Covid-19

ICU hero’s wife offers profanity-laced, hilarious and heartbreaking plea to mask opponents that will have you cheering

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The virus doesn’t care who you voted for: Stop being a dick

By Holly Figueroa O’Reilly

Apparently, some of you assholes need some tough love right about now and I’m just the bitch to give it to you so sit down, shut up, and listen.

I’ll apologize upfront for all the swears you’re about to read, but I’ve had it up to :jumps to the International Space Station and back: here with you fucking people and I guarantee, at least one of you assholes needs to hear this. And if you aren’t the asshole that needs to hear it, you definitely know at least one who does.

Apparently, some of you assholes need some tough love right about now and I’m just the bitch to give it to you so sit down, shut up, and listen.

I’m begging you: wear a fucking mask when you go out in public. When I say “mask”, I mean face covering of some sort. A scarf, a bandana…a bra. Whatever it takes, just cover your fucking face.

On Saturday, my husband stopped at the grocery on his way home from treating COVID19 positive patients in the ICU. Other than the employees and him, *not one other person* was wearing a mask.

WTFFFFFFFFFFFF.

Why are you people this way?

Listen, morons, you are putting the employees of the store, not to mention their families and friends, at risk. You know, those front-line workers everyone says they appreciate but YOU apparently don’t really give a fuck about?

“Well, I don’t care if I get it because _____________”

For the sake of argument, let’s put aside the fact that there is absolutely no word you can put in that space to make that sentence make sense. You aren’t wearing a mask to protect *you*, dumbass. You are supposed to be wearing it to protect *them*.

When you don’t wear a mask, you are telling front-line workers and other shoppers that you think their lives matter less than the milk you stopped in for. If that’s what you think, then, by all means, continue being an asshole, I guess.

“But *I’m* not sick! So I can’t get anyone else sick.”

:FACEPALM: Not sure if you’ve watched the news these past few weeks, (LOL of course you have), but you wouldn’t necessarily know if you were infected or not. You could be an asymptomatic spreader. 

Yes, bitch. You can infect almost 10k people. If the , that means that one of every 200 people you infect will die.

That’s 50 people you will be responsible for killing, you unbelievable moron.

WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD BE WEARING A FUCKING MASK.

Today in Washington state, our rate of infection, or R0, is 1.1. That means if you have the virus, you are infecting more than 1 person. That’s not good. In fact, most experts recommend an infection rate of less than 1.0 for two weeks before starting to re-open.

In King County, our R0 today is .98. That’s good, right?

No, dumbass. Because at the end of April, it was .92. It shouldn’t be going up. It should be going down.

This means that you people aren’t wearing your fucking masks and I don’t fucking understand why.

IT IS NOT HARD JUST WEAR THE FUCKING THING

Look you dicks, when the virus hit and the hospitals started to become too busy for the critical care doctors to handle, my husband left his medical practice to help out in the ICU. He didn’t have to. He could have just stayed at home and done telehealth, but he felt compelled to help out. He’s not alone. Thousands and thousands of medical professionals all over this country dropped everything and came running because they thought that by flattening the curve, lives could be saved and society could start reopening more quickly. 

The LEAST you can do is cover your damn face with a fucking mask so you don’t end up killing people.

Shit.

Source: JUST WEAR A FUCKING MASK, YOU FUCKS

My locked-down pub is heartbreaking but it’s time to stop crying into our beers

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Jodie Kidd has experienced first hand how tough it has been for pubs to survive the pandemic

THERE was no better feeling at the end of lockdown than being able to sup a cold pint of freshly pulled beer.

After months of enforced isolation we all deserved a drink.

But for many of the nation’s pubs it has not been economically viable to reopen their doors since restrictions ended for them on July 4.

Around a third of English boozers say that social distancing, even when it is just a metre, means they will either lose money or just break even.

Many cherished inns remain closed.

It is a dilemma I have been wrestling with over the summer as I try to figure out the best way to keep our country pub afloat in the age of coronavirus.

