Coronavirus prep
Replies
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »MikePfirrman wrote: »@kimny72 -- that list is great. It also, though, makes me feel so bad for restaurant owners, gym owners and bar owners. They should be given loan forgiveness grants. I worked in restaurant management for years and I've also owned my own small business for years. I can't imagine as a business man, knowing what small margins bars/restaurants operate on, how they are going to survive until next Summer.
It's not that I don't agree with every single point that's listed, it's just clear that eating indoors, going to bars and gyms is the most dangerous things -- along with packed churches or parties, which should be obvious to all.
All of our favorite restaurants in Tucson have had to raise prices to stay afloat during Covid-19, which has ironically had a snowball effect. At least four or so have closed along with some local coffee shops (for good). Many retirees here only went to the places that offered cheap happy hour specials, which are now basically gone, because Happy Hour relies on volume to be profitable, something not possible at 50% capacity. So you see less and less people going out at all. It's very sad.
We have a very diverse economy now in Tucson but it does rely heavily on tech and hospitality for young people. The hospitality part is in shambles. The only thing keeping the real estate market super strong is everyone from Cali fleeing here to get away from high prices and wildfires.
Got an e-mail from our gym today. It included a graphic from a trade organization. Claim was of 2300 gyms that provided data they had close to 50 million check ins with an infection rate of .0023% and no evidence that positive cases originated in the gym since this has been going on.
I stopped by my gym today. The first thing I saw were giant portable air handlers around the place, which is a good start. Masks are also now mandatory, which wasn't true when they first re-opened. They have the machines six feet apart. They have cleaning stations everywhere and the staff reportedly cleans every 30 minutes. (Though, it's the airborne contagion that worries me.) The clerk said they've had one reported case since they re-opened working on three months ago.
My county in Pennsylvania is "green" and reports positive tests steady at 3.4% of those tested and 240 new cases this week. (I had to check that twice: remember when we would have been pleased with that as a daily number back in April/May?)
So...I'd like some feedback if I'm crazy for considering returning to the gym. Please be kind, though.1 -
Though I'm contemplating the gym (see above), we're not going anywhere for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Not only are there medically compromised members of my family, but we'd have to quarantine ourselves for two weeks--there are 33 states at the moment on NJ/PA's lists.1
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GaleHawkins wrote: »https://washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/23/houston-coronavirus-mutations/?arc404=true
How and why things evolve still amazes me.
I'm amazed too. The good news is, at least so far, it's way more contagious but much less deadly. The strain that hit NYC early was way more deadly than the one that hit the West Coast. Most of my clients (at least currently) are in NYC and I get a bit agitated when I hear how bad they did there. It was already there, the most deadly strain from Italy, before anyone knew it. And I see comments all the time on social media that aren't either accurate or fair about NY (or NJ to be fair). It's not a Red State/Blue State thing, it's a United States thing. Trying to avoid politics altogether, but the whole idea that one political party's Governors did a terrible job is maddening. FL and TX might overtake NY in deaths before it's all said and done (they are on pace to overtake). AZ had the highest per capita in the world (and has surpassed Italy in per capita deaths, BTW). AZ has been overtaken by ND (and SD, I think, but they aren't testing) with the highest per capita cases. CA rates are soaring again as well. I honestly thought that they would since they locked down so early. Lots of partying and young folks there. No Governor can control what young people are going to do and that's mostly who's spreading it currently.
To be honest, no states have done a perfect job controlling it. But consistency of messaging, whether it's been a Red Governor or Blue Governor, has meant the best possible response for their states. The ones that have asked their citizens to mask up and socially distance themselves have done as good as possible under terrible, tragic circumstances.8 -
hansep0012 wrote: »I would like to hear people's thoughts about the upcoming holidays and whether your "traditional" plans will be changed as a result of COVID.
My self-appointed title is the Grinch that stopped family holiday activities in 2020 by telling the family we would not be hosting Thanksgiving this year.
What, if anything, is changing for you and yours this holiday season?
For the past seven or eight years I've been driving about two hours (optimally -- holiday traffic often pushes it closer to three hours) to spend holidays with my sister's family (three generations, two households), but I'm fairly certain I'm giving that a pass this year if an invitation is even extended (it didn't happen at Easter).
There's no way in two months they're going to finalize a vaccine, have it approved, and distribute it widely enough to reduce transmission risk sufficiently to make me comfortable socializing indoors with a half-dozen other people indoors for several hours. Not to mention possibly having to stop en route to use a public restroom.
