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Do you still 'feel' like you're in the Covid-19 Pandemic?

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cuccir

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Over the last few weeks, I've been writing, for myself, a memoir/diary of the Pandemic period. I realized that I was quickly forgetting what had happened - the order and type of restrictions, the political debates, how I'd lived my life. In 30, 40 years time I hope that I and any descendents find it interesting, as a snap-shot of this unusual time.

Anyway, that and the 'What is London Like Now' thread where a lot of people were talking about how London largely seems/feels normal, have got me thinking about the emotional or perhaps even more accurately 'affective state' of the Pandemic. In other words, as the title says, does it still 'feel' to you like you are in the Pandemic we were in from March 2020 - Spring 2021?

For me, I've got to say that it doesn't. I no longer feel trepidation about rising case numbers, concern when I hear of possibility of lockdowns, or any nervousness about visiting busy spaces. I no loger feel excitement when there's good news about vaccine numbers, or the anticipation that was associated with impoved cases or reduced regulations. I'm not sure exactly when that changed - I think for me perhaps during August, when (1) we'd had long enough without restrictions that it no longer felt odd to have them removed and (2) it became clear that the rise in cases we had in July hadn't fed into anyhting like the rise in deaths that previous preiods had shown. In my head I'd known since probably late February/early March that, unless there was a disaster, we were on our way out - you could see that in the vaccination numbers and the emerging evidence of their effectivity. But emotionally it probably took another 6 months for me to stop 'feeling' the Pandemic in that way.

What about you all? Are you still feeling it or have you emoitonally moved on? I suspect many people will have moved at different paces emotionally!
 
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Darandio

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I suppose it depends whether you feel that the things that still surround us make you feel like it's still an ongoing thing. Overall i'm not really bothered by any reporting of it these days and my life on the whole is pretty much normal. What I do sometimes struggle with is the occasional reminders out there that aren't as normal as I want them to be, take yesterday as an example.

Travelling on a Northern service and the tannoy still gives regular messages telling me I should be wearing a mask. Not that I can choose to do so but that I should. Walking up to Darlington town centre one of the information displays intended to show car parking information still tells us to play our part and stop the spread. Travelling on the bus from Darlington and there is still an insistence to have all windows wide open making the bus freezing. Then I get to a care home to visit my dad and I have to get two different temperature checks, a covid test and dress up as if i'm about to perform a surgical procedure in a theatre. That's also after I was refused access to him over the weekend because they wouldn't give me a slot despite the fact that i'd be the only one visiting him in his room that day.

Some of the latter I can understand after many of these care homes were decimated during the pandemic but it's still a reminder that for all of the day to day things that have returned to normal there are still things that remain weird.
 

kristiang85

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I personally don't feel like I'm living in a pandemic. I feel like I'm still living in a time of utter madness, where we are still bombarded with fear and misinformation for different groups' gains and it is generally unchecked, but I certainly don't feel like I'm living in a pandemic, unlike the period of Feb-Jun 2020.

It's an interesting idea to write memoirs. To be honest, my brain is very good at blanking out bad memories - and I do genuinely seem to have a 5-month black hole between December last year and April this year where I can only pinpoint a couple of things I remember doing or happening.
 

Darandio

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I personally don't feel like I'm living in a pandemic. I feel like I'm still living in a time of utter madness, where we are still bombarded with fear and misinformation for different groups' gains and it is generally unchecked, but I certainly don't feel like I'm living in a pandemic, unlike the period of Feb-Jun 2020.

Regarding what I wrote above about my experiences yesterday this probably sums it up better. Maybe not a list of experiences that make me feel like i'm still in a pandemic but things that are strange and unnatural.
 

kristiang85

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Regarding what I wrote above about my experiences yesterday this probably sums it up better. Maybe not a list of experiences that make me feel like i'm still in a pandemic but things that are strange and unnatural.

Yes I couldn't think of a way to describe it, but that last bit hits the nail on the head.

