What's life like in other countries at the moment?

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

I seem to recall tales of Lockdown in France, Spain, Italy and even Sweden taking up a lot of news columns in the spring.

But there seems to be very little now. Obviously there's a lot to fill the papers with currently, so maybe that's the reason?

If you're not in The UK, how's life for you?

New Zealand. Normal. Like nothing ever happened.

Awh, yes you're a real success story.

Well played NZ!

Ireland. 'Level 5'. Schools are open but all non-essential business should be closed. No visiting at all, exercise only within 5km of home.

Our numbers are really improving.

Have a look at reddit.com/r/coronavirus - you'll find a lot of news from other countries gathered there.

Saudi
Masks and social distancing.
Everything open except schools.
Opposite of the UK but with far far fewer cases and deaths.

How is the vaccine news playing out in other countries? Here in U.K. we seem cockahoop (prematurely?) although Matt Hancock has been on the airways trying to pour cold water everywhere
Is NZ, Saudi news / people equally happy?

We’re in Australia. After a brief lockdown earlier in the year, we were very quickly back to normal. The difference between Aussies and Brits is that Aussies follow the rules whereas British people are more rebellious. I think that is the reason it is still such a problem in the UK.

Well played NZ, fair enough for a remote island with only 4 million people. Also, borders will be kept shut until another country rescues them with a vaccine? Presumably NZ are not putting resources into a vaccine?

Just to remember the rule following Aussies required a lockdown longer than Wuhan to bring the Victoria outbreak under control so it’s not necessarily always short even with these well behaved populations

Snort at well behaved. We just have more space and a "better" climate and generally prefer a bit of space as normal.

We all also remote so were also able to mostly cutoff new cases coming in.

We have done well but there was a hefty dose of luck involved as well.

Australia is investing in vaccines and will share with NZ and the Pacific Islands.

I am in Sydney. Life pretty much normal for me but our economy and people are not unscathed and the fucking thing keeps popping up.

Vaccine news well received and fingers crossed.

@ChickOnAStick

Well played NZ, fair enough for a remote island with only 4 million people. Also, borders will be kept shut until another country rescues them with a vaccine? Presumably NZ are not putting resources into a vaccine?

That's a really weird assumption. NZ have signed up to COVAX, same as the UK and over 180 other countries.

www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/covax-explained

I really hate how some people are pretty much willing NZ to fail.

Spain here. Masks obligatory in public, and curfew at night. Other restrictions depend on the region. For example, Madrid's borders are open, but all the neighbouring communities are closed, so we still can't go anywhere! Bars are open here, but closed in other areas.

The masks are a pain, but we just get on with it. Infections still high but coming down.

Italy - masks everywhere, no cinemas, sports venues, museums open. No restaurants or bars after 6pm except for take aways. Senior schools mostly closed except for some key classes (first and last year I think?) Other children still at school. Some after school activities are still on but only if outside. Lots of people working from home but not everyone. Not too bad at the moment....crosses fingers....I really don't want a proper lockdown.

The point about NZ is that they are essentially relying on other nations to develop a vaccine as they’d never have the infection levels to test one themselves.

Which is fine for them, but if every country took that approach we’d be locked into semi closed borders/quarantining forever. It’s not tearing them down to highlight this, but acknowledging they’re working from a position of privilege.

I’m in ROI, full lockdown, counting down the days, but numbers are certainly coming down. Schools and playgrounds open this time, which is making it more bearable. 5k limits and the closing down of non essential retail (even in supermarkets) feels like major overkill though.

Can't believe people are grudging NZ that they had the combination of luck / happenstance / decisive action that has got them where they are.

France - currently the whole country is in "lockdown lite". So schools are fully open with masks the only real adaptation (though lycée - upper secondary - will likely go to 50/50 this week), many many shops and businesses are open (but not clothes shops, gyms, hairdressers etc). Parks, including play areas, all still open though group sports are banned. Unis have been told to go 50% online. People / employers are very reluctant to adopt WFH - every employer thinks that they are the exception. So public transport is still busy. We are allowed out for 1 hour per day, 1km from home for exercise but no such restriction applies to shopping, going to work, taking kids to school etc. It's a joke actually. We need to have an attestation (self-declaration) to 'prove' the above. Very few controles though - I've been stopped once in 2 weeks.

Our case numbers are huge. IMHO it's down to household mixing and private events (government has never had the power to restrict gatherings in private residences), the bise (kissing on greeting people, a hard habit for French people to drop), 7 rather than 14 days isolation, continued habit of eating 3-course lunch together every day (no masks obviously) in schools and workplaces. And unis and schools all went back 100% at la rentrée, and they are all notoriously overcrowded, and that didn't change. Oh and WFH is really unpopular.

