River Cruisers: How Are Things Where YOU Are?

[gnome12]

Having decided last week to postpone out bike and barge of the Moselle in September, with the news about Europe allowing in travellers that are fully vaccinated, we changed our mind again and will go in September. I managed to find a hotel in Cochem that will take a reservation for 2 nights only, which I couldn't do before. This weekend I think I will book my flights; Air Canada not only provides emergency medical coverage for COVID (since I am an Aeroplan member; my out of province medical insurance currently excludes COVID) but allows changes without fees on all fares, if I purchase before the end of May, which will let me reschedule later if I must.

 

So I am looking forward to being on the Moselle in just over 4 months.

[notamermaid]

I am afraid Britain has been put on the list of virus variant countries by Germany. That means only German nationals and those with a permanent home in Germany can come into my country. Quarantine of fourteen days required and that time cannot be reduced by a negative test. Only eleven countries in the world are currently on our list.

 

Which rules out any stay in Britain for me for the foreseeable future. Bug*** 😢

 

notamermaid

 

[cruisr]

23 hours ago, notamermaid said:

I have found the info you need. Okay, are you ready? There are a lot of details to take in: https://www.tourism-bw.com/corona-note

 

notamermaid

 

Thanks and wow.  i will wait till next spring I think.

[Canal archive]

Thank you Notamermaid we’re just happy that nearly half our population have been vaccinated once and over 20 million have had their second vaccination. We start vaccinating 32/33 year olds from today and the decision on the booster vaccination should be made by the end of the month. The powers that be have identified the areas where the Indian variant is most prevalent and in those areas it’s almost walk in and get a jab regardless of age. On a less savoury note their testing all sewage and wastewater outlets in the country as it would seem they’ve found that this could very well be the way to find and track variants of not only the different Corona viruses but other diseases faster. CA

[notamermaid]

Yes, the sewage testing has been strongly advised by the EMA for the European Union countries.

 

I saw the queues for jabs in those areas on BBC online.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

On top of all that it’s the Eurovision Song Contest tonight, as usual we’re all betting on nil points. It’s an excuse to raise a glass and hope Graham Norton is on form. CA

[gnome12]

5 hours ago, Canal archive said:

On a less savoury note their testing all sewage and wastewater outlets in the country as it would seem they’ve found that this could very well be the way to find and track variants of not only the different Corona viruses but other diseases faster. CA

That wastewater testing has been being done here in Canada for a while, although I'm not sure we are tracking variants that way since the news came out much closer to the beginning of the pandemic. It is good to pinpoint areas of infection.

[notamermaid]

16 hours ago, cruisr said:

Thanks and wow.  i will wait till next spring I think.

It looks daunting, doesn't it? And I have to know this stuff for shopping and work! Seriously, it is bit annoying, but I do not need to figure it all out, just the basics. I would not worry too much about it, the situation is getting better almost by the day and I think by August things will look different. We may not have wine festivals but we will have indoor dining. Why not consider seeing the beautiful Autumn colours this year? Just a suggestion.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Well yes nil point - result.  If anyone wonders why, tonight’s result explains one of the reasons why people voted to leave. CA

[Host Jazzbeau]

  

We had a barbeque today with 10 friends – all fully vaxxed and no masks, it felt so normal!  [Made sure I had lots of alcohol, to sanitize my mouth and esophagus against virus particles, you know – no other reason 😉]

[vada_9]

On 5/20/2021 at 10:17 PM, gnome12 said:

We also, at the moment, have no idea about the number of people who have been vaccinated elsewhere, particularly in the US.

I may be able to help you with this info - this is how I am keeping informed?

I am using Worldometer.info - coronavirus

If you click on the Australia link , and get to the daily updates , then click on the last one  (source), opens a new session called covid live, click the world symbol (across the top) and there is a vaccinations column, click on the little box with the arrow and it expands it all. 

Hope this is the info you are looking for and I have not over stepped

[gnome12]

7 hours ago, vada_9 said:

I may be able to help you with this info - this is how I am keeping informed?

I am using Worldometer.info - coronavirus

If you click on the Australia link , and get to the daily updates , then click on the last one  (source), opens a new session called covid live, click the world symbol (across the top) and there is a vaccinations column, click on the little box with the arrow and it expands it all. 

Hope this is the info you are looking for and I have not over stepped

I obviously didn't word my comment correctly. What we don't know is how many Canadians got their vaccines in other countries, particularly in the US.

 

In Canada over 50% of the eligible population has received at least one dose according to Canadian records. I don't know how much larger than percentage would be if we knew who had been vaccinated elsewhere.

[notamermaid]

I am still no closer to getting a vaccine but someone I know is fully vaccinated and he has sent a message: my friend in Charlotte, North Carolina! He is so happy that the EU has recommended letting fully vaccinated US citizens into the bloc that he has gone and already bought himself a plane ticket. He is coming to Germany at the end of July. Will definitely keep an afternoon and evening free for him. 🍷🙂 

 

notamermaid

 

[djh1959]

After weeks and weeks of no cases, other than returned travellers in quarantine, we suddenly have four new locally transmitted cases.  Fortunately these are at the opposite end of the city to me, but it is still frightening.

 

Just the thought of going back into a lock down like we had last year gives me the horrors.  At least I am due to be vaccinated in two weeks.

 

This just goes to show that this virus is nowhere near gone, and while people are flying around the world they are just moving it with them.

