I'm not sure if you folks are under lock-down, where you are.
But if you are, could we please use THIS thread as a catch-up thread.

I just want to know that you folks are alive and doing OK.

Please post freely on this thread alone

Only "Essential" Businesses allowed to be open here. Anything that is open has a limit to # of people allowed inside at a time, which means lines outside.

In Iowa, we're just short of a lockdown. Essential businesses only, gatherings of more than 10 are not allowed. No limit on people within essential businesses yet, but some are voluntarily limiting that. Restaurants/bars closed, except for drive-through or take-away. Most park and playground areas were closed the other day.

Broadcasting is an essential business, so I'm working pretty much as usual, except most of my time is spent supporting other people working from home using VPN or from socially-distanced locations in the building. We're finding out how lousy residential internet service in town.

I am in SW Florida and most places are closed, only essential businesses are open. A lot of the stores are doing curb side pickup to limit foot traffic but you can still go in most of them. All restaurant food is take out. Since I am retired, my life isn't really that much different. I didn't go to that many places before. It seems all of my trips are essential. The main difference is I spend a lot more time sanitizing myself and everything I bring home. My boat is behind the house so we can still go any time we want and the only real rule is don't mingle with other boaters.

Hehe,
Yup, everyone here seems to be on Netflix or whatever the other ones are.
Over here, trying to use the 'net after 6pm, is pretty much hopeless, you can send an email, but if it has any attachments, forget it.

Here in NJ we are in 'stay home mode'. Most business that are not essential are open, with limited amounts of customers allowed inside. Costco, HD, Lowes, supermarkets, are open. And liquor stores are also open.

Restaurants are closed, but can do take out or curbside pickup only.

Yesterday, the Governor issued a 'stop construction' order, which we are still trying to figure out.

My Building Dept is open, and we are on an alternate day schedule consisting of two teams to keep the office and limited inspections going as best as we can. The idea of the two teams is if one team has any health related issues the other team takes over and back to every day.

The small businesses are taking a real beating by having to be closed, and I hope there is an end in sight.

And, to all, I extend a "Stay Safe"

Too bad, with many businesses closed it would be a good time for any planned construction & maintenance within them to take place.

FYI, as of this reading of the 'stop work', it appears that most if not all commercial will be stopped, excluding schools, hospitals, utility, road.

Resi sounds like most can continue, assuming contracts are in effect with owners, with limit of 5 bodies max. working.

There are a lot of exclusions but the above is my quick read.

We are fortunate to live in a rural town with fiber connections to every house courtesy of our small cooperative telco. Our internet is solid, much more consistent than what's provided in Des Moines or its suburbs.

We don't have Netflix but we have a Sling TV subscription and a TV antenna in the attic for broadcast channels. We just finished binge-watching Brokenwood Mysteries on Acorn TV and are cleaning up the latest episodes of Midsomer Murders before the Acorn free trial runs out.

Just had a rapid test done, I’m clear.

Most construction is still going on here and the folks I know in "maintenance" (HVAC, roofing, electrical and plumbing) are busier than ever. One of our big commercial maintenance operations was advertising for people tonight in the 6 PM news hour. They wanted everything from electricians to sheet metal fabricators. It is a bad time for waiters and bar tenders tho.

Great to hear that!

I rode public transport to my work place for the first time in almost a month today because I really wanted some personal equipment and tools I'd left there (especially the RJ45 plugs and network tools, patch cords are quite important these days). Masks on public transport are only compulsory from Tuesday but I'd say about half the people already used them. Trains were pretty empty for a work day and generally everything felt very much like a Sunday. The museum where I work was deserted and instead of clocking in I had to sign in at the door (pen and paper) stating the reason for my visit.

Went to visit one set of Grandkids earlier for Easter. We're usually together, but this year We stayed out in the Driveway and they came out on the porch.

Later on , we had a 6 way FaceTime with all the Kids and Grandkids, (that was a bit unusual, didn't know we could do that!), but anyway, we were all together, but apart.