@TheKeatingFive

The point about NZ is that they are essentially relying on other nations to develop a vaccine as they’d never have the infection levels to test one themselves.

Which is fine for them, but if every country took that approach we’d be locked into semi closed borders/quarantining forever. It’s not tearing them down to highlight this, but acknowledging they’re working from a position of privilege.

I’m in ROI, full lockdown, counting down the days, but numbers are certainly coming down. Schools and playgrounds open this time, which is making it more bearable. 5k limits and the closing down of non essential retail (even in supermarkets) feels like major overkill though.

But that's not how covid vaccines are being developed. There's a fuckton of international collaboration going on. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is being developed by companies in the US and Germany but there are also a lot of trial participants in Argentina, Brazil, SA and Turkey.

I spoke to people in Finland & Sweden today. The Finland gal says the rules are pretty much the same in both countries, except the Finns do contact tracing & follow the rules scrupulously. Both women are working at home, and both can do most regular activities.

I have some relatives in California who hide themselves away fairly strictly. They go for walks but not to restaurants, not even outdoor ones, have little in-person social contact, and mask up outdoors religiously. Most my USA family are doing most ordinary life things, but kids can only have online school or university.

Wow...its so shitty some of the attitudes towards NZ. Do most understand that by NZ restricting travel it has protected a lot of pacific island nations from infection as NZ is the accessible place of entry/transit? these populations would be devastated, not to mention not enough medical facilities.
Its not just about NZ its about the region generally.
its such a crap attitude

China virtually back to normal, although borders still closed to international travellers and govt has suspended entry of uk citizens.

@LaMadrilena

Spain here. Masks obligatory in public, and curfew at night. Other restrictions depend on the region. For example, Madrid's borders are open, but all the neighbouring communities are closed, so we still can't go anywhere! Bars are open here, but closed in other areas.

The masks are a pain, but we just get on with it. Infections still high but coming down.

I’m basque (but living in the uk) so apart from what lamadrilena has said in my area of Spain rhe restaurants are closed also they can’t leave the city not even go to the next one.

Some areas of Spain have requested the central government lockdown like marchs but so far it’s been refused

California here (major city) nothing has really changed for us since April. Masks every time we leave the house, restaurants open for outdoor dining only, nothing indoors (cinemas, gyms, museums etc etc) is open, most people still WFH where possible, kids 100% online in school. We’re just used to the limbo now really. Our numbers are steadily increasing despite all this

I really hate how some people are pretty much willing NZ to fail.

You are not wrong there. Some people just don't want to admit that other countries' governments have acted more responsibly than their own! Funnily enough there's not the same amount of vitriol directed at Australia, who took much the same action. That was a shitty remark about "other countries rescuing them with a vaccine". Pure ignorance.

@NotTheRealAngelaFernandez

We’re in Australia. After a brief lockdown earlier in the year, we were very quickly back to normal. The difference between Aussies and Brits is that Aussies follow the rules whereas British people are more rebellious. I think that is the reason it is still such a problem in the UK.

If you're not actually in a country, you really don't have a right to comment on what's going on there. Where I live in England, absolutely everyone I know is following 'the rules'. Hasn't it occurred to those in Australia and New Zealand that they may have fared better because of their geographical location?

UAE here. We've been wearing masks since May, schools are partially back with students doing in person/distance learning on rotation, Government offices are back at 50%, COVID tests no more than 48 hours old required to move between Dubai/Northern Emirates and Abu Dhabi, 2 weeks quarantine if you return from overseas in Abu Dhabi but not Dubai...

Australia. Normal life apart from lots of hand sanitiser in shops really. Combo of good luck, geography, actually shutting our borders internally and externally and putting proper public health measures in then enforcing them.

The Melbourne lockdown was LONG but it worked and if you broke the rules you got fined. But it is much easier when the end game is freedom within the whole country rather than just another wave when you come out...
NZ has done a great job. I can’t wait till we can bubble with them

Well, I know you said outside UK but I'm going to give a Wales update . Infections are coming down rapidly following the firebreak. However, the pictures from Monday night in the city centre showed massive groups cheek by jowl so I wonder if we will almost be back where we were in 2 weeks.
I don't for one minute think that the outdoors is a hotbed for transmission but its whether the youngsters go back to houses after closing time.
Hopefully not.