All the ills with my daily life right now are due to COVID-related policies and narratives rather than COVID itself.
 

bramling

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I personally don't feel like I'm living in a pandemic. I feel like I'm still living in a time of utter madness, where we are still bombarded with fear and misinformation for different groups' gains and it is generally unchecked, but I certainly don't feel like I'm living in a pandemic, unlike the period of Feb-Jun 2020.

It's an interesting idea to write memoirs. To be honest, my brain is very good at blanking out bad memories - and I do genuinely seem to have a 5-month black hole between December last year and April this year where I can only pinpoint a couple of things I remember doing or happening.

Yes I'd say whilst I don't feel Covid itself to be having much immediate effect, the wider situation is still very much apparent. It does feel like we're still living in a situation where a lot of things are jumbled up. Going down to my town during a weekday afternoon and hearing people in coffee shops boasting "I'm supposed to be working" certainly isn't normal!

Then there's the constant "dark cloud" being hung over of us - do something wrong and it's back to restrictions. I'm not sure that is going to lift for some considerable time yet.
 
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d9009alycidon

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I still get the feeling that we are not out of this in any way shape or form and that we could lurch back to lockdown early next year if we are not careful. They are already roumours of vaccine resistant strains in some parts of the world. Europe though they had seen the worst of it and look what is happening there now
 

MikeWM

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I guess 'it depends'. Things are clearly still rather odd - I'm typing this from my office and there is barely anyone here still, and occasionally someone wanders past wearing a mask...

One of my concerns was that people wouldn't want to go back to 'before', but really that's not been a worry for me since April. The first Saturday after pubs reopened (for outside only) I wandered through Soho and the streets were *packed* with people having a good time. It was lovely and I knew then that - if left alone - the vast majority of people would quickly go back to 'normal'. The key question now is whether we are 'allowed' to do so.

Though personally I can't say it ever felt much like a 'pandemic' to me - though I'm not sure I know what that is supposed to feel like! There have just been periods of time when I've not been able to do things I've wanted to do. Fortunately, that's not been the case for me since cinemas and hotels reopened in mid-May, and hopefully that will continue.
 

bramling

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I guess 'it depends'. Things are clearly still rather odd - I'm typing this from my office and there is barely anyone here still, and occasionally someone wanders past wearing a mask...

One of my concerns was that people wouldn't want to go back to 'before', but really that's not been a worry for me since April. The first Saturday after pubs reopened (for outside only) I wandered through Soho and the streets were *packed* with people having a good time. It was lovely and I knew then that - if left alone - the vast majority of people would quickly go back to 'normal'. The key question now is whether we are 'allowed' to do so.

Though personally I can't say it ever felt much like a 'pandemic' to me - though I'm not sure I know what that is supposed to feel like! There have just been periods of time when I've not been able to do things I've wanted to do. Fortunately, that's not been the case for me since cinemas and hotels reopened in mid-May, and hopefully that will continue.

What remains weird is that people seem to forget there's a pandemic when it comes to leisure activities, but very much remember it when it comes to certain aspects of work. Until we shake this off, I don't think we're ever going to return to a normal life. In other words, until people stop using Covid as a means of achieving unrelated desires.
 

Dave91131

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For me, the simple answer to the thread title is "yes".

And I think that will continue to the case for as long as people go about in masks, the constant messaging about "keep people safe, you must take a test before you go here, you must show proof of vaccination before going there" continues, pre-recorded announcements about social distancing, companies using Covid as an excuse for poor service, hand sanitiser and probably a whole load of other stuff I really can't bring myself to think of and type out.
 

greyman42

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I still get the feeling that we are not out of this in any way shape or form and that we could lurch back to lockdown early next year if we are not careful.
What is it we have to be careful about?

They are already roumours of vaccine resistant strains in some parts of the world.
So we are to plan around rumours, and which parts of the world are you referring to?