If the weather is mild, I may get together for an outdoor mid-day meal with a relative who lives locally. For anybody who remembers, this is the one who thought he had come down with covid a couple of days after we dined together earlier this month -- he called me last week to say he had been tested and the results were negative.10 -
hansep0012 wrote: »I would like to hear people's thoughts about the upcoming holidays and whether your "traditional" plans will be changed as a result of COVID.
My self-appointed title is the Grinch that stopped family holiday activities in 2020 by telling the family we would not be hosting Thanksgiving this year.
What, if anything, is changing for you and yours this holiday season?
At this point, nothing different. Thanksgiving and Christmas don't tend to be huge gatherings...typically my wife's parents and my mom and her boyfriend and sometimes my sister and my stepmom. We didn't full stop seeing family back in March when this all started here, so we don't intend to now.
The only minor change is that my inlaws had intended to go to the east coast to see my wife's sister and my BIL, but canceled that and will be here instead.
I don't anticipate any changes unless the situation here changes drastically. Frankly, we have a very low infection rate and while I've wholeheartedly supported our governor, the goal posts for "gating criteria" for opening keep changing and it's getting old. It's feeling like less "flatten the curve" (we've been more than flat for months now) to eliminate the virus completely which isn't really going to happen.3 -
hansep0012 wrote: »I would like to hear people's thoughts about the upcoming holidays and whether your "traditional" plans will be changed as a result of COVID.
My self-appointed title is the Grinch that stopped family holiday activities in 2020 by telling the family we would not be hosting Thanksgiving this year.
What, if anything, is changing for you and yours this holiday season?
I didn't get together with family in 2019, so no change.
ETA: It is likely my son and I will both eat turkey this year at home, where we both live anyway.
ETA again: My son = Midnight. He's a cat. He is also 14 and that makes him an old man that doesn't want to deal with anyone else coming into his home.18 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »MikePfirrman wrote: »@kimny72 -- that list is great. It also, though, makes me feel so bad for restaurant owners, gym owners and bar owners. They should be given loan forgiveness grants. I worked in restaurant management for years and I've also owned my own small business for years. I can't imagine as a business man, knowing what small margins bars/restaurants operate on, how they are going to survive until next Summer.
It's not that I don't agree with every single point that's listed, it's just clear that eating indoors, going to bars and gyms is the most dangerous things -- along with packed churches or parties, which should be obvious to all.
All of our favorite restaurants in Tucson have had to raise prices to stay afloat during Covid-19, which has ironically had a snowball effect. At least four or so have closed along with some local coffee shops (for good). Many retirees here only went to the places that offered cheap happy hour specials, which are now basically gone, because Happy Hour relies on volume to be profitable, something not possible at 50% capacity. So you see less and less people going out at all. It's very sad.
We have a very diverse economy now in Tucson but it does rely heavily on tech and hospitality for young people. The hospitality part is in shambles. The only thing keeping the real estate market super strong is everyone from Cali fleeing here to get away from high prices and wildfires.
Got an e-mail from our gym today. It included a graphic from a trade organization. Claim was of 2300 gyms that provided data they had close to 50 million check ins with an infection rate of .0023% and no evidence that positive cases originated in the gym since this has been going on.
I stopped by my gym today. The first thing I saw were giant portable air handlers around the place, which is a good start. Masks are also now mandatory, which wasn't true when they first re-opened. They have the machines six feet apart. They have cleaning stations everywhere and the staff reportedly cleans every 30 minutes. (Though, it's the airborne contagion that worries me.) The clerk said they've had one reported case since they re-opened working on three months ago.
My county in Pennsylvania is "green" and reports positive tests steady at 3.4% of those tested and 240 new cases this week. (I had to check that twice: remember when we would have been pleased with that as a daily number back in April/May?)
So...I'd like some feedback if I'm crazy for considering returning to the gym. Please be kind, though.
I had a full physical about a week before the gyms opened in my area. I asked the doctor if I was stupid to go (I'm in my 60's). Dr said go for it. I'm going a few times a week, equipment is spread out, staff is cleaning and they give you a spray bottle and cleaning rag when you go in. The ceilings in the weight room and cardio/general movement area (prowler track, etc) are probably 30 feet high. They have had 100,000 check ins at the 2 facilities owned by the same organization since reopening end of June and 0 cases traced back to either.
I see a fair number of people I know are medical professionals in there.
Just my observations.
Yeah, the gym is a personal decision. If I were to go, and I'm not planning on it, I'd likely invest in a whole lot of masks and wear a mask. Some states are mandating that for working out in a gym. I know it sounds awful, and I would hate working out in a mask, but it beats the alternatives.
