Coronavirus prep
Replies
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paperpudding wrote: »Genuine questions.
How do people eat/drink in a restaruant if they have to wear masks??
Mask wearing hasnt been a big thing in Australia - people can choose to wear them if they want of course and a few do - but most people are not and we are not being encouraged, let alone mandated, to do so.
Question 2 - are the easing of restrictions in US being done as a result of numbers dropping enough to be considered safe to do so? - or are they just being eased because authorities think they have been there for long enough./ people wont adhere anyway/ , the economy needs them to reduce??
yes i know US is a big place and different locations might be doing things differently - but answer for your specific location or area as a whole.
Restrictions are being gradually eased here in South Australia - and that is in response to massive drop in COVID numbers
Our restrictions weren't as tight in first place as many other places - but in comparison to what still seems high numbers in US, we are only now re opening outdoor playgrounds, - gyms/restaraunts are still closed (open for takeaway only) and gatherings are still restricted to 10 people.
This with a state of 5 remaining active cases in whole state (all in home or hospital quarantine, of course) and zero new cases for nearly 2 weeks.
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State borders are still closed except for essential travellers/returnees who have to self isolate for 14 days.
In superrvised hotel accomodation, in case of overseas returnees.
I think it is very safe for us to move forward, although we are still doing it very gradually.
1. I'm in Arkansas. The Gov set restaurant directive. Wear masks until your food arrives. The staff wears masks, and patrons wear masks while giving orders and speaking to the staff, but are allowed to remove it after they've placed their order before eating. Tables are set far enough apart this should not be an issue.
2. In my opinion, yes. I'm in a state that has always had low case numbers. We are not densely populated, less travel from a lot of the people in our state, so our numbers haven't been bad. We're taking a measured approach to reopening, I think we are being careful. More careful than our neighbors TX (IMO) but that is their choice to make.2 -
PA shut down completely. As of next Friday, parts of the state will slightly reopen, meaning construction and some factories can go about their business, but not shops and restaurants. The selection of counties was based on a low number of cases and the number of public health workers they have to do contact tracing and the hospitals available. So the county next to ours with zero deaths and only 7 cases can't open because it doesn't have a hospital. There are a few areas like that. Mostly it's the really rural areas in the north and west that are opening slightly. Our county has been seeing a 10% increase per day in the number of cases, so it will be a while before it opens up again. We are a mostly rural county, so I'm not sure why it's a hot spot. When the Governor said that masks were mandatory in all businesses, there were a few grumbles on Facebook, but I've mostly seen compliance. OTOH, a lot of the people wearing the masks are wearing them wrong, so the noses are exposed. I don't know if that's ignorance or a subtle rebellion.4
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Husband and I got hair cuts yesterday. Salon was very cautious. You had to wait outside til they called you in, they provided a mask if you didn’t have one, hairdresser wore one too, they couldn’t blow dry or style you.
Getting a cut with a mask is an experience. It’s definitely not a perfect cut but I wear my hair super short and was anxious to get some of the mop gone.
I tipped my gal 100%. I know she and her tattoo-artist husband have probably been hurting.6 -
And boy, their phone was ringing off the hook, too!!!!!!2
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@Bry_Fitness70 Understood and appreciated. It's repulsive. The true essence of a grape is revealed when it's squeezed. Some are downright sour.3
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No parties around me. Lots of people out with nicer weather, but lots of masks, decent social distancing, although I think it's not as good in the popular parks. Other neighborhoods are apparently not doing so much, as there have been numerous big house parties broken up. New policy is to fine those having house parties $5000 and tow the cars of party-goers.
On a personal level I've heard of people doing things like teaming up with another family who have been social distancing responsibly so families can share the burden. I think that seems reasonable and pretty much safe.
No big house parties for us, but we socially isolated for 8 weeks. May 1 was our second extended date and now we're extended through May 15, but some restrictions have been lifted such as state parks open for day use, non essential retail doing curbside, golf courses open, etc.
My wife and I talked about it and determined that 8 weeks of total social isolation was about all we could handle and with the lifting of some restrictions on May 1 decided that we would, in a responsible way, start seeing some of our friends and family again. No big house parties or anything, I think that would be irresponsible. We had my mom over last Saturday and it was her first time seeing her grandchildren in 8 weeks. We sat on the patio outside and swam in the pool.
We're having another couple over with their kids that we hang out with quite a bit...we miss them, and also our boys need some social interaction with other kids...they're starting to get weird. It'll be the same...mostly outside on the patio and the pool and grill some burgers or something. No finger food appetizers and the like. We usually hang out together with another friend of mine and his kids, but we've decided that's too many people as it would be 6 kids total and 5 adults. We've actually started limiting our gatherings even before this because 6 kids go absolutely crazy.
We're at the point here where precautions should still be taken, but I think some low level social interaction is not unreasonable. Most of our new cases are coming from McKinley County and they have almost half of our total cases. Cases in the metro area have dropped off significantly, with most now coming from assisted living homes and nursing homes. While there is still risk, my feelings are that having a couple over with their kids or my mom over is pretty low risk at this point, particularly as we aren't congregating in the house close together. Total social isolation can only be sustained for so long, and we're definitely at that point.10 -
paperpudding wrote: »Genuine questions.
