We were told by idiots that the pandemic was over

[schneefink]

Oh hey, another lockdown! What a complete surprise - not. We have more infections in Austria than ever before, despite the existence of the vaccine, because not enough people get fucking vaccinated. (It's hard not to say things to my unvaccinated coworkers that would make for a very unpleasant work environment. I try to be understanding but jfc, it's not easy.) At least the plan is to make COVID vaccinations mandatory starting in February.
Home office won't be mandatory, so I'll still be going to the office. I've already started wearing a FFP2 mask the whole time but now everyone has to do it. Uni classes will be online again, Christmas markets will be closed, everything non-essential closed. I'm angry and frustrated and stressed.

Comments

[sheron]

I'm sorry. I read the rate in the country is 66% vaxxed that's really low. I hope that changes.

*sending virtual hugs*

[schneefink]

*hugs*
It is frustratingly low -.-

[isis]

Hugs (via internet are socially distanced). At least your government has the authority and the balls to make it mandatory. My region (SW Colorado/NW New Mexico) is currently worst in the US, so I completely sympathize.

[schneefink]

*hugs
I was surprised that they will actually make it mandatory, relieved too, though I wish it was earlier than February. Best wishes that things will improve in your region too.

[sholio]

I'm so sorry. :( I'm glad to hear it about the mandatory vaccines, and I hope more places do that. It's starting to look like it's the only thing that'll work.

[schneefink]

Sadly yes :( Only a few months ago politicians said that vaccination will never become mandatory but that was when everyone was more optimistic about how many people would get vaccinated voluntarily.

[yhlee]

I'm so sorry. *support support*

[schneefink]

Thank you.

[amalthia]

I feel your pain...coming from Alaska...

[schneefink]

Looks like Alaska has a low vaccination rate too, that sucks :(

[myrdschaem]

Ugh, same boat... It sucks that they won't make them mandatory until february, but I am glad you are getting the mandate so at least it will be over at some point. Across the border here in Saxony the numbers are similarly bad - but instead of deciding to lockdown, today we got the wonderful new sentence "Die Krematorien können sonntags arbeiten." *upside down smiley face*

[extempore]

"Die Krematorien können sonntags arbeiten."

O.O

Wow.

[myrdschaem]

Says it all, really. The current plan is to have unvaccinated people not go into unnecessary shops and close tourist things. But of course schools stay open, vaccinated people can go shopping normally even though without a booster they are likely to be at risk of catching and transmitting the virus too now, and nothing to force people to work from home. They are supposed to make more controls of vaccine certs because they certainly didn't give any fucks so far as I have seen. But I also mostly stayed at home.

So... Maybe it can force some more people to get vaccinated - the rate is at under 50%! Yet transmission in school or at work won't be affected by these measures, so I doubt it will do what it's intended to do.

[schneefink]

"Die Krematorien können sonntags arbeiten."
...
wow.
That makes me want to throw something against the wall.

[myrdschaem]

They really didn't care about hiding their priorities! I fucking hate it all.

[dr_zook]

"Die Krematorien können sonntags arbeiten."

Wow. Wer hat den den glorreichen Satz zu verantworten? Ist das noch Satire oder schon die berüchtigte deutsche Effizienz?

[myrdschaem]

Der ist aus der Zusammenfassung des MDR auf Twitter entnommen. Kannste dir nicht selber ausdenken.

[dr_zook]

Danke für den Link! Alter, da fällt einem ja echt nix mehr zu ein... Tut mir Leid, dass du das aus nächster Nähe erleben musst. Pass auf dich auf!

[myrdschaem]

Dem kann eins kaum was hinzufügen, um die Lage deutlicher zu machen. Direkt davor geht's ja um die Aussetzung von Arbeitshöchstgrenzen für Pflegepersonal, was auch bitter ist, aber das setzt dem die Krone auf. Aber Schulen bleiben auf und Geimpfte sollen auch nicht sich einschränken müssen, obwohl ich kaum glaube, dass das die Verbreitung stark genug drückt. Mal sehen, aber es schaut nicht gut aus.

Danke und dasselbe zurück!

[dr_zook]

Ja, es ist einfach unglaublich zynisch, dass das im Zusammenhang mit Arbeitshöchstgrenzen Erwähnung findet. Ich verstehe Kretschmer einfach nicht... ich habe noch ziemlich gut den halbverzweifelten Appell von Wieler im Ohr, als er sich am 17.11. noch mal afterhours an den Schirm setzte, um der Zoomgemeinde inkl. Regierung (oder war's umgekehrt?) das Selbe zu erzählen wie seit Monaten.

Ich fürchte, dass die (noch) ungeimpften Kinder halt einfach weiter das Virus verteilen, was sollen sie auch sonst machen? Es ist zum Heulen.

(Ich bin hier unten in Freiburg/Breisgau, auch ziemlich dunkel auf der Karte eingefärbt, aber glücklicherweise sind wenigstens in meinem regelmäßigen Menschenumfeld keine Spinner unterwegs. Danke dir!)

[myrdschaem]

Ich verstehe auch nicht, wie unaufgeregt manche Politiker in dieser Lage noch sind. Der Appell von Wieler war ziemlich eindeutig, aber dann werden hier solche halbgaren Maßnahmen verhängt.