But I also know a lot of gym owners and friends that work in gyms. One guy in town teaches the most well known indoor rowing class. They are all wearing masks, which considering how hard rowing is, that's really admirable. Sounds dreadful to me, though. Some people miss getting out and I get that.5 -
This year I have an excellent excuse to avoid my family's obnoxious political get togethers. It never ends with them. You can't get a word in edgewise or even distract them by changing the subject. Massive bully behavior. The ranting and fist shaking are worse than the Covid. I'm gonna spend quality time with my husband instead.16
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Holidays and gyms?
Holidays: Usually go to my SIL/BIL's house for Thanksgiving i& Christmas. If invited, I'm sort of torn. My best judgement is "stay home" but SIL/BIL are over 80, remarkably healthy, capable for their age and living in their own big home still, but both have had some real health declines in the last year or so. Not sure how many years, and I love and care for them a lot (they've kept me kindly for the 22 years since my husband, their brother, died, in such an open-hearted way - I have no immediate family of my own). OTOH, their middle-aged kids/grandkids do a lot more social mixing than I feel comfortable with, so it's a tough call. SIL/BIL say the whole fam is being "so careful", but there's a lot of extra-familial socializing, restaurants, jobs, etc. I'll probably solo, which I don't mind for my own sake, but it's sort of heartbreaking for my relationship with them.
Gyms: Not anytime soon. I miss my spin class. They haven't started up yet, but the Y is starting to open some things. But I caught a bad cold back around February (no, not Covid!), and I'm pretty sure I got it from the sniffly sneezy gal on the next bike over, which isn't confidence building. I have weights and a rowing machine at home: it'll do.
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hansep0012 wrote: »I would like to hear people's thoughts about the upcoming holidays and whether your "traditional" plans will be changed as a result of COVID.
My self-appointed title is the Grinch that stopped family holiday activities in 2020 by telling the family we would not be hosting Thanksgiving this year.
What, if anything, is changing for you and yours this holiday season?
Both my husband and I are strictly social distancing - he gets groceries and other essentials while masked, we run outside at a distance from others, and that’s it.
My mom is also socially distanced but she’s a bit daft when it comes to understanding what to do. For example she had a repairman in her house the other day so “I wore my gloves the whole time, I didn’t take them off until hours later, after dinner.” I have explained that Covid doesn’t make you sick by penetrating your skin. Gloves make no kind of sense to protect from the air breathed by a repairman, and even if they did prevent you from touching a contaminated surface, EATING WITH THEM ON afterwards would undo any benefit. I can hear the air whistling through her ears when I try to explain the difference between aerosols and droplets and why spending time indoors with someone is bad and masks only limit risk, they don’t prevent it. She’s very intelligent and usually on top of things, this just seems to be a case of old dogs not learning new tricks. At all. Because no matter what is explained she reverts to the same way of thinking even if she seemed to get it at the time.
She’s frail and I would hate for what might be our last holiday season to be spent separately. I think we need to step up and decorate her house, cook all the food for her, and so on, and just accept that we are in each other’s bubble.
My husband’s large family in Indiana all don’t believe in Covid and want us to drive up there. Uh uh.14 -
I'm not sure what will happen this year for holiday meals. Usually we have Thanksgiving or Christmas or both with the kids and grandkids in MD, two hours away. There are several very vulnerable members of the family (over 80 and diabetic). However, there are also three kids in college having in person classes and a couple of people whose work is around a lot of other people - so they are exposed daily. Knowing my husband, who is a proponent of "I'm going to live until I die" there will be some pressure to join the family meal, if there is one. I've tried telling him I don't want him to die, but that doesn't mean he won't want to go. I have managed to convince him to wear a mask, so there is that.6
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rheddmobile wrote: »hansep0012 wrote: »I would like to hear people's thoughts about the upcoming holidays and whether your "traditional" plans will be changed as a result of COVID.
My self-appointed title is the Grinch that stopped family holiday activities in 2020 by telling the family we would not be hosting Thanksgiving this year.
What, if anything, is changing for you and yours this holiday season?
Both my husband and I are strictly social distancing - he gets groceries and other essentials while masked, we run outside at a distance from others, and that’s it.
My mom is also socially distanced but she’s a bit daft when it comes to understanding what to do. For example she had a repairman in her house the other day so “I wore my gloves the whole time, I didn’t take them off until hours later, after dinner.” I have explained that Covid doesn’t make you sick by penetrating your skin. Gloves make no kind of sense to protect from the air breathed by a repairman, and even if they did prevent you from touching a contaminated surface, EATING WITH THEM ON afterwards would undo any benefit. I can hear the air whistling through her ears when I try to explain the difference between aerosols and droplets and why spending time indoors with someone is bad and masks only limit risk, they don’t prevent it. She’s very intelligent and usually on top of things, this just seems to be a case of old dogs not learning new tricks. At all. Because no matter what is explained she reverts to the same way of thinking even if she seemed to get it at the time.