It's definitely a memory that will last a long time, and it will be one of those things my Grandkids can tell their Grandkids.

P.S. How was your Day?

I'm only working in vacant structures or outdoors, and if there are other trades around I won't be. All of our inspections are now remote video via Skype, Facetime and Google Duo.

I hope everyone here is safe.

I just scheduled a residential power kill with the POCO line crew for a residential service upgrade and they are more than a month out. Of course the clients are always in a big hurry and want to know how we can skirt the rules. Sometimes they find someone else who will do it without permits and without POCO involvement. Not us.

Maybe I'm a bit thick or something, but I can't work out why a "company" would do this, sure, you got the job and all, but what happens if something goes wrong (which is always on the card when you're doing a job like that) and equipment gets damaged or someone gets electrocuted or both.
And that is effectively what you're left with, explaining how this all came to happen in the first place.

BigB,
I totally agree with you 1000%, I'm the sort of guy that understands that, if there are rules to be followed, that is exactly what will be done.
I have no time at all for those that like to flout the law.

Guys,
I don't want this thread getting off-topic or anything, but I noticed one thing this afternoon.
Over here in New Zealand, only the supermarkets (which has been a duopoly for years) are allowed to stay open, all of the independent local butchers, fruit and vegetable markets and the like, had to close down.

The reasoning behind this is apparently "to limit virus spread and to make sure that good hygiene practice is maintained, when purchasing food products"

My eye-teeth it is, I went to get some basics, like milk, some eggs, a couple of loaves of bread and some instant coffee.
The prices for these items, are nothing like they were 2 weeks ago, upon going through the self-service, these items came to some outlandish amount, I really felt like leaving it all there and walking out, but I needed it.

If this isn't price-gouging, I don't know what is, it really annoyed me, they want people to eat healthily, during a time like this, you can, at a price.
The people I feel really sorry for is pensioners that have a set income, adding an extra profit margin by the supermarkets, is just not good enough.
Bear in mind, winter is coming over here, these people will also more than likely be trying to save as much as they can, so that they can actually pay their power bills over this time.

As for the hygiene practices, not a single staff member in the supermarket was wearing gloves or a mask, when I first went through the entry door the hand sanitiser dispenser had run out.

This is simple profiteering, allowed by the Government.

I will now climb off my soap-box and go and cook my $50 eggs.

Trumpy:

Sorry to hear the price gougers are at it in NZ. We have had some of that here, but not $50 eggs.

As to 'retail', the supermarkets are open, the occupancy has been cut to >50% of 'normal', and some of the few butcher shops I pass are 'open' with people standing at the door, and the employees taking the orders there. Entry to the supermarkets, big boxes, etc., is being denied if people do not have face covering.

Some restaurants are open for take out only, with call-in ordering and curbside pickups. I really feel for them. Yesterday I went to an adjacent town to my favorite Italian deli only to find that they shut down as of Monday.

There has been some static about the 'big box' stores selling some items that 'others' can't because they are not 'essential'. ie: clothing, household items, toys, etc. That adds to the chaos.

There were a few gougers that were peddling PPE items, like N-95 masks for >$6.00 each, and hand sanitizer for more than a rare bottle of scotch. There also is a lot of PPE items popping up in ads from who knows where at really high prices.

Most retail now requires everyone to wear some type of face covering to enter. BTW, Liquor Stores are considered 'essential' and are open.

The warehouse store I shop at has been (IMHO) GREAT at doing there best to sanitize and keep the social distancing suggested 'rule'. They spray down all the carts, only give customers a cart from inside, wipe the handle again, and offer gloves and a mask to those who don't have one. IMHO, that is above and beyond.

Hopefully, this will come to pass soon, a lot of rumors floating around.

The retailers are saying they are just passing on price hikes they are seeing at the wholesale level and the guy I saw was specifically talking about eggs, saying how much more he paid per pallet.
We are still seeing shortages of a lot of products (Paper goods, sanitizers, PPE etc) but the food distribution seems to be keeping up now. I guess everyone has more food than they can eat or store and they ended up throwing some of the perishables away when they spoiled. That sort of thing is almost back to normal.