Europe though they had seen the worst of it and look what is happening there now
That may be down to a poor vaccination uptake and exit strategy.
 

adc82140

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I still get the feeling that we are not out of this in any way shape or form and that we could lurch back to lockdown early next year if we are not careful. They are already roumours of vaccine resistant strains in some parts of the world. Europe though they had seen the worst of it and look what is happening there now
Why do you think we'll be back in lockdown? I believe two doses of the vaccines work.

The "vaccine resistant strain" is something from Eric Fingledingle or whatever his name is. He's worried that no one has taken any notice of him for a while. There have been thousands of isolated cases of different strains throughout the last two years that haven't developed. Delta has the evolutionary edge.
 

Silver Cobra

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So we are to plan around rumours, and which parts of the world are you referring to?

I saw mentions on Twitter from different news outlets a few hours ago about a new strain supposedly found in South Africa that features a very high number of mutations (something like 34). Concern is being raised over the possibility of those mutations allowing it to escape the current vaccines.
 

greyman42

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I saw mentions on Twitter from different news outlets a few hours ago about a new strain supposedly found in South Africa that features a very high number of mutations (something like 34). Concern is being raised over the possibility of those mutations allowing it to escape the current vaccines.
Do not get your information from Twitter.
 

adc82140

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Do not get your information from Twitter.
They are all quoting Fiegl-Ding, via The Guardian. Every mutation scare story has featured a claim that the vaccines won't work, and every time a few days later, "actually they do".
 

zero

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I have family members and personal matters to attend to in Canada, Australia and China. Visiting Canada is not completely straightforward, NSW is open but you won't forget about the pandemic if you are there, and China won't relax its quarantine measures for incoming people until November 2022 at the earliest.

In England I'm not that worried / bothered any more, but I'm not going to feel normal until most of the world has gotten over the pandemic.
 

Merseysider

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Yes and (mostly) no - living in England I’m fairly lucky in that I can go about my daily business as normal.

However, I used to interrail quite frequently but haven’t had the opportunity to do so for about 2 years now. I can’t be arsed to keep up with (or pay for) the myriad of testing, isolation and form-filling requirements to go to various places, particularly non-EU locations, so I’m more or less waiting for this to blow over before going abroad again.

The whole covid pass and mask (etc) situation in Wales and Scotland has meant I haven’t been to either since August - not because I’m too bothered about complying; but because there are plenty of places in England worth visiting where none of that nonsense even crosses the back of your mind ;)

Unfortunately I think we may see a number of countries persist with counterproductive restrictions for some months yet. When the flexibility to go abroad a la Autumn 2019 returns, then I’ll feel like we’re out of the pandemic.
 

Smidster

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For me it still feels very much like the middle of the Pandemic - simple reason being that we are still instructed to work at home if possible and as such I am going weeks and weeks without talking to or seeing a human. No real prospect of change either - Can keeps getting kicked down the road.

I would keep an eye on the "Nu" variant - it may turn into nothing but people beyond the usual doommongers are concerned
 

route101

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Was in Scotland few weeks back, more masking wearing so felt more like it was before. Not many wear masks in England. Still working from home, dont think there is any appetite for going into office five days a week.
 

yorkie

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... does it still 'feel' to you like you are in the Pandemic we were in from March 2020 - Spring 2021?...
No, because when I am at work everything is 99% normal, with the only reminder that anything is amiss being ~1% of people wearing masks, the local shops I go in are normal (apart from a minority wearing masks, but it's now such a small minority that it no longer feels dystopian), I am regularly going to pubs and restaurants and they are absolutely 100% completely normal with not a mask in sight.

The only exception is a small proportion of trains which feel dystopian due to mask wearers. TfL is the worst for this but it's been a long time since I felt I was in the minority, so I can put up with it.