She’s frail and I would hate for what might be our last holiday season to be spent separately. I think we need to step up and decorate her house, cook all the food for her, and so on, and just accept that we are in each other’s bubble.
My husband’s large family in Indiana all don’t believe in Covid and want us to drive up there. Uh uh.
I also had repair people in my house because certain things can't be postponed for a very long time. They were all very careful and asked COVID-19 related questions, wore masks, and so did my husband and I. We all kept our distance; they did the work and left, and sent the bill by e-mail. I cleaned and disinfected surfaces when they left.
I think that it was safer than getting together with family over the holidays, because in those situations it is very hard to keep masks on all the time and not be close to each other. Workers on the other hand, are very interested in staying healthy because they need to work, and I noticed that they take the health restrictions and recommendations more seriously than some family members.
With respect to gyms/fitness centers: I live in a gated community and both fitness centers are still closed. My husband mentioned that the main association is trying to open them with a lot of restrictions, and a 10% to 20% capacity. It will be hard to do. The centers are not very large and machines can not be moved far a part. The only thing to do will be to "eliminate" the use of some machines, and restrict the workouts and attendance. They tried that before and it didn't go very well. Fitness classes like yoga, Pilates, step up and aerobics are all canceled, and who knows when will they be open again. Activity clubs are also closed because they are indoors.
For me is not gym or fitness classes until I get vaccinated, which is not going to happen anytime soon. Sad, but necessary.5 -
Gyms: so far it's been pretty easy for me to stay away, because when my gym reopened in July, they did so with limited hours that conflict with my job during the week. I would only be able to go one day on the weekend, assuming I could get a time slot (limited capacity, limited hours, reservation required for a time slot). So I've put my membership on hold until December.
If they expand hours ... I dunno. It's just hard to feel that time spent indoors with people who are breathing heavy is a good idea. I believe they are doing the best they can about things like surface cleaning and mask requirements and limiting capacity ... but in the end, you're still indoors for an extended period of time breathing the air that just came out of someone else's lungs. On the other hand, I really miss my gym.7 -
Covid-19 prep is over at two of our Walmart's locally for the most part it seems. No staff were outside the store monitoring and people were going in and out the same doors. No one was cleaning carts or the check out lane equipment. One way aisles are all gone like pre Covid. Staff still are to wear masks. There were no free wet wipes at the door and face masks had been marked down.4
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GaleHawkins wrote: »Covid-19 prep is over at two of our Walmart's locally for the most part it seems. No staff were outside the store monitoring and people were going in and out the same doors. No one was cleaning carts or the check out lane equipment. One way aisles are all gone like pre Covid. Staff still are to wear masks. There were no free wet wipes at the door and face masks had been marked down.
We have zero Covid in the community (Nrth QLD Australia) here and they are still doing all of the above in all the shops. I don't get it. Do they not believe in Covid or are just thinking of money? Disgusting. If I go into a shop and they run out of wipes or hand sanitiser I let them know so they can replace it. Guess you better take your own Gale. Hugs.6 -
Not sure what the holidays will bring. I've been very careful throughout this whole thing and have taken it all seriously to the tune of not having seen any of our 3 adult children since it all started(except by video chat). I'm ready to see them. But it involves 2 of them flying home and that makes me extremely nervous, to say the least.
And one of those is driving 16 hrs. in another week to attend a local wedding, which is also making me extremely nervous.
Life's not easy now, at all. But what good is it, if you can't see your own family? I'm torn.
ETA: I live in a rural state with some of the lowest Covid numbers and feel lucky it hasn't attacked our area. But I also feel our luck will run out eventually. 7 -
rheddmobile wrote: »hansep0012 wrote: »I would like to hear people's thoughts about the upcoming holidays and whether your "traditional" plans will be changed as a result of COVID.
My self-appointed title is the Grinch that stopped family holiday activities in 2020 by telling the family we would not be hosting Thanksgiving this year.
What, if anything, is changing for you and yours this holiday season?
Both my husband and I are strictly social distancing - he gets groceries and other essentials while masked, we run outside at a distance from others, and that’s it.