I do question some of these PPE fads. They had a news girl on TV showing us how not following proper protocols can make masks and gloves worse than nothing at all. She really looked like she was doing everything right but when they shined the U/V light on her, she had the "infection" (a harmless U/V powder) everywhere, simply by picking it up on the gloves and then spreading it around. Just wrapping a bandanna around your face only makes it harder to identify you if you are robbing the place. It probably doesn't make you or anyone else safer unless you always use a clean one and you handle the dirty one properly. It is no accident that medical people generally use something once, carefully remove it and dispose of it right away. Reusing masks and gloves is like reusing condoms.

I did learn one thing from the TV demonstration ... wash your face often too. The girl had contamination on her face, mostly her forehead, that would have been fairly safe until she removed her mask, gloves and washed her hands. Then thinking she was safe, she smeared the contamination all over her face, including the danger areas around the mouth and nose. Part of that was the typically female habit of unconsciously brushing her hair out of her eyes. That could have just as easily been sweat tho if it is hot outside. Once you contaminate your hands again, you are off to the races.

For decades I've always had the type of Mask with straps that go behind the head (used mostly for keeping out Dust). Besides being uncomfortable it's impossible to put on without touching the mask itself.

I recently got some with straps that go around the ears... what a difference!!
Easier to put on and take off just by handling the straps - and much more comfortable to wear.

I wish I could find some of those, I'm still using the few dirty work masks I had left when this all started

Found some on Amazon and they supposedly will arrive in 2-3 weeks

The ironic thing is that those products from Amazon and others, most likely came from the country that deliberately spread the virus around the world, when they knew what they had done to themselves. That makes them guilty of bio-terrorism in my book! If there ever was a time for "Buy American" or "Buy Non-Communist Chinese", it's now!
Joe

Yes, the surgical style masks that we receive (at work) are from China. It seems like they have the market saturation near 100% on them. Yes, these are the over the ear type, not the construction dust type.

Yes, the ear type are more comfortable then the 'dust' style. N-95 by 3M and USA made I think.

Which are better protection? That is a debate. It has been whatever you can get is OK, or better than nothing.

Hope that the light at the end of this tunnel is close, and all stay safe.

I needed a couple of things for some projects I was planning and ordered online from Lowes last nite. I got an email early this morning saying my order was ready for pickup.

I parked in front, called the order desk and they brought it out and put it in my car within 5 min.
Easy Peasy!

The guy wouldn't even take a tip...

Thumbs up to Lowes for making things easier in the crisis!

Yes, there are some great people taking care of us, and a few that go the extra step. Hats off to them.
I had a similar pickup at Staples last week that was flawless.

Also, a thank you to Costco for the organized crowd control, sanitizing the carts, and the senior hours. This is the location by my home in Brick. And no, there was no TP last time I was there.

From what I was reading in the local news paper some of our local nurses were saying that the style that go behind the ears can irritate that area if you wear it too long (they are on 12 hour shifts and masked more than normal).

They are sewing buttons on their head caps and hooking the straps to the buttons. If I had to wear one of those masks for a long period of time, I'd try sewing buttons on the sides of a baseball cap and using them as the anchor points which should work about the same the the nurses head cap.

Apparently the nurses here heard about this idea from a hospital in Spain where they were the first to try fastening to buttons on their head covering.

This is amazing! Thank you very much for giving a detailed response her in this thread. This will be a great help when I discuss with the local here.

If possible it's been even more grueling for me (since only a handful of people near me have comparable intelligence; leaving me with very few companions, who are mostly already working flat-out just to fix the endless problems created by the untelligent).

The best I can hope for is that more people will develop sympathy for the isolated...

Well,
New Zealand is stuck in Level 2, until last Sunday, Auckland (our biggest city) was in Level 2.5 (everyone outside of Auckland was equally confused by that, we had no idea there were half measures).
Most of the disease clusters are based in Auckland, there was a petition on-line to build a wall around Auckland.
I had the idea that it should be filled with water afterwards, unfortunately, no-one liked that idea.