Genau das mit den Kindern denke ich auch! Oder Geimpfte, die noch keinen Booster haben, und dann unabsichtlich ohne Symptome verbreiten, bis es dann auf Ungeimpfte überspringt. Der einzige Zweck des Planes scheint mir, die radikalen Querdenker nicht zu verärgern und gleichzeitig den Rest mit irgendeiner Handlung zu beschwichtigen. Was anderes kann ich daraus nicht konstruieren.

Ja, wenigstens menschlich bin ich auch hier mit keinem im Kontakt... Ansonsten bleibe ich ziemlich strikt mit Kontaktbeschränkung.

[extempore]

Ich verstehe auch nicht, wie unaufgeregt manche Politiker in dieser Lage noch sind.

Dazu fällt mir dieser Artikel ein:
https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/corona-und-politische-ignoranz-kolumne-von-samira-el-ouassil-a-ea814eb9-c05c-4755-bbb7-3c5924063657

[myrdschaem]

Ja, der war gut! Ich hoffe, dass die Politiker hier das Gesamtwohl als Ziel nehmen anstatt sich von Querdenkern die Maßnahmen vorschreiben zu lassen.

[dr_zook]

Ah, sehr guter Artikel! Danke für den Link, den kannte ich noch nicht. Die Kolumnistin ist nicht die Einzige, die ihren Laptop aus dem Fenster wirft...

[jae]

As I think you know, this EXACT THING with OUR psychopaths (yours are idiots, ours are psychopaths, with the same bad policy resulting) declaring the pandemic over in our jurisdiction at the end of June, at which point everything started getting worse and worse and worse until they had to put measures back in the early fall. It totally sucks. Since our present is your future, though, I can say: it gets better. I promise.

[schneefink]

I hope so! I'm cautiously optimistic, but I'm pretty sure we're still at the point where it gets worse before it gets better, at least when it comes to hospitalizations etc.

[michelel72]

I'm sorry. That's so rough.

[schneefink]

And it's so unnecessary *whines*
There's a big anti-vaxxer demonstration in the city today and uuugh.

[goodbyebird]

Really sorry to hear it ❤️

[schneefink]

I'm trying to focus on the fact that most likely the lockdown and then the vaccine mandate will help! ...I don't always succeed.

[goodbyebird]

Seeing an actually vaccine mandate makes me feel hopeful as well. Fingers crossed it spreads, lots knows we need it.

[thady]

Germany too :((
Thankfully everybody at my office is fully vaccinated (except one, who just forgot about his appointment and has gotten his first shot yesterday - honestly he is just verpeilt).
And we have the possibility to work at home.
I'm really glad we have no anti-vaxxers at our office, I don't know how I would handle this. I'm so sorry that you have such colleagues.

[schneefink]

I'm glad at least you have better luck with your coworkers in that regard!
(If I insisted I could work from home too, but there's SO MUCH to do, especially now that there will be even more subsidies, and working from home is much slower. Not worth it.)

[extempore]

Wir haben ja auch KollegInnen, die sich nicht impfen lassen wollen. Bin gespannt, ob die dann Strafzahlungen in Kauf nehmen, oder doch den Pieks abholen. Wenn die Strafen gering sind, kann es gut sein, dass sich viele weiterhin weigern.

[schneefink]

Bin sehr gespannt, wie hoch die Strafen sein werden. Ich hoffe nur, dass sie die Zeit bis Februar (!) dafür nützen, dass die Regelung wenigstens ordentlich wird.

[nnozomi]

What a drag for you. :( I'm glad to hear about the upcoming mandatory rule, anyway. If it helps (not sure if situations comparable) we had a huge ugly spike around...late summer?...which has now plunged way down as, among other things, vaccination rates passed the 70% mark. Knock wood on all counts.

[schneefink]

*knocks on wood*
We can hope!

[zdenka]

I'm sorry, that's really frustrating. :(

[schneefink]

It is - hopefully at the very least the lockdown will be effective!

[dr_zook]

I'm sorry you still have to put up with coworkers like that, oh man. I'd constantly puke in their general direction or something. Also, I'm sorry for the lockdown, all the while hoping they'll do the same here. It was such a mistake to strictly rule out mandatory vaccination as well as another lockdown. What the fuck were they thinking??

Can you ask to work from home or is that not possible on your job? I'm sorry it has come this far. Hugs from across the mountains and borders!

[schneefink]

I could in theory work from home, but it would be a huge hassle because I need so many things we only have in paper and not electronic and I find it even harder to concentrate at home, so in the end it would lead to a lot of overtime and not be good at all for my mental health. Despite the risk that can't be eliminated, I prefer to work at the office.

Hugs back - I hope they'll instate effective rules where you are too.

[out_there]

*hugs*

[schneefink]

*hugs back*

[scintilla10]

That sounds incredibly stressful and frustrating - I'm so sorry.

[schneefink]

It is; I really hope that after the vaccine mandate this fourth (!) lockdown will be the last one.

[dolorosa_12]

How infuriating and frustrating! I'm so sorry those selfish anti-vaxxers have put you in this situation.

Vaccines should always have been mandatory. Most childhood vaccines are if you want to attend school, and it's mind-boggling that people can't see that these are equivalent situations.

[schneefink]

I agree. And it's infuriating how people who never even once read the description for any painkillers they buy or think twice about vaccinations they have to get for travels suddenly have all these ~concerns.