The C word, R U OK?

[Sandie-fran]

I have recently returned from overseas, and had to have a blood test for other reasons This showed no signs of any infection - BUT there is so much hysteria out there, that yesterday when I was at a lunch function, a woman screamed at me "why are you here? You should not be here".
The table that we were supposed to be sitting at, joining others, was completely deserted - except for my husband and I.
Uninformed people from this affluent club (who would consider themselves as having above average intelligence) carried on like this.
This is an organisation whose motto is "friendship, fellowship and fun". It certainly was not in attendance yesterday!
This is also something that we have to deal with - panicked ignorance!

 

[Cappuccino99]

Discuss regulation 24 scripts with your doctor. Normally issued with respect to travel....

Holding off on wandering
Fred

My doc gave me a reg24 script as I believed I was going overseas. The pharmacist refused to give me more than 1 pack! I didn't argue as I'm not travelling now.

 

[KJG]

Yes, another thread but this one is about you. Are you OK?

Im feeling burnt out already. Yesterday I was saying to my husband, as we were being stupid and dancing around the living room to 70s music, that at this stage I would welcome a two week lock down/work from home and just be silly because Ive found that Ive been consumed by all the news and threads. Now that Ive accepted that money has been lost on our next trip, Im actually feeling better about cancelling everything and just moving on.

So are you OK, how are you feeling?

View attachment 209897

Yup. Feeling the anxiety again..
I work in the disability sector and my regular clients are cancelling our one on one shifts, and as Im paid on a casual basis, I dont get paid. Plus shopping, cant get the regular stuff I need. Wake up every morning wondering what's going to be thrown at me next!
Im so over the panic buying fiasco. Ppl just need to calm the F down! Hopefully Scomo's address today will stop the panic buying, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[leadman]

Second last day now in Thailand and counting the hours, but good news is i got my upgrade SIN > MEL which i nice. My wife wanted me to pay the $2800 for the seat just to be home.

First time in my travelling life i'm starting to plan the trip back and what NOT to do/touch/see etc. A bit uncomforting.

 

[Seat0B]

Discuss regulation 24 scripts with your doctor. Normally issued with respect to travel....

Holding off on wandering
Fred

Thank you I will do that - presumably that allows them to dispense more than a single month at a time?

 

[Ekka]

Good thread.

Now that I am limiting contact with the community and events have been cancelled, my world has shrunk considerably.

The 3 month overseas trip for 2020 will now have to take place in 2021 instead.

As it is a milestone birthday year though, I am thinking to replace it with a much shorter and stress free Aussie holiday in August to somewhere 🏖 warm.

I have started researching a first ever trip to Broome and or Darwin, or maybe a revisit holiday to Cairns or the Sunshine Coast.

I will welcome any suggestions !

Cairns, Broome and Darwin are quite reasonable, ao far as weather goes at that time of year, but Caloundra or Maroochydore would be ideal in August, and far cheaper. Avioid Noosa, unless you speak fluent Victorian.

 

[mrsterryn]

Not me, and not linked to COVID-19, other than obliquely, but my partner's mother was a bit upset to learn this morning that her pension is being cut by $180 /fortnight due to increase in value of her super. I am sure she's not the only one. Her super is most definitely not stellar at the moment (that's the COVID-19 link), and she wouldn't be so upset if her super was as good as it was at the end of 2019. Shows how much things have changed in the last 6-8 weeks.

She needs to contact Centrelink and ask for an update .
They can review on "yesterday's " data . The shares are updated nightly nowadays

 

[DougP]

Planning to cancel/rebook later into 2020 flights to Bankok and accommodation for two weeks originally late April, looks like Virgin flights will be cost effective, not so sure about the internal Thai Airlines flights, looks like those funds will be lost.

Now thinking about recently paid flights to Europe trip in September/October, thinking I may leave any changes to that one for a few months.

Somewhat resigned to keeping isolated and thinking about a long drive camping with the wife and dogs, don't want to go cabin crazy!! Best wishes to all AFF members.

 

[pgsdiver]

....................
Uninformed people from this affluent club (who would consider themselves as having above average intelligence) carried on like this.
This is an organisation whose motto is "friendship, fellowship and fun". It certainly was not in attendance yesterday!
This is also something that we have to deal with - panicked ignorance!

Unfortunately, affluence does not correlate with intelligence, and there is no known cure for stupid.


I've recently had to cancel a hard-won RTW *Alliance reward, and while bitterly disappointed, once it was done there was a certain sense of relief. Sometimes actually making the decision is the hardest part. The consequences pretty much play out as they will.
Hope everyone is OK, and can see that there is a light at the end of this tunnel, as yucky as the tunnel is.
Regards,
Peter

 

[Ekka]

She needs to contact Centrelink and ask for an update .
They can review on "yesterday's " data . The shares are updated nightly nowadays

It is difficult to sympathise with some people; first you have to be a non-fixed pension; If you're not you do not a get a brass razoo.

 

[Caversham04]

Am almost at the point where I am over it already and in WA our journey probably hasnt even started yet.

I flat out refuse to engage in conversation about it with some people.

What is getting me the most is people that I thought were normal well educated are in complete denial about the whole thing, spouting nonsese like "oh its just a cough", "most people already have it and are fine" or my favorite "the flu kills more people than this".

Yeah but we dont lock down entire countries every year when flu season rolls around now do we.

I agree with the impact of coronavirus on the vulnerable, and the tragic deaths that have resulted from that but if you believe that coronavirus kills more people than influenza (in terms of absolute numbers) then it's you who is in denial at this point. The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide, influenza epidemics result in about 3-5 million cases of severe illness EVERY YEAR and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths (source What is the global incidence of influenza?). In comparison, global deaths from coronavirus currently stand at around 8,000.