That's strange because to read the stuff we see in this half of the world says you have that virus beat and other than quarantining visitors you are wide open.

Some form of 'near normal' is setting in here in NJ.

Indoor dining at 25% capacity started Friday 9/4 and most things are open with masks and social distance rules.

We were out over the weekend, and still sat outside to eat. Our choice as it was a beautiful day.

We have a quarantine list of states that IF we travel there, we have to quarantine for 14 days. The list changes at the Governors data points, like ROI.

I heard a guy on TV saying that the Corona viruses are viruses that spread more in the fall and winter, and that it could really blow up this fall/winter. I hope he is wrong but I have a suspicion he is correct and we may see it worse this winter than it was earlier in the year.

BigB

I guess only time will tell.

It is also going to be flu season, so it could be a real mess.

I suppose if there is good news it would be that the same things we do to mitigate Covid would cut down on flu transmission so flu might not be bad this time around.

Grandkids went back to school this week... sort of... 2 Days in school, and 3 Days home.

I'm not confident that will even last as apparently the Bar to closing them back down is pretty low.

Bill

They just opened the bars here so I expect to see a spike and they might try to blame it on the schools. I know the colleges are not doing a lot of distancing. I guess, on the other hand, getting these people infected and cured will raise our herd immunity numbers a bit. CDC just came out today and pointed out the big break out in the numbers is age 70 for not surviving.

Well, no, it's not like that at all here.
The media in the US, are using our situation over here, to try and stick it to the President.

The truth of the matter here is, the Government were SLACK, with requiring people to be tested and quarantined as they came into the country, this was even when we were under Level 4.
Some people weren't tested and travelled the length of the North Island and were found to test positive.

It then came out last week or the week before that they had not ever tested any of the front-line workers (doing the testing), until one of them fell ill, now I might be a mere electrician, but surely, wouldn't you require testing of people that are exposed to a virus, day in/day out?

There are people trying to get into New Zealand, because it is isolated from anywhere else in the world, like Hollywood actors, the rich and famous.
A pandemic like this is the great leveller, we don't care how much money or fame you have, we must look after the people that are already here.
And to be fair, the current Government has done a really poor job of looking after us, thank God it is election year!

And Greg,
That's quite "funny" how that pans out, we've just been through winter here and the level of actual colds and flu's have been practically nil.
I mean you would normally have people sneezing all over the place or coughing without putting their hand over their mouth and that is how colds and flu's are transmitted.
One thing to take from this, if anything it has put back in place, common levels of hygiene when doing things like sneezing.

In St. Louis construction is considered essential
all supply houses are open, permits are on line only & inspections are mostly as normal with a few municipalities offering video inspections. I personally don't think is adequid, maybe slightly above no inspection at all.

I was supposed to get first dose of Vaccine today, but Hospital didn't get their shipment. I'm told I'm still in line and don't have to apply again, so it's just a waiting game.

Has anyone else had the Vaccine? Any issues with it?
Any opposed?

Bill:

This side of the river has the same situation with the vaccine (vax) for the last few days, no deliveries. FEDEX and UPS have issues with the recent weather situation delaying or canceling flights.

A few of the State sponsored 'MEGA sites' have been closed due to no vax, and scramble to re-schedule the people.

Personally, we (wife and I) registered at the State site, and are awaiting the email to schedule, but we are both having second thoughts, and are back on the fence.

My two PT inspectors got the shots. One had aches in the arm for a few days, but no other issues.

I'm not 100% opposed, but like I said, I'm on the fence again for a few reasons.

There is a MEGA Vax site here in town, I have not been there since I did the CO inspection before they opened. It's run by a major hospital, and was set up by the National Guard.

Stay safe.

As we are approaching the 1 year mark from the start of the shutdowns, I for one hope there is an end in site to return to some type of normal.

I feel for the food services, all types, with the restrictions, and the loss of the outdoor use due to the weather. Hopefully they survive. The PT Boro I work in has a typical "Main Street, USA" and it appears that ALL the stores
(Retail and Food) are sucking wind.

