Because of soaring new cases and recent climbing death toll from Covid, combined with an idiotic population that resists vaccination, the local government has imposed a curfew from 8 pm to 6 am. So no driving anywhere between those hours. We rarely go out anyway, so it's no big deal, but it does reflect a general selfish stupidity that is persisting here. I think the percentage of vaccinated locals is 3% despite freely available vaccines and open vaccination sites.
The governments have tried repeatedly to encourage people to get the jab. Few takers. It boggles the mind. Mask mandates means most wear them as a fashion accessory around their necks or below the nose. Wouldn't want to hide that pretty nose, now, would we? As for hearing of other illnesses, we might learn something. We can all become amateur epidemiologists! I just try to steer clear of dengue and zika mosquitoes here. We got one of those badminton type bug zappers and it's really satisfying to hear the little buggers get what's coming. Sadly, we only manage to kill a small fraction of what lurks in the bathroom and under tables and chairs. They're sneaky and pretty quiet here.
I have heard rumors that occurrences of the flu this past season were a fraction of what might have been the case due to the mask mandates reducing transmission.