How do people eat/drink in a restaruant if they have to wear masks??
Mask wearing hasnt been a big thing in Australia - people can choose to wear them if they want of course and a few do - but most people are not and we are not being encouraged, let alone mandated, to do so.
Question 2 - are the easing of restrictions in US being done as a result of numbers dropping enough to be considered safe to do so? - or are they just being eased because authorities think they have been there for long enough./ people wont adhere anyway/ , the economy needs them to reduce??
yes i know US is a big place and different locations might be doing things differently - but answer for your specific location or area as a whole.
Restrictions are being gradually eased here in South Australia - and that is in response to massive drop in COVID numbers
Our restrictions weren't as tight in first place as many other places - but in comparison to what still seems high numbers in US, we are only now re opening outdoor playgrounds, - gyms/restaraunts are still closed (open for takeaway only) and gatherings are still restricted to 10 people.
This with a state of 5 remaining active cases in whole state (all in home or hospital quarantine, of course) and zero new cases for nearly 2 weeks.
.
State borders are still closed except for essential travellers/returnees who have to self isolate for 14 days.
In superrvised hotel accomodation, in case of overseas returnees.
I think it is very safe for us to move forward, although we are still doing it very gradually.
In New Mexico, restaurants are drive through and take out only still. They aren't open to sit down and eat. When they do open, my guess would be that staff will be wearing masks, but it's pretty much impossible to sit down and eat with a mask without taking it on and off and touching your face a gazillion times which would completely defeat the purpose.
Mask wearing is or isn't a thing in New Mexico, depending on where you are in the state. It is more commonly practiced in metro areas than outlying rural areas. Masks are recommended by our governor as well as the CDC, however, it is not mandated by the government. There are very few places in the US that is mandating masks. We do have some stores here that require you to have a mask to enter, but that's their own policy, not something mandated by government...kinda like no shoes, no shirt, no service....so now it's no shoes, no shirt, no mask, no service.
There are a handful of states that have basically opened everything up and none of them are even in line with the white house recommendations of 14 days with declining numbers and phased re-opening...it'll be interesting to see where their numbers go. New Mexico is basically following the federal guidelines to re-open...14 days overall declining cases and more importantly hospitalizations and deaths. We have seen that for the most part across the state except for McKinley County which has now been locked down and isolated from the rest of the state with all roads in and out barricaded by the National Guard. We eased a few restrictions on May 1, but most are still in place...we anticipate a phase 1 re-open on May 16 which means significant restrictions will still be in place, but we will slowly start loosening the belt.
I'm curious as to what winter will bring in the southern hemisphere...we are certainly expecting another surge come our cold and flu season, but our health care system should be more prepared and capable by then...hopefully. There is talk of school this coming fall to be done with classes cut in half with one half attending two days and the other half attending another two days with distance and online learning in between actual going to school days. If this is the case, it will be extremely hard on working parents, particularly if employers are adverse to remote working.4 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Genuine questions.
How do people eat/drink in a restaruant if they have to wear masks??
Mask wearing hasnt been a big thing in Australia - people can choose to wear them if they want of course and a few do - but most people are not and we are not being encouraged, let alone mandated, to do so.
Question 2 - are the easing of restrictions in US being done as a result of numbers dropping enough to be considered safe to do so? - or are they just being eased because authorities think they have been there for long enough./ people wont adhere anyway/ , the economy needs them to reduce??
yes i know US is a big place and different locations might be doing things differently - but answer for your specific location or area as a whole.
Restrictions are being gradually eased here in South Australia - and that is in response to massive drop in COVID numbers
Our restrictions weren't as tight in first place as many other places - but in comparison to what still seems high numbers in US, we are only now re opening outdoor playgrounds, - gyms/restaraunts are still closed (open for takeaway only) and gatherings are still restricted to 10 people.
This with a state of 5 remaining active cases in whole state (all in home or hospital quarantine, of course) and zero new cases for nearly 2 weeks.
.
State borders are still closed except for essential travellers/returnees who have to self isolate for 14 days.
In superrvised hotel accomodation, in case of overseas returnees.
I think it is very safe for us to move forward, although we are still doing it very gradually.
Answer 1: My state (Illinois) is still not allowing dine-in at restaurants, but from video I have seen in states allowing it...
The customers are not wearing masks, only the servers, hosts, and other employees are. The states that are loosening their restrictions are not requiring masks.
Answer 2: Of the states easing restrictions, a grand total of zero have met the federal government's own guidelines for when it is safe to do so (14 consecutive days with reducing cases). In fact, some still have rising numbers, but are easing restrictions anyways. As to why...they can give any excuse they want, but it is 100 percent political. I can't go into further details without violating the "no political debates" policy here.
100% this. But speaking from Chicago they may get away with it and then declare that everything was an overreaction (including in places like Chicago), since it really is way worse in some parts of the US than others.
