Since the 12th of March Norway has been on a lock down. School, universities, colleges, kindergartens, hair saloons, tattoo shops, spa & beauty and massage studios and most shops that doesn`t sell groceries or medicine have closed. Restaurants, cafè`s, nightclubs and bars had to close too. Take away and home delivery of fast food is okey. Sport activity was limited to individual exercise only. Groups of more than 5 people is not allowed. It is not allowed to travel to your second homes or cottages. Also Concerts, festivals, Eurovision, theaters, cinemas and the bingo is even cancelled too. We are advised to listen to Norwegian music and by food produced here in Norway.
The shops do not want us to pay with cash anymore when we buy something in a psychical shop. All food stores have placed hand disinfectant by the entrance of every store that is open, which the costumers use before going inside to do their food shopping. There are stickers on the floor reminding you to keep a distance to a minimum 1 meter. The groceries shops have put up a plexi glass between the costumer and the person working behind the cash registers. The public transport has blocked the first 4 front seat, and we can only board the bus from the middle and the back door. And also they will no longer allow us to pay for our bus ticket with cash. You have to buy a ticket either by using the App, buy a sms ticket or get a period card. On the plus side the bus driver opens the door for us now though. So we don`t have to use our hands to push the door opener button ourselves. The routes have changed to the Saturday route as there is almost no people outside or using the public transport. On board the buses the screens are telling us to:
Be Considerate
Beyond this, we add here to the National Institute of Health’s recommendations and orders, and encourage our travelers to do the same, and be considerate to your fellow passengers and the drivers:
- Practice social distancing, make sure to keep a safe distance to other passengers
- Do not board if you see that the place is cramped, wait for the next bus
- If you have been in contact with the infection or are ill, do not use public transport
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly
- Walk or use a bike if you can
- Travel outside rush hour if you can
We have closed the boarders and anyone entering Norway will have to go into quarantine for 2 weeks. If people don`t stay in their homes if they are in quarantine. The fines begins at 20.000 Kr and can be up to 40.000 Kr. We are told to forget about going abroad on a summer vacation this summer, and instead travel around and discover our own country this year. I had booked my summer holiday back to Nice to visit the French-Twinks Studio again. When Norway locked down the country I asked Antoine what he wanted me to do. Wait or cancel. We agreed to await it a little bit. But as time goes it is not looking promising for my planned trip to the French Riviera in June. I have also tried to book an appointment at the police station to renew my passport which is expiring on June the 6 th. But they have cancelled my appointment 4 times since March. So I will have to stay in Norway for the summer it seems and see if I can go visit Antoine and the studio in maybe August or September if the world is better by then. I am worried about the guys in France, they are badly hit by this horrible virus. 17.164 people have died France. I hope Antoine and the guys are staying safe and healthy.
Churches can`t preform ceremonies, baptism, the coming of age ceremony or weddings. But funerals they can do. But we are not allowed to attend any funerals to say goodbye to our family or friend that have died because of this horrible pest called Corona. The churches and funeral services are offering family and friends to watch the live streaming of the funeral from home, on their computers, iPads or phones.
433.000 people have registered as unemployed in Norway since the 12 th of March. 5,3 million people live in this country.. In 2019 February the number of unemployed people in Norway was 71.100 (Source: nettavisen). Small and medium sized businesses and big companies such as Norwegian Airlines are struggling to survive. The government has given billions to help save businesses.
In the writing moment 6686 people have caught the Corona virus and 150 people have passed away because of Covid – 19 in Norway. World wide 1,981000 humans are infected with the same virus and 126.600 people have perished because of it.
I also keep finding new articles about animals that also have tested positive for this pandemic. I asked a veterinarian clinic on Facebook, if pets also can catch this virus from humans, because I was worried about my Oliver of course.. I asked this question on different days and the answer was no twice. The second time I asked, was after I had read about a cat in Belgium who had tested positive for Covid 19.. These are the same veterinarians working at AniCura Veterinarian Clinic at Heimdal in Trondheim, where Oliver and me has been visiting twice.
The cat I read about had developed symptoms such as diarrhea, throwing up and having breathing problems. It did not say if the cat made it or not. And VG.no who wrote about the cat, did not update the article when several including me asked if the cat survived or died. I have also after that read a headline about a dog who had caught the virus too. But I did not click and read further about this case, and I can not remember on what site I saw it.
I found this article in VG.no which is saying that they don`t think humans can give their cat the Corona virus, but they recommend that we keep our cats inside. Because they can carry the virus with them on their fur. Also they are saying that we should avoid touching and cuddling our cat. Luckily Oliver does not seek out other people when he outside, he is terrified of strangers. I was more worried that someone could give him the virus so he became sick. I can`t quite settled down with the different things I read if animals can catch it or not. Because I know they are testing vaccines on mice. Which means they have infected these mice with the Covid 19 virus. To try and test if a vaccine kills it. So if the mouse can get it, then I think it is possible that other animals also can. Specially thinking about monkeys, and I worry about them. They are our closest relatives..
