What are you doing this Christmas and new year?

There are 29 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 4,056 times. The latest Post () was by Rice.

1st Official Post

    Still under debate in our extended family.


    I dont want to get involved in our normal 40+ gig whether its outside or inside.


    I said to the boss the other day one other family , but I may have to settle for two ...


    More to report later.

    Family gatherings, especially around the holidays, are being called the Silent Spreaders, as there will be hundreds of thousands of smallish groups potentially shedding virus on each other, rather than a massive World Cup superspreader.


    We’re definitely staying home, as are all the others in the family. Unlike earlier generations, we have FaceTime and Zoom! Let’s USE them!


    Damned little is being asked of us in the world’s fight against the spread of the virus, so not combining separate-living households seems baseline for doing our part. Combining only a couple of households certainly poses less risk than combining a dozen households, but in this particular year, the only way to make sure that what we give or get for Christmas isn’t deadly, is any extra risk worth it?


    And who can wear a mask while eating and drinking??? People are fooling themselves if they think covid will take a holiday from infecting people.


    (I adore the big, chaotic annual gathering of family that live across the continent. So I will be sad not to all be together this year. My husband, an only child who is not fond of big holiday gatherings, is thrilled that we can stay home without hurting feelings - - because who can be hurt that their relatives are doing what is asked, and not risking anyone’s life? He views this as a win-win!)

    Splinter , could you please tell me the current Argentine restrictions for social distancing, masking, max size of private gatherings, etc?


    It seems to me that people were very patient and remarkably compliant during the lockdown; but once that was lifted, many people decided it was ok to return to pre-COVID activities, in particular, large extended-family gatherings centered around celebrations and holidays. I first noticed this in October, when middle aged offspring felt it was suddenly fine to honor their mothers by potentially shedding virus on them.


    And now, Christmas and New Years parties. And catching up on birthday and Sweet 15 parties missed during the lockdown.


    According to Worldometer.com, the per capita Covid death rate in Argentina is even higher than in the USA - - higher, in fact, than any of the 130 highest-mortality countries in the world except Belgium, Peru, And Italy.


    What am I missing?

    • Official Post

    It's not very clear, but from what I can gather, it's up to ten people at a social event but it doesn't specify whether family or not.

    In the end, people should exercise their own common sense. For example, I already made my position clear about Christmas some months ago and I haven't changed my mind, i.e. just the immediate family at the in-law's house as we do every year, which is eight of us. The same group for New Year but at our house.

    However, a family member has arranged a 15th birthday party (cancelled from April) at the same location just a week before Christmas to which they have invited over 20 people, plus caterers.

    Frankly, I believe this is just irresponsible and the argument seems to be that 'it's in the open air'.

    Well fine, but I won't be going and I'm advising the rest of my family not to either.

    On the other hand, being Argentina, these things have a habit of turning into a drama, so I'll update this as time moves on.

    • Official Post
    Quote from Rice

    It seems to me that people were very patient and remarkably compliant during the lockdown; but once that was lifted, many people decided it was ok to return to pre-COVID activities, in particular, large extended-family gatherings centered around celebrations and holidays.

    Compliance was very low in Argentina, it was high in some areas and non-existant in others, both for socio economic reason and selfishness.

    In Palermo it seemed to me to be 50% compliant, but in other areas it was 20%. I have always seen family gathering from my terrace, with nephews visiting grandparents even during the lockdown.


    In Las Canitas there were many non-masked people walking down the street and policemen don't tell them a thing. Also, it is not unusual to see unmasked policemen talking between them, even in Plaza Serrano.


    Numbers in Argentina have been quite high since months but not report of crying peoples over their family loss have been constantly broadcasted, no images of overloaded ERs, no news of ERs that had to shut down, no desperate call for compliance from HCPs.

    Perhaps nobody wants to to cover it, or perhaps there is none worth national coverage.

    Frankly, if Argentina had an inch of reputable journalism, we would at least know what happens, instead they are all busy giving their opinion on thin air.


    Some days I think the government is inflating the numbers and that it is perfectly fine to go outside, some days I think there are people dying and they go simply unreported because journalism here is more gossip than critical thinking and fact reporting, and the people are too dumb to care.


    I am open to go on vacation with my husband by car in a country house where it is just us, and I am NOT open to family gatherings, regardless of the number of participants and if out in the open. Setting a max number of attendants it is just a calculation of the chance of contracting the virus, which I think it is HIGHER if the 10 people of the gather NEVER followed health measures and social distancing. And since in my husband's family two people had it (because the didn't follow the health rules, gathering with friends who themselves didn't follow the rule), and that nobody wants to be tested (if we all got tested beforehand, I might consider gathering), I'd rather keep my chances to 0% staying at home.

    • Official Post
    Quote from GlasgowJohn

    I understand that we will be given recommendations within the next few days - there will be no decrees as such.


    There will be a big play on personal responsibility . Not sure how that will work in this wonderful country......

    I am always amazed by the ability of Argentina to make thoughts swing 180 degrees on any damn aspect, with no middle ground.


    Either Argentina was blessed during the pandemics and the situation was not as severe as in other places, but numbers were inflated by the government (and even here: plain ineptitude or carefully planned act?!)


    Or was it a disaster but nobody covered it properly or is the government shutting down actual news reporting?


    Why are we reading that we are doing worse than many European countries, yet no procession of caskets nor pictures of mass burying have ever emerged? Why haven't we read of collapsing ERs? I think we could exclude that Argentina was better equipped (in terms of facilities and personnel) to face a pandemics.


    What happened with the military hospital / tents that Fernandez proudly showed off shortly after the lock down?

    Quote from GlasgowJohn

    There will be a big play on personal responsibility . Not sure how that will work in this wonderful country......

    If you want to see how it will work, just look around at your friends and relatives, and see whether they think the govt recommendations apply to them this Christmas, or if they bend the rules for themselves.

    Quote from Rice

    If you want to see how it will work, just look around at your friends and relatives, and see whether they think the govt recommendations apply to them this Christmas, or if they bend the rules for themselves.

    As long as your guests are under 18, come wearing jogging gear or are knobs then you can have as many guests as you want. From what I see daily those groups seem to be exempt from having to abide by the rules.