While the Half Moon pub in West Sussex, that I co-own, provided a food and wine delivery service during lockdown, we have not yet unlocked the doors to let in customers.

It is heartbreaking to go into this beautiful pub on my weekly check to find it silent, devoid of the laughter, conversations and the celebrations that normally fill its beamed rooms.

The Half Moon pub is normally packed with punters all year round
The Half Moon pub is normally packed with punters all year round

Seeing the grass grow where people should be raising a glass and gleefully saying “cheers” is unbearable.

There is no doubt, though, that we are going to welcome back our loyal locals very soon.

We can’t allow this virus to kill off our pubs, which are at the heart of so many communities.

This is a war for survival, the gloves are off and we must do everything in our power to keep our locals alive while also keeping the nation safe.

The news that the Government is going to restrict social gathering to just six people following a rise in infections will naturally concern a lot of drinkers and licensees.

But the rule of only having six in a group already applied to pubs and restaurants when booking tables so it is not a significant change.

Tax means beer alone is not profitable enough for pubs - so innovation is needed

Tax means beer alone is not profitable enough for pubs – so innovation is neededCredit: Getty Images – Getty

There is also clear evidence that landlords and landladies have been doing a great job when it comes to maintaining a record of which customers have visited.

The health of customers is going to be at the forefront of their minds and no one wants to be responsible for a Covid-19 outbreak.

The six restriction means that for the time being, pubs and restaurants won’t be the venues for the massive parties celebrating birthdays and other key events.

But people can still carry on with that great British tradition of saying: “I’m just popping into the pub for a pint.”

When we go out to do an errand, work or head to the shops, there is no better way of relaxing afterwards than with a freshly pulled pint or a glass of wine.

Just stopping by for a drink and a packet of crisps will help your local to pay the bills.

Licensees are very aware that the Government is not going to be able to provide extensive financial support too much longer.

Both the furlough and Eat Out To Help Out schemes have been a lifeline.

But by keeping those businesses going, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has had something in return.

Research shows that Eat Out To Help Out meant 200,000 staff in the pub and hospitality sector didn’t have to be furloughed, saving the Exchequer £250million.

Rishi Sunak's Eat Out to Help Out scheme gave pubs a much-needed boost

Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme gave pubs a much-needed boostCredit: AFP or licensors

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Boris Johnson faces Tory rebellions on Brexit and Covid rules

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Dueling Schmegegges

 

Conservatives including former leaders criticise plan to override withdrawal deal

Boris Johnson is facing separate Conservative rebellions on Brexit and Covid-19 rules, as Tory MPs mobilise to undermine the controversial legislation that overrides the EU withdrawal agreement.

The tabling of an amendment by a former minister, Bob Neill, to the internal market bill in an effort to create a parliamentary veto on overriding the UK-EU divorce deal sets up a showdown next week on the bill’s second reading in the House of Commons.

Among other senior Conservative figures who have also come out strongly against the bill’s proposed powers is the former party leader Michael Howard, who said it was “a very sad day last week when the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, admitted that amending the UK’s Brexit deal with the EU will break international law”. The peer also said he would be “very surprised” if the bill got through the the House of Lords, where the Conservatives did not have a majority [ . . . ]

Continue at THE GUARDIAN: Boris Johnson faces Tory rebellions on Brexit and Covid rules

Learn to Play a Musical Instrument Amid the Pandemic

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Older adults are taking advantage of their extra time during coronavirus restrictions to learn to play a musical instrument through online lessons.

The piano Linda Howell had purchased for her now-grown children sat in the corner of her living room for decades before she wondered if she should take lessons.

Howell, 72, of Fairport, New York, was having trouble adjusting to retirement after a 50-year career in nursing, and figured practicing would be good for her brain.

When the pandemic hit, she had plenty of time for practice.

Howell isn’t alone. Older Americans are picking up instruments they always yearned to play, or returning to those they may have tooted or screeched through as young children. Staying close to home and a limit on socializing have provided time and space for this new pursuit.

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