In a world where we've had our lives significantly altered for about two solid years now because of a virus, a new variant has been identified and... wait for it... the news has reported about it.
The same news sources have also ran stories about it being exceptionally mild. Not in the same articles. They have their shock and horror stories and they have their more in depth stories. Same as it ever was.
Funny to me that for a minute I thought AI-O-Meter was interested in discussing things. How clearly he has shown his true colors in the last several weeks. I'm done responding to him directly as he has dodged any of my harder rebuttals and posts more and more dog ****. Now I use the thumbs down as my "eye roll indicator." If his post elicits an eye roll I give it the old thumbs down.
Europe and countries in Asia are already in full hysteria mode. An Estonian politician stated that is much more probable to get COVID in Africa, than in Estonia. Which i find funny - for example in Kenya, South Africa or Tanzania you can spend most of your days to enjoy great and healthy outdoor climate while in Estonia the climate is as it is.
Last year everybody in our government stated that "stay home, do not celebrate christmas or new year eve" while at the same time stated "virus mostly infects people at home"

. I and my wife with couple of friends obviously celebrated christmas, new year eve and Independence day (together with the Red Army day

- Red Army day is 23.02 and our independence day is 24.02 and my friend was forced to serve 2 years in Soviet Union army).
The only major thing i missed now for two years is air travel due to the same hysteria phenomen (you never know whether due some kneejerk reaction a flight will operate or not and whether you are welcome or not on that country). 2020 we were only in Estonia, but already this year we had one road trip in summer to Croatia and in late october a road trip to Poland. Wearing mask indoors is a big deal and at the same time not a big deal

. I have not seen any movies at theatres, because, well most of the time they show only cheap CGI, Disney or Marvel crap (i guess i am getting old).
"Thanks to COVID" i have discovered backpacking and sleeping outside in tent not matter what is the weather. Without COVID i would probably had spent that amount of money (good tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag etc) to plane tickets.
And as i have stated before - currently the only winners are China, Russia, Belarus, Turkey and other similar countries. Because all the leaders in those countries can laugh, point fingers and state "all the other western governments can and are behaving like us, when it suits them".
If we lose our humanity i.e by stating "no vaccine - well you suck even if you have perfect health according to your age", then we are already lost :-(. IMHO the reason to have a police is to prevent crime but not check whether somebody is vaccinated or not or wears a mask or not.
I find it kind of amusing and sad, that at ski resorts currently for police the missing mask is more dangerous, than if some off-piste fan does not have a proper avalanche protection (RECCO beacon, shovel, search rods etc) or does that skier at all has skills to properly enjoy off-piste areas.