My mom is also socially distanced but she’s a bit daft when it comes to understanding what to do. For example she had a repairman in her house the other day so “I wore my gloves the whole time, I didn’t take them off until hours later, after dinner.” I have explained that Covid doesn’t make you sick by penetrating your skin. Gloves make no kind of sense to protect from the air breathed by a repairman, and even if they did prevent you from touching a contaminated surface, EATING WITH THEM ON afterwards would undo any benefit. I can hear the air whistling through her ears when I try to explain the difference between aerosols and droplets and why spending time indoors with someone is bad and masks only limit risk, they don’t prevent it. She’s very intelligent and usually on top of things, this just seems to be a case of old dogs not learning new tricks. At all. Because no matter what is explained she reverts to the same way of thinking even if she seemed to get it at the time.
She’s frail and I would hate for what might be our last holiday season to be spent separately. I think we need to step up and decorate her house, cook all the food for her, and so on, and just accept that we are in each other’s bubble.
My husband’s large family in Indiana all don’t believe in Covid and want us to drive up there. Uh uh.
I also had repair people in my house because certain things can't be postponed for a very long time. They were all very careful and asked COVID-19 related questions, wore masks, and so did my husband and I. We all kept our distance; they did the work and left, and sent the bill by e-mail. I cleaned and disinfected surfaces when they left.
I think that it was safer than getting together with family over the holidays, because in those situations it is very hard to keep masks on all the time and not be close to each other. Workers on the other hand, are very interested in staying healthy because they need to work, and I noticed that they take the health restrictions and recommendations more seriously than some family members.
With respect to gyms/fitness centers: I live in a gated community and both fitness centers are still closed. My husband mentioned that the main association is trying to open them with a lot of restrictions, and a 10% to 20% capacity. It will be hard to do. The centers are not very large and machines can not be moved far a part. The only thing to do will be to "eliminate" the use of some machines, and restrict the workouts and attendance. They tried that before and it didn't go very well. Fitness classes like yoga, Pilates, step up and aerobics are all canceled, and who knows when will they be open again. Activity clubs are also closed because they are indoors.
For me is not gym or fitness classes until I get vaccinated, which is not going to happen anytime soon. Sad, but necessary.
I have had pest control workers and other maintenance several times since May when I realized there was a nest of feral bees in one of my walls. It was in an interior wall even, that connects to an exterior wall with large holes around an old window. This is in a closet, so I put diatomaceous earth all over inside, blocked off cracks around the window itself, and then blocked iff cracks around the closet door, including diatomaceous earth piled high against the bottom of the door. So any bees that got in eventually died. But then several figured out how to travel through the floor under a hallway (outside the closet door) and then back up theough some cracks where different interior walls meet the floor. So I basically had a swarm that ended up convening around the bedroom light and was big enough to form a connection between different pieces and bust the breaker. I don't know what happened, but couldn't just turn the breaker back on at first. Even 12 hours later, I could only turn the breaker back on when the light switch was off. *kitten* soon as I tried to turn that light switch on again, the breaker would blow again. So I had someone repair that also. But this was in July, and I was working from June-Aug. on-site. Which wasn't really necessary for my work, but some people at the company don't care.5 -
Not sure what the holidays will bring. I've been very careful throughout this whole thing and have taken it all seriously to the tune of not having seen any of our 3 adult children since it all started(except by video chat). I'm ready to see them. But it involves 2 of them flying home and that makes me extremely nervous, to say the least.
And one of those is driving 16 hrs. in another week to attend a local wedding, which is also making me extremely nervous.
Life's not easy now, at all. But what good is it, if you can't see your own family? I'm torn.
ETA: I live in a rural state with some of the lowest Covid numbers and feel lucky it hasn't attacked our area. But I also feel our luck will run out eventually.
Just give the person a couple of weeks after going to the wedding then it's safer to see them? Things where many get together are the most dangerous, especially indoors.4 -
hansep0012 wrote: »I would like to hear people's thoughts about the upcoming holidays and whether your "traditional" plans will be changed as a result of COVID.
My self-appointed title is the Grinch that stopped family holiday activities in 2020 by telling the family we would not be hosting Thanksgiving this year.
What, if anything, is changing for you and yours this holiday season?
Dude! SAME! Thanksgiving is a major deal with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins coming by. I'm not going to be part of the problem. So they can have it elsewhere and put their health in their own hands and risk it if they like.
