{"id":800,"date":"2020-03-17T18:53:14","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T18:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=800"},"modified":"2020-03-17T18:53:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T18:53:23","slug":"self-isolating-in-kaliningrad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/self-isolating-in-kaliningrad\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-isolating in Kaliningrad"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Self-isolating in Kaliningrad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Published: 17 March 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no broadcast TV, no social media accounts, no\nnewspapers and trying to ween myself off Google News, I was, as the lyrics say,\n\u201cHappy in the haze of a drunken hour \u2026\u201d, until, that is, our neighbour asked my\nwife, in the context of coronavirus, whether I was still frequenting\nKaliningrad\u2019s bars. I came down to earth with a jolt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no problem with self-isolating or social distancing, I have always been anti-social, but after all these years, a lifetime in fact, of shunning at-home drinking for the unparalleled joy of the pub or bar, it is more than one can bear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as I am aware, to date we have five cases of coro in Kaliningrad, and about 450 self-isolating, some at home some under observation. Many schools here have switched from attendance-learning to distance-learning. The Polish and Lithuanian borders are closed, except for freight*, and there will be \u2018no entry for foreigners from 18 March to 1 May\u2019 . So, apart from a transit corridor through Lithuania, allowing people to return to their homes, which is scheduled to close on 19 March**, this small tract of land will be virtually cut off from the rest of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst there seems to be less people on the streets and on public transport, I have yet to hear of anything akin to the bizarre events unfolding in the UK<\/a>, namely hordes of people descending on shops like locusts on laxatives to devour the shelves of toilet paper. I can only imagine how these people\u2019s mind\u2019s work. Perhaps they are thinking, he who laughs last laughs longest, and when the dire moments comes (let\u2019s hope it is not the diarrhoea moment!), when the rest of the nation is down to its last piece of tissue, begging and imploring them to sell at any cost a 2-inch square, they will turn the other cheek. What an absolute bummer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have two small supermarkets in our locale, which I usually let my wife use, as I would not want to impinge on her leisure time, but, out of curiosity, I accompanied her recently. And when I got there the shelves were not bare (I feel a touch of poetry coming on.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have noticed, however, a funny thing. Your\nreflection in the window, you all cry. Well, that too, but more unprecedented is\nthat whenever I go to these shops (which, as I have said, I don\u2019t do very often\nbecause it\u2019s a woman\u2019s job, isn\u2019t it), security always sidle off to form a\ncordon around the bog-roll shelves. Hmmm, they must know I am from England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blockade was unnecessary, however, as my only\npurchase interest was in medicine, which I was able to snap up, using my 25%\ndiscount sticker+<\/sup>, for the bargain price of two quid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Self-isolating
Self-isolating First Aid kit<\/mark><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Prevention is better than cure, as they say, but just in case I bought some beats as well, as Russian borsch is highly recommended as an effective \u2018morning after\u2019 pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/strong><\/em>
Accessed 17 March 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*https:\/\/www.dw.com\/ru\/\u0437\u0430\u043a\u0440\u044b\u0442\u044b\u0439-\u043a\u0430\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433\u0440\u0430\u0434-\u0438\u0437-\u0437\u0430-\u043a\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043d\u0430\u0432\u0438\u0440\u0443\u0441\u0430-\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0439\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439-\u044d\u043a\u0441\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0432-\u043e\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u043b\u0441\u044f-\u0432-\u0438\u0437\u043e\u043b\u044f\u0446\u0438\u0438\/a-52796414<\/a>
**https:\/\/www.newkaliningrad.ru\/news\/briefs\/community\/23609508-na-karantine-po-koronavirusu-v-kaliningradskoy-oblasti-nakhoditsya-450-chelovek.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/strong><\/em>
+<\/sup>Some supermarkets in Kaliningrad present you at checkout with a little slip of paper on which are adhered reusable sticky labels. These are discount stickers, each sticker marked with varying percentage discounts. Off you go with your stickers and the next time you visit the shop, you can run round and stick these on the items of your choice, thus cutting the cost of your favourite drinks, I mean products. Promotions don\u2019t usually work on me, but this one does!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Self-isolating in Kaliningrad Published: 17 March 2020 With no broadcast TV, no social media accounts, no newspapers and trying to ween myself off Google News, I was, as the lyrics say, \u201cHappy in the haze of a drunken hour \u2026\u201d, until, that is, our neighbour asked my wife, in the context of coronavirus, whether I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[130],"tags":[203,200,201,205,199,204,202],"class_list":["post-800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-life-in-kaliningrad","tag-borders-closed-kaliningrad","tag-coronavirus-kaliningrad","tag-mick-hart-self-isolating","tag-panic-buying-kaliningrad","tag-self-isolating-in-kaliningrad","tag-toilet-rolls-kaliningrad","tag-vodka-cure-for-coronavirus"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t