At a time when everyone needs to follow the guidelines to control the spreading of the coronavirus, there are still people who simply do not grasp the seriousness of the situation or don’t care. For example, some Sri Lankans returning from Italy after that country got shut down evaded the checks and the quarantines imposed at the airport and went to their homes and, even worse, blithely wandered around their home areas, thus contributing to the spread of the virus. Strenuous efforts have been made to try and locate them and get them tested and quarantined, with only partial success.
I heard from family in Sri Lanka that the government has taken extreme measures to curb the spread of the virus. They imposed a nationwide curfew from 6:00pm last Friday until 6:00 am Tuesday (tomorrow) that will then be re-imposed again at noon until Friday at 6:00 am. This means that people will have just a six-hour window on Tuesday to replenish food and other supplies. One can only imagine the rush there will be at that time because people in Sri Lanka tend not to have large stockpiles of food in their homes. The police have been cracking down on people who have been violating the curfew.
I was surprised to read that last weekend, some California beaches and parks experienced ‘unprecedented traffic’.
From the parks in Marin County to the trails in the East Bay to the beaches in Los Angeles, the number of people fleeing their homes for much-needed open air has been unprecedented — prompting some officials on Monday to question whether the increased demand could negate the goal of the statewide order to limit close contact with others.
“What we saw this past weekend at a lot of parks was more than what we see even on the busiest holidays,” Dave Mason, spokesperson for the East Bay Regional Park District, said Monday. “People clearly want to get out for exercise and stress release, but overcrowding is definitely a concern.”
It is hard to imagine that this is still happening at this stage when the warnings about the need for social distancing have been drilled into everyone’s heads. As a result, the governor has closed the parking lots at parks and beaches in five counties with the promise of more closures to come.
This montage below is of mayors in Italy furiously telling people who are ignoring the restrictions to stay home and not go gallivanting around, with some of the mayors even going out into the streets to scold people.
"I stopped him and said, 'Look, this isn't a movie. You are not Will Smith in I Am Legend. Go home."
This is the updated compilation of Italian Mayors losing it at people violating #Covid19 quarantine. Yes, subtitles are accurate. pic.twitter.com/60V4Csuonb— 🌈 (@protectheflames) March 22, 2020
Hadley Freeman says that it should be now socially acceptable for anyone, not just Italian mayors, to tell other people, not just family and friends but even strangers, who are wandering around as if there is nothing to worry about to stop doing that and go home.
If everyone, and I mean everyone, could isolate themselves for two weeks, the spread of the virus will be stopped. While that ideal is impossible, it does give us some indication of how important social distancing is in at least curbing the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, Neil Diamond has slightly changed the lyrics to his megahit Sweet Caroline (a rousing song that seems to be mandatory at all wedding receptions where there a DJ providing the music) to fit the times and makes it into a public service announcement.
Stay safe out there! “Hands… washing hands..” 🎶 pic.twitter.com/QaRB1qZshp
— Neil Diamond (@NeilDiamond) March 22, 2020
Flamethrowers? Now that’s a party!
I think some of those mayors are a bit irate.
Good on them!
Now. Tell me how to say “fuck” in Italian.
A grammatically correct sentence, please.
My friend in Sri Lanka (the one with the photos) said the same, the entire island on lockdown. She and the people she’s with were staying put.
Yeah, Bavaria especially has seen similar things happen: Lots of people from Munich going to the countryside to get some fresh air. They haven’t been throwing parties or shit, and seem to have been respectful of social distancing, but they didn’t think about the additional strain they were putting on local authorities.
Now, I’m aware that being holed up in a city flat is oppressive and that I’m very fortunate to live in the countryside where I have the woods and a garden*. Germany hasn’t enacted a complete curfew (except for Bavaria). We are still allowed to go to work (if we must, I can fortunately work at home), go for walks and do sports, if we maintain 1.5m distance, which is easy in the countryside. We’re also allowed to do necessary trips for getting food/medical attention/helping others.
But there is still a worrying number of people putting themselves in danger. I offered to do the shopping for several elderly couples, including my parents and my in laws. So far only my mum has taken up the offer. When we went shopping yesterday there was a 60+ man with his 80+ mother. I was wondering if you could classify that as attempted murder-suicide.
What is worrying is that police are demanding ID with your current address and proof that you are working some place. Because while I can prove that I am indeed a teacher, how am i supposed to prove that I’m getting groceries? Or that I am on my way to do things for my boomer mum?
Also, we’ve been planning for my BFF to move in with us once her workplace closes down, because she’s single and she’s currently already going nuts. How could we possibly demonstrate that she belongs to my household?
*For years those same people have sneered at us and told us to “suck it up” when we asked for cultural infrastructure and public transport. Guess they’re not laughing now.
I think I got stuck in the spam trap
[You are right. I don’t know why it went there. I have ‘rescued’ it. -MS]
The moment Latvia announced an emergency, numerous people simultaneously ran to the shops creating a huge crowd and emptied shops. Three days later, all shops were restocked with goods and nearly empty of shoppers. During a virus outbreak, it’s necessary to make sure that people go grocery shopping spread out throughout the day/week. Telling everybody to go grocery shopping at the same time is a terrible idea.
@#2
It depends on the sentence you wish to say, but probably the word you are looking for is “cazzo.” In Italian, this word is slang for “penis” but it is used in various contexts where English speakers would say “fuck.” For example, “che cazzo fai?” means “what the fuck are you doing?”
Thanks, Andreas.
Going out now is selfish and stupid enough. But committing arson on supermarket delivery vans takes it to a whole new level. Actions like this could justify (read: be used as an excuse for) martial law and “shoot on sight” policies.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-52019720
“some Sri Lankans returning from Italy after that country got shut down evaded the checks”
How is that even possible?! Suriname has shut its airport the moment the first patient was positively tested.
“I was surprised to read that last weekend …..”
Yesterday I saw the same regarding beaches in Florida.
Dutch government only today has send patrols; thus far nobody has been fined yet.
“mayors in Italy furiously telling people ….”
These same mayors are not really happy with Dutch policy either and with good reason.
@chigau
Pretty sure I heard him say “cazzo”, which is Italian for “dick”, which was probably translated to “fuck” as “what the dick” sounds funny in English.
@ 5 Giliell
How could we possibly demonstrate that she belongs to my household?
Mail her a letter so that she at least has something, the envelope, with her name and the correct address and the correct date?
Crude but as long as it matches the rest of her ID it might work. In a pinch I once used a begging letter from the university alumni association when renewing my health card.
Here in the Netherlands the government asked people first to behave. Then before the weekend we got some good weather and you got people filling up the beaches, parks and such.
So the government basically went: “If you can’t behave like grownups we’ll treat you like the misbehaving children you clearly are”.