Coronavirus - Several Months On

It's not easy to cope here - we're sort of in a limbo. Restrictions have slightly lifted, but the virus is making its resurgence known, and people are encouraged to be responsible but this doesn't seem to be enough. Even going out for the essentials, it's clear to see people flaunting the rules and putting everyone in danger, all for their own convenience/perception of freedom/rebellious nature/belief that COVID-19 is not a thing. We can only do the best that we can, as responsible members of the public, and stay home as much as we can but this is leading to a bit of social isolation in the end. Not that I particularly mind, but there are some people you'd really want to meet every so often and to know that they're in the high-risk category means that we often have to make do with other means or continually postpone (but who knows, for how long).

Working from home is a blessing of sorts - I've always had a little bit of that going on, but it's now become much more of a part of the routine. Downside is that I end up often being a bit more stressed and attending to things outside of the regular work hours, but there are also things that cannot be done from home and getting the approvals can take time. Going into the workplace entails risk to myself and the organization - and whether it actually solves the issue also depends on whether the people I'm working with are also happy to come in. It's been a bit of a co-ordination nightmare.

I've not been involved in many projects to help with the pandemic, but at our institution, it seems we are still working on it as some have receiving funding to do so. Personally, I'm back to the normal research projects, trying to push them along despite the disruptions. At home, things have not really changed - I'm still doing things on the weekend for my own fun and education and continue to do so. Saving on commute time definitely has helped me get a little more from my weekday evenings as well.

- Gough

It's not easy to cope here - we're sort of in a limbo. Restrictions have slightly lifted, but the virus is making its resurgence known, and people are encouraged to be responsible but this doesn't seem to be enough. Even going out for the essentials, it's clear to see people flaunting the rules and putting everyone in danger, all for their own convenience/perception of freedom/rebellious nature/belief that COVID-19 is not a thing. We can only do the best that we can, as responsible members of the public, and stay home as much as we can but this is leading to a bit of social isolation in the end. Not that I particularly mind, but there are some people you'd really want to meet every so often and to know that they're in the high-risk category means that we often have to make do with other means or continually postpone (but who knows, for how long).

Working from home is a blessing of sorts - I've always had a little bit of that going on, but it's now become much more of a part of the routine. Downside is that I end up often being a bit more stressed and attending to things outside of the regular work hours, but there are also things that cannot be done from home and getting the approvals can take time. Going into the workplace entails risk to myself and the organization - and whether it actually solves the issue also depends on whether the people I'm working with are also happy to come in. It's been a bit of a co-ordination nightmare.

I've not been involved in many projects to help with the pandemic, but at our institution, it seems we are still working on it as some have receiving funding to do so. Personally, I'm back to the normal research projects, trying to push them along despite the disruptions. At home, things have not really changed - I'm still doing things on the weekend for my own fun and education and continue to do so. Saving on commute time definitely has helped me get a little more from my weekday evenings as well.

- Gough