Yes, the governor increased indoor dining to 35% capacity recently, but that's still tough for most, and we still cannot 'sit' at a bar for drink or food.

Off the soap box....

Florida has been pretty much open since the summer and our numbers don't seem worse than the places locked down tight. They are still pushing masks, hand washing and distancing bit you can sit at the bar. They try to say you only sit with the party you came with but I am not sure how well that is working. I am not doing any of that stuff. I am taking care of 2 people who would die if they got it so I need to be careful. I am still a hermit.

I went thru the MEGA center today, and the parking lot was PACKED. A lot of traffic in and out and the lots were full.

This is an Expo Center, with huge lots, I would guess +/- 1000 spaces.

I did not venture to go inside, mainly because I was real tight for time.

Vaccine came in earlier this week and I had my rescheduled appointment today. I was in and out in 20 min.

Most of the time was spent filling out redundant forms on a Computer for the State even though I had also filled out Paper copies with the same info.

I received my 2nd dose of vaccine against Chairman's Xi Jingpeng's virus, 1st dose a slight bit of soreness that hardly noticed, 2nd dose the soreness was a little longer lasting but still not bad, but hear that the Moderna vaccine is worse then the Pfizer vaccine that I received, everybody is going to react differently, I took the opportunity because of a auto immune issue that has affected my lungs, hemmed & hawed for a while before going through with it.

I had the Moderna 2 days ago now, some soreness in arm, but nothing extreme, and today some stomach pains when I stand up, but don't know if that's related.

Day 3 soreness gone & I think stomach issue is unrelated.

I just got my appointment for the vax for Friday at 7:30AM !!

Pretty sure you'll do OK, I don't know anyone personally that has had negative effects.

On another note: I've decided 2021 will be the year I take care of overdue healh issues.

Just this week I went for a consultation on some shoulder issues which probably started 20 years ago. Turns out I've got some sizable (some BIG) bone spurs on my left shoulder which have significantly affected my range of motion over the years and in recent years often been painful and sent my arm into spasms.

My decision was to take the Cortisone shot in the Joint and try to improve things through stretching and exercise now that I'm getting my Covid shots and can feel more comfortable going back to the GYM. (if that doesn't help I'm looking at a shoulder replacement)

Next week I've got an appointment to hopefully schedule a long overdue Hernia repair (my 3rd).

Maybe we start a new thread on typical occupational health issues??

I go for my first shot Friday. Not quite old enough but qualify as an essential worker. Don't know which vaccine I am getting but they scheduled my 2nd shot 28 days later so I think that means Moderna.
Had to cancel our annual Mexico salt water fishing trip last year for the first time ever, hoping to go this year mid April. Been going over 13 years with my son & grandson with a group that started going there with their fathers in the seventies.

They are still trying to keep up here. I think the vaccines are based on the census population and we have a couple million snowbirds here from the northern US, Canada and Europe. They are pretty much all over 65, looking for a shot. They open up the appointment app for the pharmacies and it sells out in minutes. I am in the queue for the county shot but no joy yet.

Got both my shots, Pfizer. First shot I was a bit achy and tired for a day or so, expected the worst for second shot as I heard it really laid some people out but as it turns out it was nothing. Maybe slightly tired the next day but barely noticeable. 10 more days and I'll be considered fully vaccinated.

Got my 2nd Moderna about 10 days ago. No noticeable side affects except maybe some soreness in the arm and neck on the same side.

Delayed comments, I've been swamped at work and a few medical issues.

Vax was Pfiser, 2 shots 3 weeks apart for me and my wife. I just had soreness in the arm from both, and felt real tired after the second shot. Wife had a headache for 2 days after the second shot, and did the Tylanol trick.

All in all not bad, like some of the stories going around.

Just curious as to how long the vax will last.

I did one Pfizer and #2 is Sunday. The first shot gave me a buzz, sort of like drinking too much Nyquil and the stuffiness head cold thing that might have you doing that. It lasted several hours and my arm was tender for 2 days. Some of that arm thing might just be the person giving the shot. They seemed to be pretty aggressive with the plunger.

