Global Village - Storytelling Brings us Together

 Edited BY G P Kennedy Graeme - North Texas  I got my second shot last Tuesday. My Liberation Day is Monday, April 12th. Four million Americans - residents of the United States - received a vaccine in a single day this week. The country now has the will and the skill to administer vaccines safely, in huge numbers. As of this writing, nearly 20% of all US residents are fully vaccinated. Around a further 30% have had their first dose. Nearly half of the population is fully vaccinated or on the road to there. There is a sense that the end is in sight. Here in Texas, our governor lifted the mask mandate and opened up the state 100% on March 10. People continue to do what Texans have done for 150 years or more - their own thing. Most businesses still require masks and most people choose to wear them when out and about.  I got my shots because I registered early, and benefitted from being in a priority category. Educators are considered first responders for the purposes of...

 Edited BY G P Kennedy Olivia - Liverpool, UK We’ve just celebrated the Easter bank holiday weekend here in the UK. The four much-coveted days off work were gloriously bright and sunny, by UK standards that is.  This Easter, things are looking up in the UK. COVID-19 infection rates are at their lowest since September. It is hoped that all adults will have been offered their first jab by the end of July.  The government’s ‘roadmap out of lockdown’ is still on track. For one week now, people have been allowed to meet a limited number of friends and family members in parks and gardens.   In another week, outdoor hospitality venues can reopen, as well as all shops, hairdressers, gyms, libraries, and community centers.  There is a feeling of anticipation, as these are liberties that haven’t been available to us yet in 2021.  Beer gardens across the country will no doubt be flooded as people get a taste of freedom just in time for summer.  On top of t...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Simon - Perth, WA   Hi everyone, hope all is well wherever you are.  So here we are at the end of March in Western Australia, which means over 12 months of the Pandemic.   Across all of the country, the vaccines are being slowly rolled out but we are not hitting our intended targets.   This seems to be a combination of lack of supply and the doses being given by GP’s rather than at vaccination centers. I guess the only thing that stops this from being a real concern is the size of our case numbers.   The vast majority of our small number of cases is from returned overseas travelers who are put in quarantine anyway.   This week sees a small outbreak in Queensland with some community transmission. This has led to a snap three-day lockdown to try and contain it and perform contact tracing.  Going forward it looks like this will happen fairly frequently. We have demonstrated that these short and sharp lockdowns seem...