Mask and distancing guidelines are widely NOT FOLLOWED here. This includes my inlaws. So there will be no Thanksgiving with them. They will be angry with us. How do I choose between my elderly Dad and them? I can't help that they don't care about their health (they are mid60s and very unhealthy: diabetes, obesity, high BP, high cholesterol, and etc.) and don't think it's a big deal. I'm not being unfair here. They literally said to our face "I don't care. I'll get it or I won't. If the Lord decides to take us, then that's fine. I'm still gonna go out and live my life!" I figure we will try to work out something for Christmas and see them then quarantine from Dad. My sister will probably be coming over from Houston to visit him, and if we time it right, our quarantine will coincide with Dad having a visitor most of the time even if it means we won't see him ON Christmas Day. What usually happens is that on Christmas Eve the whole local family has a shindig (all aunts, uncles, cousins.) Then on Christmas Day, they are like an open Subway (the sub shop) with all the items to make subs. Hubby and his siblings and the grandkids (the only grandkids are my children) open presents and everyone else stops by when they feel like it during the day for food. That's obviously not happening. At least for my immediate family anyway.
ETA: They will still likely have all these large "parties" without us. This is very hard on my kids who have sacrificed so much to keep their one grandfather safe (and to be honest my husband, too, with the wonky genes for heart disease swimming around from both sides). It breaks my heart. I never had involved family. It was just me, sis and parents. I would have killed for family gatherings like that so I know what they are missing. They'll have to settle for one gathering, and even then that depends on what the world looks like around Dec 25th in our neck of the woods.14 -
I have some living relatives who grew up during the Great Depression. They like to keep everything in perspective for the rest of us. No one was going anywhere. Vehicles were a luxury and food was scarce. We can call our family every single day, find food at the grocery store and still go for a drive to take our minds off everything.
Christmas presents were scarce if there were any at all. Those were hard rock candy Christmases during the Great Depression. Doctors were far and few between sickness and health. No school lunches. Breakfast was a biscuit with some bacon grease.
I'm gonna make it and you will, too. We are bent on survival.
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Yeah, I don't get that whole, "If I get it, I get it - If I die, I die - I gotta live my life" thing. You can't wear a mask briefly in public or give up one year of holiday parties or even just self-quarantine ahead of the visit to ensure grandma's safety? How spoiled are we?
I don't love these restrictions either, but I can go a year without having things "my way" if it means saving a life or lives, maybe my own. I feel like I have decades more to live, and one year playing it safe is a drop in the bucket. But I'm a long-term thinker anyway. I've never been an instant gratification kinda person. I'd rather still be alive in 10 years time. A weekend of parties today isn't worth a lifetime of "swiss-cheese lungs" tomorrow.
When I think about all the REAL hardships and sacrifices people have suffered throughout human history, this is minor in comparison. My life is mostly unchanged except for a few extra hassles. I still do most of what I want. I realize not everybody has the patience to wait it out, but some people aren't even trying. They just want to do whatever they want to do, and screw everyone else. It is what it is...28 -
Yeah, I don't get that whole, "If I get it, I get it - If I die, I die - I gotta live my life" thing. You can't wear a mask briefly in public or give up one year of holiday parties or even just self-quarantine ahead of the visit to ensure grandma's safety? How spoiled are we?
I don't love these restrictions either, but I can go a year without having things "my way" if it means saving a life or lives, maybe my own. I feel like I have decades more to live, and one year playing it safe is a drop in the bucket. But I'm a long-term thinker anyway. I've never been an instant gratification kinda person. I'd rather still be alive in 10 years time. A weekend of parties today isn't worth a lifetime of "swiss-cheese lungs" tomorrow.
When I think about all the REAL hardships and sacrifices people have suffered throughout human history, this is minor in comparison. My life is mostly unchanged except for a few extra hassles. I still do most of what I want. I realize not everybody has the patience to wait it out, but some people aren't even trying. They just want to do whatever they want to do, and screw everyone else. It is what it is...
I totally agree with the above, but in addition, this point about a lifetime of swiss-cheese lungs is something that the "if I die, I die" crowd doesn't seem to get. Do they really want to risk complications or long-term effects -- which we simply don't have data about for a novel disease -- for the rest of their lives if they don't die. "If I end up unable to walk across the room without stopping for a rest on the way, I end up unable to walk across the room without stopping for a rest on the way. I've got to socialize with a bunch of maskless people right now."?14 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »My company just announced that all in US and several other countries that can will work remotely until at least January, 2021, extended from October, 2020.
Getting sick of this stuff.
I wish I could have worked from home forever. It was the best thing ever (for me). I am really surprised some people want to go into work. I prefer to stay in my pjs all day.