For me, I've got to say that it doesn't. I no longer feel trepidation about rising case numbers, concern when I hear of possibility of lockdowns, or any nervousness about visiting busy spaces. I no loger feel excitement when there's good news about vaccine numbers, or the anticipation that was associated with impoved cases or reduced regulations. I'm not sure exactly when that changed - I think for me perhaps during August, when (1) we'd had long enough without restrictions that it no longer felt odd to have them removed and (2) it became clear that the rise in cases we had in July hadn't fed into anyhting like the rise in deaths that previous preiods had shown.
Mid August was an important time because the rules regarding isolation were relaxed among those fully vaccinated and that lifted a big threat hanging over our heads.

For me it still feels very much like the middle of the Pandemic - simple reason being that we are still instructed to work at home if possible and as such I am going weeks and weeks without talking to or seeing a human.
Very sorry to hear that. I feel very fortunate to be in a busy workplace environment that is almost entirely normal for the majority of days in a week and I wouldn't swap it for anything.

However, I used to interrail quite frequently but haven’t had the opportunity to do so for about 2 years now. I can’t be arsed to keep up with (or pay for) the myriad of testing, isolation and form-filling requirements to go to various places, particularly non-EU locations, so I’m more or less waiting for this to blow over before going abroad again.
It's a pain but if you do your research and put up with having to wear masks* it's generally fine. Since the pandemic began I have visited Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, Germany and Switzerland. You just need to do a bit of research and I am grateful for the knowledge of other forum members in this regard.

(* Avoid the places that require effective FFP2/3 masks and instead visit places where any old ineffective flimsy mask which is easily breathable will tick the box!)
 

Merseysider

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It's a pain but if you do your research and put up with having to wear masks* it's generally fine. Since the pandemic began I have visited Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, Germany and Switzerland. You just need to do a bit of research and I am grateful for the knowledge of other forum members in this regard.

(* Avoid the places that require effective FFP2/3 masks and instead visit places where any old ineffective flimsy mask which is easily breathable will tick the box!)
I did manage to briefly get to Iceland, Germany and Hungary last summer on budget airlines and with the exception of testing on arrival in Iceland they felt like pretty normal holidays! Then the second wave hit, then the third, etc etc and countries decided they’d rather close up than welcome tourists... sigh.
 

Watershed

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Yes and no. In my day-to-day life I can generally do anything I want, I can travel anywhere within the country without restrictions, I can get on a train without a mask, and my workplace is relatively back to normal. Anywhere that has restrictions (e.g. venues requiring vaccine passports) does so on a voluntary basis and there are enough places that don't have such restrictions that I can simply boycott those that do.

However there are constant reminders that we aren't totally back to normal. For example the news stories about other European countries going into lockdown, and the daily update on case numbers making it into BBC News' top 10 read. The continuing government briefings about nonsense like Building Back Better, as well as businesses blaming poor customer service or cutbacks on Covid.

At this stage - at least in England - we are now in an endemic rather than a pandemic, and the only reason it really still feels a bit like the latter is the fact that some people can't accept what that means, and that others are opportunistically blaming things on Covid.

Life felt very far from normal in my trips abroad this year; there was widespread mask wearing almost everywhere and many places were demanding vaccine passports - quite apart from the nonsensical paperwork and faff at some of the borders. It has only been very recently that travel to the US has been practical again, but I am already looking forward to travelling there as it seems that in many areas, life is returning to normality similarly to England.
 

nlogax

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B.1.1.529 is not 'rumours on Twitter'. South Africa is now the only country on the UK's red list. Governments and global organisations have suddenly sounded the klaxons about this variant, its 30-something mutations and rapid transmission. It's projected to replace Delta as the variant du jour within a short space of time, a situation not helped by what appears to be a robust resistance to existing vaccines.

Of course it's too soon to say if B.1.1.529 will lead to more, the same or fewer hospitalisations and deaths. Right now is a very definite feel of nearly normal life that is in no way similar to the hell of much of 2020 and early 2021. I feel we'll deal with this new strain in a much more measured and rational way. But no, we're not out completely out of it yet.
 