Unfortunately Bill, it's a double-edged sword, yes you can get in there, no, they can't pay for your work, due to no income coming into the firm.

That is quite strange, Greg, although I think you were best to get the Pfizer dose, there is so much going on with the other forms of this vaccine (namely AstraZeneca), that make people hesitant to be dosed with it, and that isn't good.
And it isn't because of racism or anything like it (more my own safety), but I would hate to think that something from China or Russia is going to help me at all, considering the ad-hoc nature that had occurred when their vaccines were released.
I believe the NZ Government has gone with Pfizer, but if you're a lowly tradesman like myself, you're at the bottom of the list and I "might" get a vaccine dose by mid 2022.
We are coming into Autumn (Fall) here, it's anyones guess how this Winter is going to go, because after the lock-down of last year, anyone who didn't have to go to work, stayed home.

Every year, the world over, colds and 'flu's get worse, that is a given, this whole Covid-19 thing, should have taught the most stupid of us to put your damn hand over your mouth when you cough or sneeze!!

The 2 big ones here are Pfizer and Moderna. They started the J&J and yanked it back rightr away because a few women had blood clots, literally one in a million. We seem to be getting the vaccinations taken care of here in Florida. They had a shortage of supply for a while but now they have more vaccine than they can use. Anyone over 15 can sign up and the last I heard they had a couple thousand open appointments for next week left over here. This round of appointments opened last week. My doctor cold called me and asked if I wanted to come in for a shot. It looks like if you want one, you can get one. My second dose went a lot easier. I didn't have anything to complain about.

Looks like up here in Canada we are starting the 3rd wave of the virus. Ontario is starting to do an extreme lock down (Ontario Provincial Police are stopping vehicles on the Trans Canada Highway at the Manitoba Ontario border to see if you meet the residency rules to enter Ontario) and here in Manitoba I expect to see things gets locked down more starting Monday or Tuesday.

i think I became eligible for a shot on Friday but have not yet checked to make sure

I'm one of the recalcitrant ones who refuse to take anything that's unapproved but allowed under Emergency Use Authorization. I take an additional 500 mg of Vitamin C every day and 50 mg of zinc every other day. I eat some of the raspberry, blackberry, blueberry medley from Sam's every day because I like it and the blueberries and blackberries, contain Quercetin, a zinc ionophore. The multi and vision vitamins that I've been taking all along, should already contain all of the Vitamins B and D that I need. I have zero concern about getting the Wuhan Slam and dying from it.

Should I get the bug, the key is treating it early. I wouldn't hesitate to ask for several medications that are highly effective at treating the virus AND getting YouTube videos removed. When I hear doctors saying that they treated over 1700 patients with active Wuhan, with cheap medicine that was FDA approved 66 years ago, I listen. Especially when they all got better. I think doctors who tell patients who are already presenting, to go home and take Tylenol, until they can't breathe, are guilty of malpractice! But these are just the rantings of a madman who chose engineering over medicine.

To all of my friends here, note the CDC Guidance: Before your shots, you should distance, wear a mask, and not go anywhere. 2 weeks after your 2nd shot, you should distance, wear a mask, and not go anywhere. They're starting to suggest that you might need a booster shot after 6 months or yearly. Some of you might start feeling that you're getting played. I can't figure out why restrictions I'm supposed to comply with as a U.S. citizen living in Chicago, don't apply to the human trafficking at our Southern border. If only they would "Follow the Science" and not "Follow the Political Science". I downloaded all of the fact sheets and the, "When You've Been Fully Vaccinated_CDC" PDFs. I would suggest anyone thinking about getting vaccinated, looking over the ingredients of each, to make sure you aren't allergic to anything in them.

