RossKean
Well-Known Member
What a difference a month makes...
In February, the coronavirus was an odd Chinese illness and wasn't something that was expected to affect anyone's plans for this year.
I was looking forward to retirement in May and was casually planning some riding trips, some work around the house and contemplating a move to Nova Scotia.
Quite abruptly, shit has happened. Travel is pretty much off the table for some time. US border is closed and I don't feel especially comfortable with hotel stays right now, even if restrictions are eased. Provincial and national parks are closed as well. Ferry to Newfoundland is allowing only 250 passengers per crossing (one quarter of capacity) although a ride to the Rock wouldn't happen until late June anyway. Will we be through this by then?
Retirement investments have taken a shit-kicking although I expect they will eventually bounce back - unless this whole thing has precipitated a crash that lasts for years, which is possible. Pension income will be OK unless a round of the government trying to spend us out of a recession precipitates major inflation.
I am still working for now and even those in the NB provincial government who are told to go home are still getting paid (for now). I am in a department that is deemed to provide an essential service so we are asked to keep coming to work. If things get really bad, even retirement may be postponed if staffing levels drop too far. As bad as it is starting to look in Canada, it is looking much worse south of the border. Canadian economy is so closely tied to the American economy that an extended recovery period there will affect us in a similar fashion.
"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?"
I guess we will get through it but it won't be soon - I expect to see the current severe restrictions to begin to improve the statistics in a couple of weeks in many regions but six to eight weeks before we can relax a little and start getting back to normal. No idea when they will start schools up again - some talk about not until after Easter; maybe later. Some decent weather would sure help!
A couple of decent links for statistics:
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
And one article that is a bit optimistic compared to others but I am a little skeptical.
https://medium.com/six-four-six-nine/evidence-over-hysteria-covid-19-1b767def5894
Edit: Apologies. I will make my next post a little more positive!!
In February, the coronavirus was an odd Chinese illness and wasn't something that was expected to affect anyone's plans for this year.
I was looking forward to retirement in May and was casually planning some riding trips, some work around the house and contemplating a move to Nova Scotia.
Quite abruptly, shit has happened. Travel is pretty much off the table for some time. US border is closed and I don't feel especially comfortable with hotel stays right now, even if restrictions are eased. Provincial and national parks are closed as well. Ferry to Newfoundland is allowing only 250 passengers per crossing (one quarter of capacity) although a ride to the Rock wouldn't happen until late June anyway. Will we be through this by then?
Retirement investments have taken a shit-kicking although I expect they will eventually bounce back - unless this whole thing has precipitated a crash that lasts for years, which is possible. Pension income will be OK unless a round of the government trying to spend us out of a recession precipitates major inflation.
I am still working for now and even those in the NB provincial government who are told to go home are still getting paid (for now). I am in a department that is deemed to provide an essential service so we are asked to keep coming to work. If things get really bad, even retirement may be postponed if staffing levels drop too far. As bad as it is starting to look in Canada, it is looking much worse south of the border. Canadian economy is so closely tied to the American economy that an extended recovery period there will affect us in a similar fashion.
"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?"
I guess we will get through it but it won't be soon - I expect to see the current severe restrictions to begin to improve the statistics in a couple of weeks in many regions but six to eight weeks before we can relax a little and start getting back to normal. No idea when they will start schools up again - some talk about not until after Easter; maybe later. Some decent weather would sure help!
A couple of decent links for statistics:
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
And one article that is a bit optimistic compared to others but I am a little skeptical.
Edit: Strike that last link - it was taken down. I think it falsely portrayed an overly optimistic interpretation of the situation. You can search for it as a repost elsewhere on the net but I wouldn't bother, other than as an example of data being manipulated to show what you want. Figures can lie and liars can figure.
Edit: Apologies. I will make my next post a little more positive!!
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