Simon11

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B.1.1.529 is not 'rumours on Twitter'. South Africa is now the only country on the UK's red list. Governments and global organisations have suddenly sounded the klaxons about this variant, its 30-something mutations and rapid transmission. It's projected to replace Delta as the variant du jour within a short space of time, a situation not helped by what appears to be a robust resistance to existing vaccines.

Of course it's too soon to say if B.1.1.529 will lead to more, the same or fewer hospitalisations and deaths. Right now is a very definite feel of nearly normal life that is in no way similar to the hell of much of 2020 and early 2021. I feel we'll deal with this new strain in a much more measured and rational way. But no, we're not out completely out of it yet.
Just to correct you, six African countries including South Africa will be going on the red list tomorrow.

South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini
 

david1212

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While the situation now is very different to 12 months ago when non-essential shops & hospitality were closed closer to home yes.

At work everyone is still trying to keep distance from others. Three weeks ago we had a close call that worst case could have shut the business down for 2 weeks. The wife of one staff member contracted Covid and passed it to him. Fortunately this was Friday. His first LFT was negative but a second the next day was positive. He then had a PCR with a positive result. Had this sequence started a couple of days earlier then he could have spread Covid to other staff before his wife suspected she had contracted Covid so took a LFT and had a positive result.

At the same time all of one daughter of the MD, the daughter and boyfriend of another staff member and a couple who are close friends of a third staff member had positive PCR tests and symptoms. Earlier this week a cousin phoned to say that he, his wife and his daughter all had Covid. With the possible exception of one for medical reasons all are double vaccinated.

Talking to a neighbour last weekend his father was admitted to hospital a few days earlier but nobody can visit.

Now few people in shops wear masks or keep distance if queuing. Even more than normal until next year I will be trying to avoid busy times.

Other changes e.g. advance bookings for the tip, museums and similar I suspect will become permanent.
 

Bungle73

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Other changes e.g. advance bookings for the tip, museums and similar I suspect will become permanent.
What for? It shouldn't even exist right now. It serves no purpose.

They making planning a day out or a holiday a total pain. I'm going to York in a few weeks and having to minutely plan every single thing I want to do to the last second is a royal pita. Part of the joy of going to museums is being able to wander in whenever you fancy, or turn up. If you're going to have to book everything maybe I just won't bother.
 

bramling

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What for? It shouldn't even exist right now. It serves no purpose.

They making planning a day out or a holiday a total pain. I'm going to York in a few weeks and having to minutely plan every single thing I want to do to the last second is a royal pita. Part of the joy of going to museums is being able to wander in whenever you fancy, or turn up. If you're going to have to book everything maybe I just won't bother.

Yes I absolutely hate the whole booking craze. It makes planning a total nuisance, and must be a pain for venues if they get people needing to cancel at short notice.

Some people seem to love living like this though.
 

brad465

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My organisation has a very odd policy of requiring mask wearing when walking around whatever office one is located in, but not at your desk and in meetings/talking to colleagues at their desks (based on the fact no-one has pulled me up about that last point). Now there's plenty to suggest masks don't do much, but even if they are very effective, the above settings where they're not necessary is also where spreading covid is at its greatest, i.e. when talking directly to others face-to-face. But it highlights how we/they subliminally accept masks are a restriction, in that they hide facial expressions and in turn impair communication, but no-one seems to admit to that. While that is still in place, to me it still feels like the pandemic is in place, even though almost everywhere else in my life personally it does feel over.

I have rarely been into the office in recent months as just worked from home, partly because it's easier, but also if they think wearing masks is necessary in the office, then in my mind it would be better not to be there potentially spreading covid in the first place, as well as not being a fan of the policy in general. I'm hoping maybe if operation rampdown comes into effect at the end of March, as being reported, this office policy will get dropped, but I'm not expecting any relaxation over the winter period.
 
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