D&D and the rising pandemic

[Zardnaar]

Extreme case here. Side effect of Covid and not bailout.

Stuff

i.stuff.co.nz

House prices up by $273000 in a month.

It's also nationwide so unlike America you can really relocate anywhere else. There's bad, worse and terrible.

Think prices but a million dollars in some snakkcuty of around 50k.

Government didn't outright say it but they basically guaranteed house prices wouldn't fall and they were already bad pre Covid.

 

[Dioltach]

Here in the Netherlands there are a number of reasons why property prices are rising so fast.

The first is that interest rates are low. Banks are eager to lend money, because otherwise they have to pay interest on it to the ECB. So although the rules for borrowing are stricter than they have been, once you have a loan it's much more affordable. At the same time, people are looking for safe places to put their cash. Savings essentially lose you money: even without negative interest rates, inflation means that your money loses value (and despite the ECB's idea that low interest rates will encourage people to spend more and boost the economy, people are hoarding their cash because of the uncertainty that this creates). So real estate is a guaranteed way to make your money work for you.

Another problem here is that there's a shortage of available homes. Not only is the population growing, and like I said more and more people are buying real estate as a long-term investment, younger people apparently all want to live alone, not with a partner. So this effectively doubles the number of first-time buyers and renters, so twice the demand for a dwindling supply.

On another note, more related to the actual topic of the thread: the Janssen vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) was developed a stone's through away from my house. Less than a kilometre as the crow flies. And another company almost next door to it is producing the Oxford vaccine. Can I claim credit for them?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It’s still not clear why, but the UK strain of C19 is proving to be deadlier than most of the other mutations. The GOOD news is that this strain seems to be just as vulnerable to the vaccines as the original virus.

People infected with the coronavirus variant found in the UK are up to 64% more likely to die than those with other strains

 

[Zardnaar]

Paris heading into a month long lockdown.

Paris goes into lockdown as COVID-19 variant rampages

France imposed a month-long lockdown on Paris and parts of the north after a faltering vaccine rollout and spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants forced President Emmanuel Macron to shift course.

www.reuters.com

Brazil now number 1 for most daily cases.

 

[GreyLord]

I got my first shot of the vaccine today. Another one of my gaming group got their first shot last Wednesday. After we get our second shot that will be two ready for in person, but still have several more to go before we can all get together.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I just got the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine today. I feel so relieved and happy. This has been a hard year. I hope everyone stays safe and is able to get their shot(s) when they become available to them.

 

[Maxperson]

I just got the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine today. I feel so relieved and happy. This has been a hard year. I hope everyone stays safe and is able to get their shot(s) when they become available to them.

My wife and I got our first Pfizer shots during this last week.

 

[CapnZapp]

I just got the Johnson and Johnson Vaccine today. I feel so relieved and happy. This has been a hard year. I hope everyone stays safe and is able to get their shot(s) when they become available to them.

Where I live it's likely another two month's wait before I can rejoin society, so heartfelt congrats. At least the J&J vaccine (or the Janssen vaccine as it will be known locally) was approved the other day.

 

[Zardnaar]

Vaccines just started locally two days ago.

Getting a jab at the mall: Dunedin Covid-19 vaccination centre opened

And on the seventh day, the first southern Covid-19 vaccination centre opened. In just a week, from planning to the start of business, Southern...

www.odt.co.nz

They've hired a store in mall with cardboard cubicles. Supply is main problem. Hoi polloi probably won't be able to get any until June or so.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

My wife and I just got our first Pfizer shot. I will be glad to feel less anxiety on the rare times I'm out in the world, and eventually get to go out and do things again.