December 2021 Chit Chat

  To help everyone get into the holiday spirit  

Love it!

So cute.

To PAN and anyone else across the pond, how bad is the new wave of covid? How much of an impact is it having on you on a daily basis? Have government restrictions come into effect again?

Here in NYC there are a lot of breakthrough cases and public employees are mandated to get vaccinated. Theaters and restaurants whose people test positive are closing - at least temporarily - and mask and vaccine requirements are being enforced in more places. For a minute it seemed like we were done with all this and now it feels like we're back where we started.

Hard to know where to start, Lizzy. We are being updated every single day, sometimes on an hourly basis and the government thro the NHS have opened vaccination centres and are doing nearly a million jabs a day nationwide - tho obviously the qualification for that is to have had the two earlier ones first.  About seventy percent of the population have had two jabs 

There is always the threat of a variety of lockdowns, altho mostly at the moment they're relying on people being sensible and most people are working from home again - aren't we fortunate that technology allows us to do that!?

Of course what they want is for people to have Christmas together instead of a virtual one as last year. And they do not want the NHS overwhelmed, but many staff are becoming ill themselves and having to isolate. Many offices are closing because of many people dropping like flies and then having to isolate over the holiday.

Public transport is mostly empty and the sale of lateral flow tests (free of charge) before going into work must be staggering

PAN - It sounds like things are pretty much the same there as here, except I suspect the people in the UK are more willing to act for the greater good. Sadly, that's not the case for a lot of people over here. NYC isn't too bad in that regard.

NYC is mostly vaccinated and most venues - from restaurants and theaters to stores and transit - require masks and often proof of vaccination. They can be fined if they don't. There are free sites set up around the city for rapid testing and the lines are as long as ticket lines for Broadway shows used to be. There are updates all day, every day on tv, and though they say this variant isn't as serious as before, the number of cases is rising so a lot of people are staying home again. The work from home situation varies from day to day and place to place. It's a mess - especially in the schools.

I really feel bad for anyone who came here for a vacation - especially if they wanted the theater experience. Shows close at a moments notice if anyone in the company tests positive, and they may stay closed for a few days or more. The Radio City Christmas Show just cancelled for the rest of the season and is refunding money to all ticket holders. Every day there's news of another show going dark.

On the brighter side, the city is still all lit up with Christmas lights and decorations and there's still a lot to see and do. Most of us will find ways to make the best of a bad situation and celebrate with friends and family as best we can. Hope everyone else can do the same and have a wonderful holiday.

On the aubaways it was said everyone has to wear masks . But actually a lot of people aren't doing it also the copse don't evern wear masks never mind giving fines their non existent. My friend who rides the train told me this. 
People are so selfish it is ridiculous.

I have relatives visiting from Florida. They were supposed to see the Christmas show at Radio City but it was cancelled. After dinner at a restaurant in Brooklyn (they were asked for proof of vaccination) they went to Little Italy for dessert at Ferraro's and it was closed!! So was most of Little Italy and Chinatown. They thought it might have been because it was late, but it wasn't!!!! It was only about 9:30 - and I've been there much later than that. I don't know if they're closed because of the virus or if they just closed early due to lack of business.

I've been told the city is fairly empty. I guess between people staying home because of the virus and the holidays, and tourists not coming in the numbers they usually do, business must be really slow. It's getting harder and harder to find the holiday spirit.

It's entirely possible the staff are going down with it! I hear that some still at work are dropping like flies, and that's often after taking a lateral flow test  (required by many employers here for people to work....

And then they have to isolate for seven days........so some will not be doing Christmas with their folks - and it's just gone down from ten days here

Most places here request to see your vaccination evidence before they risk accepting your booking...

You're right about staff shortages, especially in retail and restaurants. The biggest worry here is that a lot of hospital staff and teachers are getting sick - and sick of being on the front lines with little recognition for how hard they've been working. Shortages in hospitals and schools can have huge ripple effects.

There are a couple of bright spots. We may go to the 7 day isolation model you're using. Pfizer has come up with a pill that seems to be very effective against the virus and Moderna has one coming soon. The state and federal governments are going to be making at-home rapid tests available for free early next month so people can check their own status before going out and about. It's not great news but it is progress.

Hope you've been able to get everything done for the holidays and that you'll be able to spend them with family and friends.

PAN,

it's about the same here in Germany.
Restaurants, hotels and most other public places only accept vaccined clients and visitors.
We had our third shot ten days ago and feel save enough to celebrate christmas with my parents and my in-laws (on different days).
Two weeks ago, we spent a weekend at a hotel nearby with my father-in-law to celebrate his 85th birthday, and we additioningly had to be tested every day. Which was a bit annoying but on the other hand...