Trivia: In a Barcelona study of 269 Covid patients, every patient who died, had less than 50 ug/dL of zinc in their blood. The normal healthy level is around 100ug/dL. The loss of taste and/or smell is often caused by zinc deficiency. And your T cells need zinc. Cold, flu, and Wuhan corona viruses all bind to ACE2 receptors in your lungs and zinc interferes with that. Making sure that you get enough B, C, D, zinc, and zinc ionophores, helps against all and has no downside. Unlike these mRNA gene therapies and the sorta kinda vaccine, our bodies require them anyway.

Just like the gizmo that you can plug in and save hundreds of $$$ off of your electric bill with, you should put everything Wuhan to the smell test. And if you can still smell it with your mask on, you should put wearing masks to the smell test. Just sayin'.
Joe

By the way, the OBGYN in Florida, developed the rare platelet disease that killed him, 3 days after taking the Pfizer
shot. The USA Today article didn't mention if it was the first or second dose.

Just my two cents.....

Trumpy:
Situation here in New Jersey construction wise is the cost increases in materials across the trades. Lumber prices are thru the roof, and other trades are having the same issues. 250' coil of 12/2 Rx was $122 at the big box store last week. Top that with a lot of 'out of stocks'

J&J vax was pulled last week, leaving Moderna and Phiser (sp) as the available items. basically, there is no choice for those in line, you get what they have. The age just dropped to 16 and older last week!

BBHydro:
I'm sorry to hear that the lockdowns are about to start. Police at the border is something we did not have here, but we sure could use more at the southern borders!!

Joe:
Nothing wrong with the vitamin/mineral options in my book. Yes, my wife and I got the vax; our choice. As to masks, I have to wear one at work, and masks are still required here in NJ, so that is how it is. Personally, I wish this plague was over.

I'm surprised that the Manitoba govt did not yet lock us down as was predicted last week by the media. One thing that has changed is the shots are now being targeted to certain areas of Winnipeg (as well as being available to the rest of Manitoba). If you live or work in the hot spot areas and are over 18 you can get a shot right away.

If not in that area you still have the age and job restrictions for the shot. I was at my pharmacy for a shingles shot today and the pharmacist told me that they were sold out of the Covid -19 shots and were not sure when the provincial government was sending them more so they could schedule injections. Apparently the big health dept shot centers (2 floors of the Winnipeg Convention Center) don't have any shortages.

Personally i'd rather go local for my shot than have to go downtown and line up with a few hundred people at a time for the same shot. At least they validate the parking at the convention center to entice people to get shots

The logjam on the shots in Florida seems to be broken open. Anyone 16 and up can pretty much get a shot if they want one and appointments are going unfilled. They are starting "walk ups". Just go get your shot. My doctor even called and sait I could go see him for one.

Joe,
There is so much pseudo-science out there at the moment it isn't even funny.
People that refuse to wear masks, people that don't distance themselves from others.
THAT is what spreads this sort of thing, especially when Mr X or Mrs Y sneeze all over people
without putting their hand or elbow over their mouth, beforehand.
It is un-forgiveable, especially if you're waiting in line to be tested for this virus and it stays in the air.

To refuse a shot of something that could not only save your life, but those around you, doesn't make
a lot of sense in my opinion.
Sure it might be "un-tested", but it wouldn't have been released if it were dangerous to the people it is
trying to vaccinate.

Bill,
Sorry to thread-jack you, but I ask the question.
What exactly is a bone-spur?

Mike,

Here's an explanation from the web:



So, in my case when lifting or moving my arm past a certain point the new growth of bone around the joint causes pain and it from moving any further.

The Doctor told me it's common for people that spend a lot of time working overhead.

Tonight at 1 minute after midnight up here in Manitoba we go into our 3rd major lockdown expected to last until the end of May.

Personal services (gyms, hair cuts,etc) are closed down again and retailers can only have 10% of occupancy permit or 100 people which ever is less. A Costco in my part of Winnipeg had over 200 people in line at 9am this morning waiting to get in to try and beat the longer lines that will be starting on Sunday. I wonder if toilet paper will be in short supply again?

Restaurants are again limited to take out / delivery only.

Schools are still open but I would not be surprised to see them close and to back to online learning sometime in the next few days.