In my workplace it seems to be divided: those with bigger homes and good desks, chairs and dedicated study/work rooms want to continue WFH, especially if their kids are school-aged so they have to leave early to bring their kids to hobbies etc, or if their kids are old enough to have moved out. These people tend to be older, and are also more experienced in their field and therefore need less guidance from colleagues. Our younger people with smaller homes and less possibilities to get nice desks, distancing themselves from spouses who also work and have meetings online, or have daycare-aged kids that make working from home a struggle seem to prefer working at the office.
I'm in the latter group: being in the same room with my husband 24/7 for 3 months straight was pretty rough. Now I'm leaning into a hybrid model where I do some work from home and some from the office. Today I'm spending the morning at home, answering emails and messages, then going out for lunch and spending the afternoon in the office doing high-focus work with my properly set-up desk and external monitors.
Currently we have a WFH recommendation in place until further notice, meaning everyone is allowed to choose for themselves but all meetings must be held online so nobody has to come in. The amount of people at the office seems to be 1-5 per day, out of 25 people. We had a pretty strong WFH culture even before covid and everyone has always been allowed to work from home whenever they wanted unless there were in-person meetings, so this is not such a drastic change.
My bosses are younger than me, but more old fashioned in their thinking. One day they abruptly stopped the Work From Home and called everyone back to the office. They're the sort who don't even like sales staff working on the road. Never comfortable with any staff who aren't visible all day in the building.6 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Covid-19 prep is over at two of our Walmart's locally for the most part it seems. No staff were outside the store monitoring and people were going in and out the same doors. No one was cleaning carts or the check out lane equipment. One way aisles are all gone like pre Covid. Staff still are to wear masks. There were no free wet wipes at the door and face masks had been marked down.
This is amazing. Quite the opposite here. Supermarkets disinfect their shopping trolleys before allowing the next customers to use them. Many retail stores do temperature checks at the entrance, and a larger number insist on spraying your hands with sanitizer on the way in. Masks are 100% required.5 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »Covid-19 prep is over at two of our Walmart's locally for the most part it seems. No staff were outside the store monitoring and people were going in and out the same doors. No one was cleaning carts or the check out lane equipment. One way aisles are all gone like pre Covid. Staff still are to wear masks. There were no free wet wipes at the door and face masks had been marked down.
This is amazing. Quite the opposite here. Supermarkets disinfect their shopping trolleys before allowing the next customers to use them. Many retail stores do temperature checks at the entrance, and a larger number insist on spraying your hands with sanitizer on the way in. Masks are 100% required.
It caught me by surprise. Mindsets must vary from region to region. I don't think the pandemic is going to be over in 6 weeks but many locals don't agree me. Walmart must have a reason for backing off.1 -
Yeah, I don't get that whole, "If I get it, I get it - If I die, I die - I gotta live my life" thing. You can't wear a mask briefly in public or give up one year of holiday parties or even just self-quarantine ahead of the visit to ensure grandma's safety? How spoiled are we?
I don't love these restrictions either, but I can go a year without having things "my way" if it means saving a life or lives, maybe my own. I feel like I have decades more to live, and one year playing it safe is a drop in the bucket. But I'm a long-term thinker anyway. I've never been an instant gratification kinda person. I'd rather still be alive in 10 years time. A weekend of parties today isn't worth a lifetime of "swiss-cheese lungs" tomorrow.
When I think about all the REAL hardships and sacrifices people have suffered throughout human history, this is minor in comparison. My life is mostly unchanged except for a few extra hassles. I still do most of what I want. I realize not everybody has the patience to wait it out, but some people aren't even trying. They just want to do whatever they want to do, and screw everyone else. It is what it is...
I fall partially into this camp, as I have a fairly fatalistic view of my own life. If I get it, I get it, but that doesn't mean I don't take basic precautions, wear a mask in public, wash my hands frequently, and it doesn't mean that I don't take precautions before going to see someone who has a higher chance of having severe complications. I do all of those things, and I am more than happy to continue to do them. I certainly care about the comfort level of others and take into consideration their concerns and act accordingly. However, I also know that I could get hit by a cab walking across the street, or slip and fall down the stairs and break my neck, or have an accident while cycling or running on a busy road or even driving a car, and those things may kill or maim me (just like the virus might). Living in fear is more stress than I'm willing to place on myself. It isn't being spoiled. It is simply knowing that I have no control (outside of basic precautions) over whether I get hit by a bus, or get COVID, and refusing to stress over it.11 -
JustSomeEm wrote: »Yeah, I don't get that whole, "If I get it, I get it - If I die, I die - I gotta live my life" thing. You can't wear a mask briefly in public or give up one year of holiday parties or even just self-quarantine ahead of the visit to ensure grandma's safety? How spoiled are we?
