So for the time being, we're assuming that we might as well be under lockdown again. We have surpassed the previous high of cases by at least half again as much (over 11,000 vs around 7,000 in November of 2020), and the positivity is up well over 20% like it was back in April of 2020. And over 90% of it is Omicron at this point. Hospitalizations are creeping back up.
Generally speaking, for us it means that all we're doing is going out for work and coming home. I got us in a couple of packages of N95 masks (oh my aching wallet for what amounts of a one month supply), since the recommendations have gone out that multilayer cloth masks aren't really good enough now, just based on the current data on Omicron. No friends coming over, our last visitation was Christmas Day by family members, and even that may well have been too risky in hindsight.
And to top it all off, the biggest grocery chain in the area looks like the workers may well be going on strike by next week.
We are now firmly into the territory of "no conventions likely for us this year too." That'll make it three years thus far... odds are if this keeps up and we get into "five years or more without", we may well decide it's just not worth keeping those as part of our hobby list anymore. It's an unfortunate reality that, after a certain point, there's little point in maintaining the effort to look at conventions with the idea that we can get back to it, because the data is starting to point more and more in the direction that it's no longer a viable option.
Generally speaking, for us it means that all we're doing is going out for work and coming home. I got us in a couple of packages of N95 masks (oh my aching wallet for what amounts of a one month supply), since the recommendations have gone out that multilayer cloth masks aren't really good enough now, just based on the current data on Omicron. No friends coming over, our last visitation was Christmas Day by family members, and even that may well have been too risky in hindsight.
And to top it all off, the biggest grocery chain in the area looks like the workers may well be going on strike by next week.
We are now firmly into the territory of "no conventions likely for us this year too." That'll make it three years thus far... odds are if this keeps up and we get into "five years or more without", we may well decide it's just not worth keeping those as part of our hobby list anymore. It's an unfortunate reality that, after a certain point, there's little point in maintaining the effort to look at conventions with the idea that we can get back to it, because the data is starting to point more and more in the direction that it's no longer a viable option.
"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor