Covid-19 lockdown check-in

[Sheilbh]

I noticed that my work is more frequently doing check-ins about whether people want to come to the office (though no pressure). And that is despite caseloads still being high (though dropping) and at best only a handful of people are coming to office (I see two people scheduled through rest of month).

Sure feels like pressure.

Yeah that does sound like pressure and against guidance.

I hadn't heard for a while but we had a big HR email today that it's still WFH unless you absolutely have to come in until the end of January. No indication for Feb.

[garbon]

I noticed that my work is more frequently doing check-ins about whether people want to come to the office (though no pressure). And that is despite caseloads still being high (though dropping) and at best only a handful of people are coming to office (I see two people scheduled through rest of month).

Sure feels like pressure.

Yeah that does sound like pressure and against guidance.

I hadn't heard for a while but we had a big HR email today that it's still WFH unless you absolutely have to come in until the end of January. No indication for Feb.

We have also had many juniors who recently came down with it.

I know they are recently making a push as new people are starting and think those new people won't feel part of the team if nobody comes in.

[Syt]

Wanted to go get a PCR test later this afternoon, but then I remembered that it's Saturday, so the city will be full of non-masked, non-distancing "concerned citizens" marching with neo-nazis, LIKE EVERY FUCKING SATURDAY, so I canceled and re-booked for tomorrow morning.

T-shirt from today's demonstrations:



No to mandatory vaccinations.
Yes to death penalty for criminal politicians.

Last week there was a guy with a (fake) axe and a bloody plastic head and a sign "Get your traitors. We need work." and photos of politicians etc.



The FPÖ is leading one of the main gatherings, one of their speakers announced "We will take them [the evil politicians] to Nuremberg 2.0 and find them guilty in all points!" A not-Identitarian-movement-anymore-honest leaader posted on Twitter that police should be careful how they handle things or they will see complete chaos in the city. 

So this has been going on for months now, a couple tens of thousands (usually 20-40k, mostly from out of town, and even a substantial number from outside Austria), from late morning till evening around the Ringstraße and main downtown shopping areas. Meanwhile, a demonstration to commemorate the dead of the pandemic a few weeks ago had to reschedule for late in the evening "to not disrupt traffic and businesses."

Last week (as usual) the police and public transports said they would make sure the mask etc. rules would be followed. Instead there were images of unmasked throngs of people pushing police out of subway stations.

It's a stark contrast to how police usually handle much more peaceful protests from the left.

[Syt]

Also this week: a couple of folks dressed as "security" in gear that at first glance looks similar to police uniforms, here being getting looked at by the real police (in the back).

[crazy canuck]

You can tell the difference by the ice tea bottle in place of where the police equipment would normally be.

[Berkut]

I am sure they really believe they are the police. Did anyone ask them?

[Syt]

I am sure they really believe they are the police. Did anyone ask them?

They've been charged with impersonating police officers.

[Berkut]

I am sure they really believe they are the police. Did anyone ask them?

They've been charged with impersonating police officers.

Good. What a bunch of fucking tools.

[garbon]

Now with plan b and mask mandates disappearing, my company is moving full speed ahead with plan to have people returning 1 Feb (in fact most of the juniors showed up at work yesterday). My new employee told me it is fine to start coming in as "everyone has had covid already anyway."

[Tamas]

Now with plan b and mask mandates disappearing, my company is moving full speed ahead with plan to have people returning 1 Feb (in fact most of the juniors showed up at work yesterday). My new employee told me it is fine to start coming in as "everyone has had covid already anyway."

My higher ups were also quick to start organising a 1 Feb big in-person meeting in our remote-based company. We must resign ourselves that if we have not had covid already, we are going through it in the next month or so. It does seem like time to ease restrictions, and more importantly we must sacrifice ourselves to save Johnson's seat. Godspeed.

[garbon]

I foresee me getting into a fight.

[mongers]

Now with plan b and mask mandates disappearing, my company is moving full speed ahead with plan to have people returning 1 Feb (in fact most of the juniors showed up at work yesterday). My new employee told me it is fine to start coming in as "everyone has had covid already anyway."

From being guided by government scientific advice to relying on hearsay in one easy step.

[Zanza]

We are still in a phase where Omicron goes up fast, much less people here had Covid then in the UK. So home office is still the rule, at least in my company. I was in the office yesterday and the two other persons I saw sat on the other side of the building.

[Grey Fox]

Provincial government held a press conference to remind people that we are ~4 weeks behind Europe and to stop expecting our restrictions to ease when theirs do.

Ontario framing everything around dates is not helping.

[Jacob]

At my work we're sticking to our guns - remote, with an option to come in for people who want to. I think out of my 100 people I have around 6 who are in every day and another 10 who come to the office a few days a week. I think the rate is roughly the same across the company's ~300 staff.

Personally, I've been in a couple of times and it's pretty empty, so it feels pretty safe. In any case, I've been advocating for a permanent hybrid model and it looks like that's what we're sticking to.

A little worse, there were just a couple of cases in my boy's after school care, as well as in his grade (but not in his specific class). It feels like it's just a matter of time before he gets it, given the lower rate of vaccination among children (he's had his first shot and we anticipate him becoming eligible for the second one in the next few weeks).