I don't love these restrictions either, but I can go a year without having things "my way" if it means saving a life or lives, maybe my own. I feel like I have decades more to live, and one year playing it safe is a drop in the bucket. But I'm a long-term thinker anyway. I've never been an instant gratification kinda person. I'd rather still be alive in 10 years time. A weekend of parties today isn't worth a lifetime of "swiss-cheese lungs" tomorrow.
When I think about all the REAL hardships and sacrifices people have suffered throughout human history, this is minor in comparison. My life is mostly unchanged except for a few extra hassles. I still do most of what I want. I realize not everybody has the patience to wait it out, but some people aren't even trying. They just want to do whatever they want to do, and screw everyone else. It is what it is...
I fall partially into this camp, as I have a fairly fatalistic view of my own life. If I get it, I get it, but that doesn't mean I don't take basic precautions, wear a mask in public, wash my hands frequently, and it doesn't mean that I don't take precautions before going to see someone who has a higher chance of having severe complications. I do all of those things, and I am more than happy to continue to do them. I certainly care about the comfort level of others and take into consideration their concerns and act accordingly. However, I also know that I could get hit by a cab walking across the street, or slip and fall down the stairs and break my neck, or have an accident while cycling or running on a busy road or even driving a car, and those things may kill or maim me (just like the virus might). Living in fear is more stress than I'm willing to place on myself. It isn't being spoiled. It is simply knowing that I have no control (outside of basic precautions) over whether I get hit by a bus, or get COVID, and refusing to stress over it.
Accepting responsibility for your actions is commendable, and appreciated by many of us.
Unforeseen accidents are different than using proven precautions to avoid possibly contracting or spreading COVID-19 to others. No one wants to live their lives fearing possible, unforeseen occurrences. People with “I die, I die” attitude and refusing to take simple precautions (wearing face coverings and social distancing), ARE being selfish. Little thought, or care, about others they come in contact with who may have compromised immune systems, pre-existing conditions or other factors that may make them, and others they are in contact with, particularly vulnerable.
We’re not at the beginning stages of this anymore. Everyone knows face coverings and social distancing lessens the likelihood of spread. If you’re attitude is personal freedom to choose not to use these precautions, you are selfish and uncaring for others.15 -
Just saw this morning that 25% of those tested in South Dakota, the place that had the Motorcyclists in Sturgis all come to their state, are positive for Covid-19. That's seems like a catastrophic number, and it might very well be. Though the majority of their citizens and leadership seem to be opposed to social distancing and masks, I feel for the people there that weren't on board with lunacy.10
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Yeah, I don't get that whole, "If I get it, I get it - If I die, I die - I gotta live my life" thing. You can't wear a mask briefly in public or give up one year of holiday parties or even just self-quarantine ahead of the visit to ensure grandma's safety? How spoiled are we?
(snip good stuff for reply length)
Here's a thing that really made me eye-roll:
I have a friend who's a 65+ y/o woman, generally healthy but for many respiratory allergies. She's an intelligent woman overall, and quite medically knowledgeable otherwise. Still, she used "if it's my time, I'll go" to explain why she was going to go out and do all the things she would usually do, and not wear a mask unless it was legally required. Yet only a month or two earlier, she was taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive (at the height of that craze) because "she is immunocompromised because of having had chemotherapy" (well over 20 years ago). Her chemo was longer ago than mine (20 years almost exactly in my case, very similar drug regimen), and I'm not immunocompromised from it by all scientific measures like blood counts and recent illness history). Any other time, she's bragged about how good her immunity is, has "never had a cold", etc.
She's generally pro-vaccine (for all the childhood diseases that were killers/cripplers in our youth), but says she won't take the Covid vax (she was a little oblique in how she put it, but my inference from context was that she thinks there's a plot, not that she'd just wait to see how the safety profile works out).
She says she has "done her research" and "listened to news sources on all sides". (Pretty sure I know which one she listens to the most - from having spent time with her, not guessing.)
I can't follow her chain of reasoning. There's no point in arguing - when she makes up her mind, she is very rigid in her thinking. We may stay friends. (I'm not currently planning to do anything to break off the friendship, but I'm also not going to go ramming around doing lots of stuff, or going unmasked when it's more sensible to wear one, so we'll see how it all works out. She may cut me out (already has, partly, for other reasons), or even trigger an unavoidable conflict).
As background, she's an incredibly caring person in other respects: Huge volunteer for cancer organizations, incluidng peer support, as just one of many examples.
People are weird. It's not about intelligence, logic, caring, knowledge, in any general way, in all cases.15
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