Fines for people not following mask/ gathering rules are doubling if they are a repeat offender. If they don't pay up they will not be allowed to renew their drivers license. No license then the govt will garnishee your income.

Florida is open and we have been for quite a while.

Florida is open and we have been for quite a while.

But, ...

Is Golden Corral open?

Dunno, never been there. All the restaurants that didn't go under are open tho. We did lose a few but we lost a lot of small businesses.

Restrictions here in the Garden State are being lifted slowly, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

One problem here is a lot of places cannot find people to work. The unemployment 'bonus' seems to be keeping some people from looking or returning to work.

Amazon and Fedex/UPS have signs at curbside offering $15 to $22 per hr. for warehouse and package handling.

Restaurants are looking and saying no one is interested; the Jersey Shore amusements are looking; I heard $15 per hr, with a lot of 'freebees' thrown in. The shore areas usually have a lot of temp foreign students on visas, but the Fed Govt has some type of hold on the visas now.

One restaurant on the shore near me usually hires 40+ people for the summer season, and he only had 2 apply.

Bill:

FYI, the Golden Corrall in Freehold NJ on Rt 9 Southbound is OPEN.

That "force that nobody remembers" is the grease that keeps society going and as someone who went from 2 working spouses to both retired. I understand how 40% of your salary can look better than working if you don't have to go to work. There is a whole lot of skill that few people notice and yet few can do, sitting on the couch.
If the government was actually doing their job down at unemployment and finding YOU a job when you file, it would stop. There really should be a pipeline directly from the employers to unemployment.
Go on employment, fine., We put your resume out in a catalog and we give you offers. Maybe even some protection for you and the employer but isn't that why we have government?
Folks who want to work get the reverse directory of that catalog and get to see what jobs are offered, all in a regulated environment.
That's the carrot.
The stick is if you don't want a job and you won't take one, go on disability, talk to OSHA or something but we have exhausted our resources in your case, Then unemployment can get to go back to finding people jobs.

Back in the early 80s, unemployement here in NJ was a lot different then it is today.

You had to go to the office, fill out papers, and actually talk to someone there on the first or second trip. Then you had to go there every two weeks to get your check. You had to bring a list of where you went looking for work, and I think they used to check. They had training classes, and also gave you a list of places that were looking for help.

Those were the days? That was the first and last time I 'collected' which was $120 per week. I lasted six weeks!

It was pretty much the same at that time here in NY. No idea what goes on now.

We are some what germaphobic when we travel or at least that is the impression we give because we wipe down the area around our seats on the plane and use a lot of hand sanitizer but we got sloppy in NZ and took a bus ride from Queenstown to Milford Sound for a boat ride in the rain and my wife caught a horrible cold. That was when we abandoned the touristy stuff including the Shotover river boat ride and the cave with the glow worms. I have neighbors who can take you out and scare you in a fast little boat. Fortunately she got over it in a couple days and we were back on the road, being a little more careful.

I'm still seeing a lot of masks out in the Public, but the number of faces I'm seeing is picking up slowly. The only place I've been to lately where they're required is the Post Office.

How are the Mask "Rules" where you are now?

The rules seem to be pretty loose here.

I've been off work for almost two weeks on quarantine watch. Was exposed to a co-worker who tested positive on the 19th so I had to stay home with the dog and see if I also came down with symptoms.

Had my swab up the nose test on Friday morning and was reported as negative yesterday afternoon, but still have to wait the 14 days from exposure so my return to work date is June 3.

Public Health still has Manitoba locked down and masks are mandatory.

The Garden State lifted the mandatory mask, and social distance rules Friday. Also, capacity limits on most places are lifted. 100% capacity. Problem with that is a lot of places cannot get enough help to handle the increase of customers.

Side note
Monday (Memorial Day) took a ride down to AC and the Hard Rock Casino. About 50% of the people still had masks on. Yes, it was crowded, and the 1 hour wait for lunch/dinner was due to "kitchen unable to keep up".
All in all it was a good day.