PLEASE DO NOT PET OTHER PEOPLES CATS THAT YOU MET OUTSIDE
Many of our care and nursing homes for the elderly people have tragically lost 1 or more of their residents. because visitors and staff have brought the virus with them and infected others. On March the 10th, a large group (147) of elderly people was told it was still safe to travel to Alicante and Spain. To stay at a resort called Solgården. At the time Norwegian government advised Norwegians only to not travel to Italy, Iran, Austria and China. At least 53 people who traveled to this Spanish resort has tested positive for the Corona virus and so far 5 people have died. According to VG.no. One man died while he was still there, and his family are still awaiting for his urn to be sent home to Norway. Spain has decided to cremate people who has died from this virus.
174.060 people have tested positive in Spain, and 18.255 human lives have been lost. Spain is now the second most affected country by the Corona virus in the world after USA. I had a friend of mine that went to Spain in the beginning of March.. And I was seriously worried about this and I was glad when they got back home. And that they did not become ill..
Because this virus was very deadly for those who had illnesses such as Cancer, Cols, heart problems, lung diseases and asthma. I have also read that people who smoke, use heavy drugs or have overweight is also in the danger zone.
I started to understand very early in January and February that this virus was nasty and deadly. And by the end of February and the first 2 weeks into March I shared a lot of useful news articles, to help wake people up and understand what was coming. Some people got annoyed with me for posting so much about Corona, and at that time no one in Norway took this very serious and a lot more people were joking about it at that point. I smiled at a few funny meme`s about Corona but I couldn`t get myself to share anything. I knew that people in Italy and Wuhan were being strangled in their beds, dying alone without being able to see their families in their last living moments. And people couldn`t even give their lost loved ones a proper goodbye during their funeral.
And then this virus finally started to wake the United Kingdom up. At some point when Norway locked down, we had more infected than the UK. And then I knew they were going to be hit hard when their government didn`t take it serious at first, and didn`t put the country on lock down..
When they did it was a sad sight I learned how people behaved over thee hording the shops for toilette paper and all food. I watched many of my UK friends share on Facebook that they didn`t get the things they needed before the lock down, because the shops were horded in matter of hours it seemed. The next following day it was a clear sunny day in Brighton. It is springtime in the UK now, and the temperatures in the UK in April is quite nice and feels like summer for a Norwegian.. British people thought it was a good idea to swamp the seaside, And my mother in law said there was a lot of assholes in Southwold too, that didn`t understand the meaning of Staying Home to prevent more people getting infected. I think some Brits thought they were given an extra holiday..
And then Prince Charles and their Prime minister Boris Johnson caught the virus. And I think it is just a miracle that those two haven`t transferred that virus to other important people to the UK. Such as the Queen and her husband who are at a very high respectable age now. It seems to me that Prince Charles had recovered very fast without complications. But Boris Johnson who first said he only had mild symptoms, all though I saw on his face that he had high fever and didn`t look good. Later he ended up in the intensive care. Where he received some breathing assistance. He was a week later out of intensive care and was eventually discharged from St Thomas Hospital in London. He went straight to his massive mansion to recover from being 3 days or so in intensive care. The experts said that, for each day you are in intensive care you need 1 week to recover from it…
Meanwhile I kept following what my friends post on Facebook. And the husband of George Montague shared a terrible sad story that I had already read a little bit about on VG.no. That yet another care home for elderly had just left the old people alone to die. The last time I checked the number of deaths in the UK was when Nick published a post on Facebook saying over 12.000 people are now dead in the UK because of the Corona virus. And Tracy is still saying that people in the UK doesn`t stay the fuck home, and I feel so sorry for those who are really trying, but when also so many does not care about contributing, I don`t see any chance of the UK recovering from this for a good while yet. I have always tough only well about the Brits and I call England my second home country. I didn`t expect to see so many selfish and dumb people still not understanding that they need to stay at home in order to overcome this pandemic. How many more elderly people have to die all alone in their beds before you get the message? Who are you people who doesn`t care and are out walking in big herds down to the beaches? Who is the people throwing big parties and getting drunk, making the virus explode and spread even easier when you consume alcohol..?
STAY HOME
France, United Kingdom, USA, Sweden, Spain and Iceland
I have friends in the many different countries that are badly hit. And I can`t help but feeling a lot of stress and worry about those I cherish and care about. I am stuck here in Norway and I can`t go anywhere if something happens. I hope you all are staying the f… home so that we one day, when the world is better again we can met again.
<3
Yesterday I went to the hospital, because it was time for my annual check up to see if everything is okey. And it was. I am still cancer free. But I have to admit that I was thinking a lot about it. And I fell a sleep very late because I was laying in bed, wondering if it was safe for me to go down there. But I also know that it is important that they also take care of other people who have or have had other serious diseases such as cancer. I was suppose to go to the hospital in Mars but that appointment got cancelled and postponed, because of the situation with the Corona virus. So the local news Nidaros called me and wanted to talk to me about my appointment being cancelled.. I talked to a very nice young lady, I was a little nervous because I struggle a little with my speech after chemo. But I liked the article she did and I hope I contributed to inspiring more girls to go check themselves.
