 million more than us and spread out over a larger area which is probably a help as well

I live in Germany, in one of the worst affected Bundesländer, its definitely not normal here, but it's absolutely night and day with what I'm hearing from UK friends and family. I feel very grateful to be here during this tbh.

The health system in Germany is well resourced and funded. I think that made a big difference to policy.

I'm sure I read that Germany also had lots of labs for testing capacity which helped but they also had struggles with ppe in places as well

Would be happy to have a German type healthcare here but people still want the nhs but then complain
What I don't understand is with German system is if you don't wot are you still entitled to same healthcare ?