In terms of severity / mortality-rates, using the above WHO median numbers, influenza has a mortality-rate of just below 1% despite the annual immunisation of a significant proportion of the population in first-world countries, including many of the most vulnerable (e.g. the elderly). How much higher would the mortality-rate for influenza be without this immunisation?

Only a few countries are testing extensively for coronavirus. For example, South Korea is doing so and can demonstrate a mortality-rate of less than 1% (which is not significantly different to that of influenza). In contrast, many other countries are under-testing and it's also widely reported that around 80% of people have few or no symptoms. It's therefore reasonable to assume that many cases are not identified and that the often-quoted apparent mortality-rate due to the coronavirus of around 3-4% is a significant over-estimate.

Given the above, the answer to your question is that if we are going to apply a global shutdown (and tank the economy as result) as the answer to coronavirus, we clearly SHOULD have been implementing a similar lockdown every year for influenza......

 

[Port Power]

My goodness, Caversham04! This thread is for sharing feelings about ourselves. How many of us can relax now that our trips have been cancelled. We know things are bad, but this is not the thread to dwell on the doom and gloom.

 

[Caversham04]

My goodness, Caversham04! This thread is for sharing feelings about ourselves. How many of us can relax now that our trips have been cancelled. We know things are bad, but this is not the thread to dwell on the doom and gloom.

Apologies for the confusion; I'm definitely NOT doom and gloom about it all - my response was primarily answering Lawrage's question "we dont lock down entire countries every year when flu season rolls around now do we?". If he believes we should be in lockdown for coronavirus then I was just trying to demonstrate that the numbers show that it should be done for the flu too. My personal view is that the media / social media have whipped whipped the public up to ridiculous levels of hysteria.

I've recently been on a small boat for a week with people from several different countries (including northern Italy) and have subsequently been travelling around the western USA. Am I worried? Personally, not in the slightest - just annoyed with the ridiculous hysteria, the round-the-block queues for basics and the moronic stockpiling of toilet paper! I will nevertheless do the responsible thing and self-isolate when I get home, to protect those more vulnerable than me.....

 

[pgsdiver]

Is it wrong of me to feel a little bit glad that all the kids sport is cancelled? I'm likely to get the first sleep-in for about a million years...................bring on Saturday!

On a more serious note- if you look ahead far enough, we can all be sure that there will be some excellent opportunities for picking up travel bargains.
Has anyone begun thinking about this yet? My wife has told me I'm not allowed to, but I'm thinking in secret (I have to be in another room so she can't hear the cogs turning, and see the smoke).

 

[Hvr]

We're planning for the possibility of being required to work from home.

Unlimited Internet and phone, with a proper desk and chair, as well as dual monitors means I'm ok to do it if required.
Won't purchase a monthly train ticket again until this is over.

My major concern is not inadvertently accepting video calls until I'm dressed.

 

[mrsterryn]

@pgsdiver and @Hvr I did giggle at both of those posts
Ok...how many couples will be having very robust discussions within the fourteen days ?
I have the most amazing calm husband and I think even he might be stretched
(Yes he is on AFF not sure he knows my nick on here and fortunately doesn't often read *phew")

 

[pgsdiver]

My wife has worked for me for the past couple of years (I tell myself SHE works for ME, but we all know the truth).
We get along very well and the main arguments arise, she tells me, when I am wrong about something....................
But the increased stress, trying to organise (and understand) the changing school and sport schedules, is fraying the odd nerve.
We have the luxury of going to the office alternately when we need a breather, as I have all of my staff now working from home. A few of us are working a roster to be in the office for deliveries etc. roughly one day each per week. Good circuit breaker.
But back to travel.........
I've just heard that a management course I am in the middle of has postponed our latest block. Sad but understandable.

 

[Hillbilly64]

I'm having an "I'm not ok" day. Small Business owner..been through the last GFC and personally we are in a ok positon..

but our staff are another matter...they all earn good money but live pay check to pay check. If we have to close we have to weigh up future viability of business vs staff ability to pay bills/survive??

On the personal side which doesnt help my mindset
Easter holiday for my brother's 40th that's not happening ...
Husbands 40th party...might not happen
Husbands 40th birthday trip to the states (something he's wanted to do since he was 20)..and an epic mission to plan..) possibly not going ahead.

 

[dajop]

We just got another Airbnb cancellation today. After being booked quite solid, we are not booked now until Easter. For us it's not important as the Airbnb income is just some gravy that we put into a bank account to use for maintenance and upgrades to the house. Financially it makes no real difference to us. However we do use a cleaner, so that's probably 3 x $200-250 he will be missing out on, just from us, and we're not his only customer in our area. I think he has some regular commercial and residential (permanent home) customers, so hopefully he will be OK, but certainly there are lots of downstream impacts on people that we wouldn't even think about. (likewise in hotels, many casual cleaning staff will be not working and earning an income right now either).

Over on FT, I see lots of people b@#I)(ing and moaning about not getting their cash back, only getting vouchers for airlines that have cancelled flights, for example for a 2hr flight on an Asian LCC on the other side of the world they are from (what would that be $100-200 USD?) . I don't think people realise the gravity of the situation for many who work in or around anything to do with travel.

 

[cove]

First day of confinement over and I haven’t had to hide the Wilshire Stay Sharp knife. Only 13 days to go. Mrscove is calm and so am I.
We are thinking about how we can help others and Food Bank operates pretty well.