When I came to the hospital`s Women and Children center I was stopped by a guard outside that wanted to know if I had been sick or had any symptoms of Corona. I said no, they called me 1 hour before I was going to the hospital and asked me the same questions I said. I am only here to see if my cancer is staying away. And he smiled and let me in. When I had told the reception lady that I had arrived. She told me to go sit in the first waiting room outside the gynecologist department. I sat down in a sofa far away from the two other ladies that sat there waiting too, on a respectable distance. Another lady comes and she sits too close to me for my comfort. So I decided to move and rather stand while I waited to be called in. I stood looking out in the hospital garden which is in the center of the four square building, and saw that someone had hung up lots of hearts in the trees. Which is a way to thank the hospital staff, who is working with the Covid 19 patients. I tried to take a picture but I didn`t get a good enough picture before the assistant came to pick me up, only to tell me to sit and wait in waiting hall number 2 outside the doctors office. It`s one of the most silliest things they do, every time I am there for a appointment. First the reception lady tells me to wait in one place, then they pick me up or send me a text message to go to the waiting room inside the poli clinic and sit there and wait. She showed me to a chair to sit in and she said it was soon my turn.. It is the first time they have been so on time, usually I am waiting way past the time I was told to be there. But there is almost no people at the hospital.. There is a note that hangs on the door next to me, that says something about, this it is a room where Corvid 19 tests are done and that room is cleaned and washed after every use.. I can`t help but wonder what the hell they are thinking of putting a Corona test room on the same department where ladies with different type of cancer goes often to see their doctors. I am shocked this is not okey and they should not have this people entering this part of the hospital at any points, because I know what seriously ill people are laying 6 floors upstairs fighting cancer. And the room is next to my doctor who is going to examine me. I know that this lady also spends a lot of time in her office up in the 6th floor seeing patients that are laying upstairs too. Because she was a lot there when I was laying there fighting cervical cancer….
I don`t think this is a safe place to have a covid 19 testing room, but I don`t say anything about it when I am in with my doctor. I ask her however how long she thinks I am still in the danger zone from dying of Corona after being cured for cancer. She says she thinks I am out of the risk group .. I hope she is right.
I walk out of the hospital happy to hear that I am still cancer free and that the results are so good now, that I am from now going to have my check up every 6 th month. I walk into the city and met some friends after. I am later overwhelmed and very touched by everyone who has liked and commented my status about being still cancer free and for all the love and good luck wishes I got after last nights confessions on Facebook, that I was stressing about going to the hospital. You all really know how to make me feel a little loved and not totally alone in this world.
I am forever grateful for all your love, care and support.
It really means a lot to me
I am mostly staying at home a lot. It gets a little boring sometimes when the times are like they are. But I have Oliver here with me. It has been snowing, storming and raining a lot this last week. So he is inside a lot and gets bored so he wants my attention quite a few times during the day. I have found something I call cat-TV on YouTube. So I put on a video with birds, squirrels and mice for him to watch. And he sits and watches those videos for a long time. During the Easter holiday there was a radio channel who was streaming live from a house that had 18 Maine Coons cats. 4 adults and 14 kittens. Oliver got totally hooked on it and sat glued to the TV screen when he saw the cats on the TV. We were sad to find out today was the last day of live cat TV and I`m going to have to try find him some other similar stream to watch.
Oliver is sick of snow and is looking up to see if he sees the sun is coming back soon.
I have to take Oliver to the dentist soon, because he is 3.5 years old now and it is time to polish his teeth. Cats can also get tooth aches. It was his veterinarian who looked at him on his last check and vaccine appointment who said it is time to do that now. He has to go under narcosis when they fix his teeth. But I think I can take him home the same day. I just wish that the veterinarians wasn`t so expensive. 1900 Kr (about 200 Euros or 250 pounds) to do that. No wonder animals walk around with pain, when these animal clinics charge that. They are very good with animals it is not that. I am very happy about the service we get, when me and Oliver have been there. But it has be okey to say that the prices at these places are absolutely disgusting!
(Oliver has got a friend that often stops by to look for Oliver. I see them rubbing noses and sniffing each other when the meet lol, they are so cute)
I go out when I need something at the shop or when need some fresh air and a walk. Norway`s Government have decided that next Monday the kids from 1st to the 4th grade are going too start going to school again. Some people highly disagree and thinks that this is too early. And I think I might agree on that a little. Also from 27th of April, the hair dresser salons can open again. And I have been looking forward to get a hair cut. So I am going to go do that when they open. I am really sick of snow and winter. So I hope spring begins soon, because this winter has been long and a lot of snow came this winter too. Now I really long for summer nights that doesn`t darken, and feeling the warm sun on my cheek. And sitting in the park with friends zipping wine and barbecuing.
(Not much room for me)
It is time for me to get some sleep it is 4 am while I am finishing this. Oliver has taken most of my double bed to himself. So I will have to see if I can squeeze in at the edge of the bed. Hope I get a little duvet on too.
stay safe & healthy
x Mz Smacky x
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