How do you feel about resuming normal activities?
After a year of being stuck indoors, I'm excited to return to concerts and music & food festivals.
I am vaccinated but still wear a mask just to be safe but admittedly not at all times. I'm not sure when I'll feel like not doing it anymore. I am glad to see things opening back up, though am.cautuous and taking things slow
@DarrenWalker - They believe it's the antivaxers which is causing a rise in hospital rates which is why it's important for everyone to get vaccinated.
@Mike403: Yeah... it's also the antivaxxers who're going around maskless saying "I've been vaccinated! I don't have to wear a mask! You don't have to wear a mask after you've been vaccinated!"
These are the same gas station patrons who insisted, a few months back, that their unspecified medical conditions prevented them from being able to wear masks.
While loudly proclaiming that "the whole thing's fake anyway!"
I'd just as soon everyone wore masks no matter what, being as there are so many rat-licking, virus-spreading, essential-worker-infecting liars about. Personally.
So those are my feelings!
Let's maybe hold off on resuming normal activities until things are normal. Is how I feel about it. [Note that I live in North Dakota, a state well-populated with science-deniers: this affects not only my feelings but also how many people are going to the hospital around here.]
@DarrenWalker - How about proof of vaccination required to enter events where social distancing is not possible(such as concerts)? I'd be okay with that.
@Mike403: Aw. You still have faith in humanity, don't you?
A vendor on Amazon was discovered selling a pack of blank COVID-19 vaccination cards this week. The post has since been removed, but photos reshared online showed a 10-pack of blank cards going for $12.99. ... Other vendors selling fake vaccine cards have cropped up on Etsy, an e-commerce site focusing on handmade and vintage items; on pro-Trump forums; and on the dark web, according to recent reports.
—NPR.org, June 8, 2021, 5:47 AM ET
@DarrenWalker - sigh I'm done.
The mask mandates aren't lifted here (up in Canada) but I honestly don't mind! I've gotten so used to them that I'll probably keep wearing them in public long after it's necessary.
But I AM looking forward to seeing live entertainment, taking in-person classes, hanging out with friends, setting up cuddle sessions, going on dates, and all that other fun stuff you do with humans!!
I wear my facecondom faithfully, even though I am vaccinated. ImDoingMyPart.gif
Going to Celtic Fling at the Mt. Hope Winery (PA Renn Fest) this weekend. There are usually tons of crowds there. COVIDfest.
You can't put all the blame on antivaxers.
Edit: I mean... you can though you shouldn't.
Vaccination is just one part of the equation. If everything else or other vital components are disregarded, then I don't think we are getting out of this anytime soon.
@squeakytoy - I'm seeing Lindsey Stirling in a couple weeks(I did a meet and greet with her in 2015, the photo is in my profile), going to Global Dance Festival the end of July, and going to the Burger Battle and Brunchfest in August. (the two food ones is all inclusive including alcohol). I'm excited.
Totally jealous. I want to see Lindsey Stirling.
@Lovelight - People's mental health is just as important and telling them they need to stay home and isolate for years isn't good for that. No virus has ever been eradicated in the history of this planet except maybe Smallpox.
@Mike403 saying people should continue to take other precautions such as wearing a mask exceptions apply, socially distance and limiting their contact with others for optimum result doesn't mean they should have no social life whatsoever. Of course people's mental health is important.
Extremists on either side of the equation really gets my goat. There are those who believes the virus was never a problem to begin with and will won't even take the vaccine and there are others who believes that even the vaccinated needs to socially distance and mask up to stay safe.
The CDC said themselves that the vaccinated are at a low risk of infection.
I for one am really excited about the mandates lifting. I have vaccinated myself and I hope others get vaxxed too. Still taking the precautions I can take for my own safety.
@Mike403 @DarrenWalker inspired by your remarks about vaccination proof, and the thin but present crowd at the football match on the telly, I looked into the situation here.
There is a big international soccer tournament going on right now, with crowds kept well below capacity. How do you get in? Well in the UK you prove complete vaccination or recent negative test. How do you prove it? By showing your official status on the official app on your phone.
@Lovelight
@CuddleDuncan @DarrenWalker - Yes.. or they can hand out cards that can't be counterfeited very easily. Shutting down the economy isn't the way to go. We need to instead encourage everyone to receive the vaccine.
@Mike403 taking other precautions even while vaccinated and getting some socialization in here and there to keep you going isn't extremism. Treating vaccination like a holy grail doesn't help. We aren't back to normal and as such shouldn't be acting like we are. Edit: Even if we are told it's all cool, it ain't until it actually is. And I am pretty sure it's only a matter of time before we are essentially back to square one if we don't learn from the past.
@Lovelight - Yeah we are. Everything is open. Nobody is forcing you to go out if you're still afraid.
@Mike403 it's all cool, hmm? Is that why they have exceptions for wearing the masks even for the vaccinated, and why at some point they were going on about how only select few people eg. health care workers needed to wear it?
I don't need to be afraid or completely deprive myself of going out in order to continue taking as many precautions as I can til this thing is actually over.
You are welcome to disagree. We shall see.
@Lovelight - That was early on at the beginning of the pandemic. Good scientists change their recommendations as they receive new data.
@Mike403 well good thing I followed my own common sense and didn't blindly follow ever changing guidelines which I saw through. Though like now, unfortunately some failed to see through. Oh well, do you.
@Mike403 i understand what you are saying. Don’t try and fight each person that disagrees with you; it is an energy waster. I am glad you are vaccinated.
So I am back in my old stomping grounds of Virginia and visited the Poe Museum which is literally two blocks from where he spent his childhood. But I found this interesting plaque that was put up well before the pandemic about Edgar and pandemics.
Omg! @FunCartel ~ I didn't know there was a Poe Museum!! I'm adding that to my road trip plans for sure!!
Also, [to all] Covid isn't the only thing to worry about. The flu and pneumonia are concerns as well (for me anyway - I went through a month of hell I thought I was going to die from in March 2020).
Due to the number of people who are simply inept at practicing good hygiene, believe their mild symptoms are just allergies, still send their clearly ill but medicated with fever reducer children to school (where I work), plus those who flat out lie about their status, etc. I'll likely be masked when out of my home/around others for the rest of my life. Lung infections of any kind are a nightmare and for me I think it's better to be safe than being slowly and painfully suffocated! 😷
@quixotic_life Here are a few more interesting things from that museum. It is a remarkable little museum in Richmond around from the train station where Lincoln came after Richmond fell and the terminal was full of the injured and dying. The museum is housed in the oldest building in the city (ca 1737). They keep black cats all over the property.
@FunCartel ~ Eeeee!!! I can't wait! And "Illuminating Gas"? Wth is that? "Google... your assistance please..."
Also, your pic of the house is devine!!