Schools are closed here until April 1st. Children can pick up packets of weekly school work starting tomorrow and still receive breakfast and lunches. I hear it'll be a drive thru system for lunch, pull up in your car and receive a bag lunch. I'm going back to work tomorrow to help get these packets ready to hand out to parents. Strangely, when we do return, we work three days and will then have spring break.
My company had everyone begin working remotely today. That was actually the thing that really surprised me the most, how quickly it all happened. We had our first conversation about possibly working remotely on last Tuesday, and by Wednesday they went ahead and made the decision.
Unfortunately I can't say that same for most people around here. Orlando's going to get eaten up by this. Theme parks are all closed, along with anything else that's remotely touristy. I've got some friends that have a comic book shop that's in that district and rely a lot on tourists popping their head in, and they're probably done for.
gamingeek said:BTW Corona Beer company is fucked.
Au contraire. Some companies here are offering one for free as an apology for delays in delivery times.
Can we keep the fruit out of beer, please?
The only downside so far is the hysterical panic buying; it makes shopping for people who already rely on a surplus of certain supplies and also cannot go shopping centre crawling, very difficult. Other than that, it's a pretty interesting and entertaining state of affairs. But the measures taken in regards to the carer/nursing system haven't been announced yet, and that's where things could get very inconvenient indeed.
I've also been sneezed on once in public, and someone in a group of three people several metres away coughed in their companion's faces, so it's good to see that Australians are remaining resolute during this crisis, and are refusing to improve their hygiene standards and become more considerate of their fellow countrymen! God save the Queen!
travo said:Can we keep the fruit out of beer, please?
But how else can I ward off the scurvy?
That last bit is a typically Belgian rule. It's contradictory. How can I take a walk with my family and one person, without that one person violating the rule?
Well I seem to be fucked. Clients are cancelling all over the place. 3 quarters of my work this week is gone. I have to pay my employer to work for them.
They have offered an 8 week defferment which means, no pay. And about $2000 of debt building up and when that period is over I have to pay that money along with the normal weekly fees each week too. 
Or quit and have no job.
gamingeek said:Well I seem to be fucked. Clients are cancelling all over the place. 3 quarters of my work this week is gone. I have to pay my employer to work for them.
They have offered an 8 week defferment which means, no pay. And about $2000 of debt building up and when that period is over I have to pay that money along with the normal weekly fees each week too.
Or quit and have no job.
Did the government take any meassures to support those whose work is affected by Corona?
Here in Belgium government declared that anyone who has to shut down for at least 7 days in march or april can get a substitute income from the state of about €1600. No idea how they plan to finance this, but I can see me needing to sign up for this in late april or may, should it be extended.
It's going relatively smoothly for me, but my university voluntarily cancelled in-person classes a few days ago. Fortunately they already have a good distance learning infrastructure. It hasn't affected New Zealand too badly... yet. 52 confirmed cases as of the 21st, but a week ago there were only eight. No confirmed community transmission though (I expect that to change within the next few days).
By Miu Watanabe.
Wow, covid-19 is really hitting hard in Italy. Just shy of 800 deaths yesterday. Hospitals are being flooded in patients to the point where doctors need to decide who to treat.
They say Italy is 2 weeks ahead of us in terms of spread of the epedemic, and the UK and USA are 2 weeks behind us. Here's hoping our earlier lockdown and slightly younger demographic spares us from similar situations.
gamingeek said:No support for self employed here. Everyone else can get 80 percent of their income paid by the government. So again I'm fucked.
Get ready for the next golden generation of war veterans homebodies turned criminals hackers who will go on to produce the boomer 2.0 generation who will in turn get everyone out of the horrific mess their parents made by supporting one of the worst wars ever not staying at home, then somehow make an even bigger mess for their grandchildren to deal with. 
Té_Rojo said:It's going relatively smoothly for me, but my university voluntarily cancelled in-person classes a few days ago. Fortunately they already have a good distance learning infrastructure. It hasn't affected New Zealand too badly... yet. 52 confirmed cases as of the 21st, but a week ago there were only eight. No confirmed community transmission though (I expect that to change within the next few days).
Make that 102 cases (still only two suspected community transmissions) with lockdown in two days. Perfect time for my headphones to break but at least I've ordered new ones.
By Miu Watanabe.
Michigan is reporting 108,000 unemployed (it's usually in the 5,000 range)
Figured this could use a dedicated thread. Also, we're talking about COVID-19, not how drunk you get from the beer.
The answer to that is not very drunk, as it's only 4.5%.
So how is Corona influencing your life? We're basically in lockdown here, with schools closing, a lot of people working from home and some firms voluntarily shutting down entirely. On one side experts are repeating how important it is for everyone to do their part and avoid spreading the virus by avoiding social contact, on the other hand people are doing what they do best: looking for loopholes to still meet up regardless, oblivious of the fact that they don't risk a fine as they would while dodging unpopular legislation, but giving the virus more room to spread and kill people.
For me personally so far not much has changed (yet). I work from home regardless and the wife can watch over the kids as she was already home as well after giving up her job late last year while facing an imminent burnout. If we go in full lockdown I'll probably have to stop working at some point, simply by virtue of running out of work to do. I've had one client mail me they're postphoning their project to 2021 today, and a large part of my week is spent managing running projects, which could grind to a halt should a lockdown be imposed.