What's happening in the rest of the world now?

[DaughterOfEvilReindeer]

As numbers continue to rise our media is of course focussed on the UK and I've lost track of what is happening in other countries. Are they all experiencing a rise in cases? How are they being managed?

I'm in Australia...South Australia to be exact. We've barely been affected. We had a couple of weeks at the start with schools closed and then some minor restrictions. There are currently no active cases in S.A. at all.

We have a small population and they shut the borders early on. Melbourne was worse off and they had similar situation to the UK but obviously on a much smaller scale due to population difference.

The US is having a torrid time following Thanksgiving....

Sydney here, no new cases other than those arriving from overseas, which are placed in quarantine.

Borders all open so travel between states is allowed.

Absolutely everything is booked out for the Christmas summer holidays.

Restaurants , gyms and bars are open.

Most people are still allowed to work from home, though people have been transitioning back to the office 2/3 days a week.

Big rise in the Netherlands.

Thank you, I was hoping to hear from people overseas. Australia sounds like it has got it under control now. What do you think has contributed to that?
US I don't need to ask... but why are cases rising in the Netherlands? Are you there @rorosemary?

It looks like Sweden might go into lockdown now they have cases spiking and have realised their approach didn't work:

www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9025989/amp/Swedens-Covid-infection-rate-soars-Britain-Germany-Spain.html

Mr friend has told me for Christmas they're allowed to have it as a household and one other person. In Belgium
Bit different from here!

I'm surprised about Sweden! Perhaps they got complacent after doing so well at the beginning?

NZ here. No community cases, just those in returning citizens and they are all in quarantine. Everything is normal here, other than the borders being closed. We can go to some Australian states, but have to quarantine when we get back. People are shopping up a storm pre-Christmas, and the cafes and restaurants are as full as usual - in my region anyway - and everything is open.

I think Australia got it under control due to shutting down state borders and strict quarantine for anyone arriving here.

@DaughterOfEvilReindeer

I'm surprised about Sweden! Perhaps they got complacent after doing so well at the beginning?

They never did well. They always had a far worse case and death rate to their Nordic neighbours.

In Italy ( and most of Europe) they are implementing more restrictions over the Christmas period, which is the opposite of here.

Ireland here, no idea. We're on level 3, not really sure what that is. Everything seems to be open bar pubs etc

We've just had 6 weeks of lockdown, level 5. However, schools were open. So I didn't really feel affected, I don't go to pubs.

Expecting level 5 again after the super spreader event that will be Christmas.

What can you do 🤷🏻‍♀️

Japan here - third wave hitting now

new cases in Tokyo topped 600 yesterday - its very worrying.

We have got off so lightly so far, but I can see cases going over 1000 in Tokyo in the next week or so if we can't get it under control. (we have never had a lock down as the Constitution doesn't allow it, so we have to rely on people cooperating)

Of course overall deaths so far are still around the 2300 mark for the whole country, so the numbers are way better than many other places.

but still, there is a long way to go.

Germany going into another lockdown at Christmas.

In Norway there seems to be a second wave of Covid.
In total under 400 people have sadly lost their life from around 40,000 positive cases.
We have new national measures of allowing five guests in private homes unless they are all from the same household. People are being asked to limit their social interactions as much as possible.
The private event limit is 50 people.
I believe that over Christmas and New Year we will have a limit of 10 people at home.

So pleased for Australia & New Zealand! Have a great Christmas and summer. Lovely to think of normal times somewhere in the world.

Saudi Arabia
Early restrictions and localized lock downs.
Masks mandatory for months - no exceptions
Must Covid test before boarding flights.
Everything open aside schools.
Is now part of a travel corridor with the UK.

I’m in South Australia too. I think Australia as a whole managed to get it under control due to a mixture of it being an island, having a large land mass and some luck.

Out with Queensland, NSW and Victoria, the rest of the states where largely unaffected.
The borders within Australia didn’t close quick enough the first time round and there was a few fiascos with cruise ships which could have been even more disastrous, but I think the individual premieres and health teams learned from mistakes and were able to implement a decent track and trace system.

The big thing was stopping new cases coming in to the country.

Glad to be in Australia for sure just now, but hope the Uk get it under control so my family can visit next Christmas!

Thank you @tobee. The rest of the world will get there - and hopefully sooner rather than later.

South Africa. Officially in 2nd wave now.

Super spreader events apparently the cause. Our school leavers having massive parties Teens asymptomatic but lots of positive cases from these events. All the rest now been cancelled which is what should have happened in the first place. People became complacent as the numbers dropped significantly.

France

We had our latest announcement last night. The new case numbers are still too high to lift lockdown in the way the gouv hoped to so...

from 15th dec we can leave home without a piece of paper saying that we are doing it for an approved reason ;-) we will have a 8pm to 6am curfew instead.

The curfew will not apply on the night of 24th (when french family celebrations are) but will apply for NYE! People can sleepover wherever they are but not go outside.

Family gatherings cannot legally be restricted in private homes but gouv are recommending no more than 6 adults and no more than 10 including children. Lots of “don’t kill granny” tv ads.

Gyms, theatres, cinemas, gyms / sports venues, bars, cafes, restaurants, ski resorts remain closed nationwide (no tiers here, same rules apply across the country) until January at least. Shops, churches and hairdressers are open, with gestes barrières, as before.

No travel restrictions within the country.

Everyone seems to be expecting a third wave in jan / Feb due to family mixing over the holidays.

Just came back from the UAE. Restrictions seem to be state dependent. We were in Dubai. Everything was open but strict compliance with make wearing everywhere. The Mall was a bit busy at times, social distancing being enforced at tourist attractions, PCR tests must be taken before anyone comes into the country (or on arrival with quarantine until result).

I’m in Australia. Life is pretty normal here as we head into summer. Most big workplaces just starting to transition back into the office. I think we can have 50 people visit your house now as long as you have an outside area. There is a large teenage pool party being held in one of my neighbour’s backyards as I type!

It was all about the borders here and quite a high degree of compliance from the population. We haven’t been able to travel internationally without a permit since March. Permits are very difficult to obtain and only for family emergencies and essential work travel. There’s a cap on Australians returning from overseas and everyone must quarantine for two weeks in a hotel on arrival. I’m in Sydney and for much of the year we have not been able to visit any other Australian state.

Usually I hate how far away Australia is from everywhere else but I think distance has been our saviour this year!

@eaglejulesk

NZ here. No community cases, just those in returning citizens and they are all in quarantine. Everything is normal here, other than the borders being closed. We can go to some Australian states, but have to quarantine when we get back. People are shopping up a storm pre-Christmas, and the cafes and restaurants are as full as usual - in my region anyway - and everything is open.

Are there still masks and social distancing ?