D&D and the rising pandemic

[Maxperson]

I might have bought an airplane ticket for this had I known about it earlier and they said yes of course.

Romanians Can Receive COVID-19 Vaccines at 'Dracula's Castle'

The legendary location is now home to a no-appointment-needed vaccination center

time.com

 

[DollarD]

Well, I got my first jab on Friday - AstraZeneca via the COVAX programme here in Africa.

Felt a bit under the weather on Saturday, but fine afterwards. About 50% (3) of our gaming group has gotten the first dose already.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Sha na na na, sha na na na na
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a jab, sha na na na, sha na na na na

 

[Hussar]

In terms of Covid and gaming - what a total BS year. My experience has, being a font line worker in the UK, going into lockdown at work March 2020, having to shield when at home so as not to bring the virus into work or vice versa, last saw 2 of my gaming group 3 months ago for the first time since March 2020 - at the from the bottom of their steps because they their mother lives with them and she's high risk. Another member of our gaming group unexpectedly died (not covid) which meant, due to limited funeral attendance numbers, seeing one other member of our group since March 2020. Due to the front line demands of covid at work not taking any annual leave for over 12 months (nowhere to go even if I did) and being too stressed when not at work to arrange any online substitute gaming - and the lack of gaming, as my usual stress reliever, making everything a s**t cake. BUT I did finish my 28mm scale SeaGhost, prep a one Judge Dredd/Alien mash up One Shot for when 'we' can all meet again and printed a s**t ton of scenery for my, still unplayed because it was released during lockdown, copy of the Judge Dredd Miniatures Game.

So, in summation, a bad year for gaming for many.

.... and now the UK is being prepped for more bad news as the India variant starts to become problematic .... smart money (as an inside word from the Health Dept epidemiologists) says we are going to get another surge of infections in about 2 weeks for many reasons too long to list.

TL;DR: blurgh, just needed to vent somewhere

Honestly, and I'm sure you've heard this before, but, online gaming is a pretty good way to go. There are so many options to choose from. Whether the big boys like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds or things like Virtual Tabletop and Astra something or other. There's just a whole shopping load of virtual tabletops out there now that are really quite good.

Talk about a change from a few years ago where it was basically three choices - Maptools, Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds.

 

[KainGuru]

Honestly, and I'm sure you've heard this before, but, online gaming is a pretty good way to go. There are so many options to choose from. Whether the big boys like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds or things like Virtual Tabletop and Astra something or other. There's just a whole shopping load of virtual tabletops out there now that are really quite good.

Talk about a change from a few years ago where it was basically three choices - Maptools, Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds.

I'm okie with roll20, I've been to few virtual cons in the past. It's that the other players have never used it and I can't go round to their's to set it up for them

 

[GreyLord]

While I take your point, I'd also point out that early in the pandemic, the CDC and other health authorities told us not to wear face masks... but later changed their mind and endorsed them. What if they change their mind again, too late to stop other negative consequences of this policy?

There's also a world of difference between questioning health advice that's inconvenient for individuals but protective of the populace at large, and questioning health advice that's convenient for individuals but increases risk to the populace at large.

I understand the deep desire for folks to get back to a semblance of normalcy... but even if the science doesn't strictly require it, I think it would have been wiser to continue recommending masking, until we reached peak immunization numbers. It's not a big thing to ask of people, and it could significantly increase our odds of keeping Covid under control. But it's too late now...

This is my worry...right here.

I am wondering if this is what they really want, or if they are using it as a bone to try to tempt the dogs that refuse to get vaccinated as a lure to get them to vaccinate.

Basically saying...if you get vaccinated you don't have to worry about being pressured to wear a mask anymore...it's a benefit that you can have...etc...etc...etc.

So...while I am hopeful, I think I'll give it a few weeks to see if there are any changes, and if it stays the same, then go unmask completely.

 

[Janx]

y'know, I enjoyed not getting a cold or flu or pretty much anything last year. And my masks are awesome. So given how unwashed most of the unwashed masses are, I'm prolly gonna stick with it, because Covid isn't the only crud on the shopping cart handle.

 

[Umbran]

Massachusetts plans on rolling back most of its covid restrictions at the end of May, and is expecting to end the State of Emergency in the middle of June.

Mass. To Ease Mask Mandate, Lift All Other COVID Restrictions May 29; End State Of Emergency June 15

Baker declared a state of emergency on March 10, 2020 to deal with the coronavirus that was just beginning to surge across the planet and his administration's restrictions.

www.wbur.org

 

[Hussar]

y'know, I enjoyed not getting a cold or flu or pretty much anything last year. And my masks are awesome. So given how unwashed most of the unwashed masses are, I'm prolly gonna stick with it, because Covid isn't the only crud on the shopping cart handle.

Funnily enough, this is the reason that most people seem to point to for why Japan isn't getting buried under a mountain of cases. It's so deeply ingrained in people that when you have so much as a sniffle, you wear a mask to protect other people that getting nearly universal masking in Japan was actually pretty easy.

And, honestly, it worked to a fair degree. We've never had lockdown. Even though they're talking extending emergency measures here, all that means is public buildings are closed. The schools are open - my daughters haven't missed a single day of school this year. Heck, even before Covid, they would close the school during flu season if the number of cases got high enough. That didn't happen this year. Which, as someone who teaches children, not getting sick repeatedly was actually kinda nice.

 

[Zardnaar]

Good news sort of on the microscale.


First tourists in Rarotonga in 14 months. 297 including a medical team from NZ to help with vaccinations. Travel bubble extended from Aussie/NZ/ Rarotonga.

I think some of the small pacific islands dodged Covid altogether last I heard around 8 of them.

Reads like a Survivor TV show location guide. They don't really have the facilities to deal with Covid and some places like French Polynesia, Guam and Hawaii got hit hard.