[Canal archive]

In London we now have Vaxi-Taxi’s black cabs that will take anyone who is vulnerable or cannot for any reason get to a vaccination place for free. Over 60 million jabs given and nearly 23 million second jabs. We’re getting there and the more of us who get vaccinated the bigger step it will be towards herd immunity. Fingers crossed as I do want to get to France this year. CA

 

djh1959, when the experts look into these instances there will be a reason and hopefully lessons will be learnt, faster that our lot with the so called Indian variant, fingers crossed. 
Did you see the Indian government has banned the use of the expression ‘Indian Variant’ on social media. 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Canal archive

[notamermaid]

The small hotel near Würzburg I want to stay at has reopened for outdoor dining. So it is still in business and I am in the first stages of planning a trip to the area at the end of July.

 

notamermaid

 

[sharkster77]

@djh1959, what a difference in approach.  If a major US city had just 4 new cases, there would be wild dancing in the streets!  We are just too stupid to save ourselves.  Watched a golf tournament yesterday with 10,000 people elbow to elbow with not a mask in sight. In a state where only 32% are fully vaccinated.  Vs. Melbourne, which is considering a lockdown over 4 cases, after having ZERO cases for weeks.   Ugh.

Edited May 24, 2021 by sharkster77

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

Watched a golf tournament yesterday with 10,000 people elbow to elbow with not a mask in sight. In a state where only 32% are fully vaccinated. 

That is a lot of people. We are on rules meaning between 2 and 100 people with masks on, but a few (mostly scientifically accompanied) events have more people. But then again, less than 14 percent of Germans are fully vaccinated. And quite a few of those would not even go to such large events.

 

Looking forward to my first day at work, but with butterflies a bit, not because of Coronavirus apprehension. I just cannot remember all the details of a working day in the office. At least I can remember my computer password. But then, knowing the IT people with their overriding powers, they are bound to have made changes that will have me wondering what's going on in this black box next to my chair... 😕

 

notamermaid

 

[acwmom]

On 5/22/2021 at 10:58 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

  

We had a barbeque today with 10 friends – all fully vaxxed and no masks, it felt so normal!  [Made sure I had lots of alcohol, to sanitize my mouth and esophagus against virus particles, you know – no other reason 😉]

We had drinks at our new neighbor's house on Saturday. All fully vaxxed, and the husband survived a 2 week ICU stay due to Covid back in October! Very scary story!!  We too sanitized with alcohol😇  But I agree, so nice to feel normal again.

 

[Lois R]

4 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

@djh1959, what a difference in approach.  If a major US city had just 4 new cases, there would be wild dancing in the streets!  We are just too stupid to save ourselves.  Watched a golf tournament yesterday with 10,000 people elbow to elbow with not a mask in sight. In a state where only 32% are fully vaccinated.  Vs. Melbourne, which is considering a lockdown over 4 cases, after having ZERO cases for weeks.   Ugh.

I saw the PGA Championship yesterday as well........Phil won for us old folks LOL😃

[jpalbny]

4 minutes ago, acwmom said:

We had drinks at our new neighbor's house on Saturday. All fully vaxxed, and the husband survived a 2 week ICU stay due to Covid back in October! Very scary story!!  We too sanitized with alcohol😇  But I agree, so nice to feel normal again.

 

 

Wow! That's something to celebrate for sure. 

[Coral]

We had an ice cream social last week at work outside (on a covered porch due to rain). It was weird to see everyone with out their masks. It felt normal and abnormal all at the same time.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Coral

[gnome12]

I retired on April 29th, but I still haven't been able to get into my office to collect my stuff. I think the last time I was in the office was last summer, when I picked up a pair of shoes. Obviously, anything that has been at the office for 14 1/2 months isn't anything I'm missing, but I would like to collect it. I haven't seen anyone live except my boss; I saw her only because she witnessed my pension election documents.

[djh1959]

21 hours ago, Canal archive said:

In London we now have Vaxi-Taxi’s black cabs that will take anyone who is vulnerable or cannot for any reason get to a vaccination place for free. Over 60 million jabs given and nearly 23 million second jabs. We’re getting there and the more of us who get vaccinated the bigger step it will be towards herd immunity. Fingers crossed as I do want to get to France this year. CA

 

djh1959, when the experts look into these instances there will be a reason and hopefully lessons will be learnt, faster that our lot with the so called Indian variant, fingers crossed. 

Did you see the Indian government has banned the use of the expression ‘Indian Variant’ on social media. 

What a terrific idea with the free taxis.  The UK has done so well with vaccinations, we have only vaccinated around 3-4 million, which is pathetic.  

 

A lot of people do not want vaccinations though, as we had no covid here and they thought the vaccine risk was higher than the covid risk.  Outbreaks like we are currently getting will hopefully change the views of some of these fools.

 

There are now 9 cases, we are only allowed 5 visitors and masks everywhere indoors.  Yuk, we have been normal for three for four months, and it will be really tough with this backwards step.  What we all hope though, is that it doesn't end up in another lockdown - today is the first anniversary of what ended up being the longest lockdown in the Western world.

 

As for the Indian government, all governments have objected to the names of variants, with the exception of the UK.  But of course they are not allowed to object are they?

 

As for the golf tournament, it is nuts isn't it.  Everyone seems to think this is almost over, but as we are showing, it isn't, it is just dormant for a while.  Unfortunately, this will continue while travel continues.  That is the only way it got back in here.

[pully8]

Wishing you the best in Melbourne and hopefully the cluster will be isolated and contained.