I don't care if rural parts of the US open up vs. whining although from what I saw here before the shut down the economic blow was way more based on personal choices than the official shut down. I wouldn't go to a restaurant or play now even if I could (common parts of my social life before). And as I've noted before the Archdiocese of Chicago banned in person mass before the city shut down.5 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »No parties around me. Lots of people out with nicer weather, but lots of masks, decent social distancing, although I think it's not as good in the popular parks. Other neighborhoods are apparently not doing so much, as there have been numerous big house parties broken up. New policy is to fine those having house parties $5000 and tow the cars of party-goers.
On a personal level I've heard of people doing things like teaming up with another family who have been social distancing responsibly so families can share the burden. I think that seems reasonable and pretty much safe.
No big house parties for us, but we socially isolated for 8 weeks. May 1 was our second extended date and now we're extended through May 15, but some restrictions have been lifted such as state parks open for day use, non essential retail doing curbside, golf courses open, etc.
My wife and I talked about it and determined that 8 weeks of total social isolation was about all we could handle and with the lifting of some restrictions on May 1 decided that we would, in a responsible way, start seeing some of our friends and family again. No big house parties or anything, I think that would be irresponsible. We had my mom over last Saturday and it was her first time seeing her grandchildren in 8 weeks. We sat on the patio outside and swam in the pool.
We're having another couple over with their kids that we hang out with quite a bit...we miss them, and also our boys need some social interaction with other kids...they're starting to get weird. It'll be the same...mostly outside on the patio and the pool and grill some burgers or something. No finger food appetizers and the like. We usually hang out together with another friend of mine and his kids, but we've decided that's too many people as it would be 6 kids total and 5 adults. We've actually started limiting our gatherings even before this because 6 kids go absolutely crazy.
We're at the point here where precautions should still be taken, but I think some low level social interaction is not unreasonable. Most of our new cases are coming from McKinley County and they have almost half of our total cases. Cases in the metro area have dropped off significantly, with most now coming from assisted living homes and nursing homes. While there is still risk, my feelings are that having a couple over with their kids or my mom over is pretty low risk at this point, particularly as we aren't congregating in the house close together. Total social isolation can only be sustained for so long, and we're definitely at that point.
Yeah, I think this makes total sense.0 -
Most people are doing it because they're wrong-headed in some way. A few people are doing it because health problems mean they can't breathe properly with a mask (some areas have explicitly exempted these people from mask recommendations, IMU).I was at the grocery store Sunday and they have a continuous speaking thingie going on in the background, which clearly not everyone listens to because one thing it said was to please wear facial protection inside the store to keep everyone safer. Maybe 90% do wear face masks but there are still a few that don't.
What is preventing them from doing something so simple, even if they feel it's a farce, or whatever their reasoning could be? I wish each and every store would make it mandatory in order to get through their doors. Isn't it the right for their business to request that? It wouldn't need to get political?? People would have no choice but to wear one because they need to get groceries. 
I just don't understand.
(snip)
Before we start with "what are they doing out, with health problems?": I've mentioned before that I belong to an international virtual group for "elder orphans", people over 55 with no immediate family to support them. Some of them (not me) have few friends IRL, or only friends with worse health conditions. Not everything from everywhere that people need can be ordered for delivery, and some people don't know how anyway.
Yeah, sure, 90%+ of non-mask-wearers are probably uncaring nincompoops. But let's don't assume it's 100%, maybe. Empathy is a 360-degree thing, I hope.11 -
The social isolation is definitely getting to us here. I’m trying a socially distanced girl date on Saturday—we drive separately and meet at a local park early in the am to kayak. I’ll bring the kayaks, so the only time we need to be within a few feet of each other will be for the 1 min carry to the shore and back (early hour = hopeful for a super close spot, though even a crap spot is a 2 min walk, and we’ll be on opposite sides and ends of an 11’ kayak). If this goes well, I might see if she wants to try it with one of our boys at a time (we have two youth kayaks too, which I can carry by myself)4
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paperpudding wrote: »(snip)
Question 2 - are the easing of restrictions in US being done as a result of numbers dropping enough to be considered safe to do so? - or are they just being eased because authorities think they have been there for long enough./ people wont adhere anyway/ , the economy needs them to reduce??
(snip)
Even here (Michigan, US), with a supposedly over-reacting governor, I think it's a mix. Some numbers are moving in hopeful directions, and things are starting to be gradually relaxed for economic reasons, starting with lower-risk economic activity, with lots of consultation with industry reps about safe practices to allow more of that to happen.
This is a balancing act, I think: We need to minimize deaths (or serious health damage) from COVID, and keep hospitals from being overwhelmed such that X level of infection creates more deaths/damage than it would if hospitals could keep up. We also need to avoid serious economic damage, because that translates into not just human misery, but even deaths and serious damage, too (suicides, aggravation of addictions, interpersonal violence, potentially developmental consequences for children that could bear bad fruit for decades to come, etc.).2 -
Yes it's good to be open to the possibility that someone is not wearing a mask for reasons other than that they're a horrible person. We really don't know what's going on in someone's life.10
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1. Wi does not have restaurants opening--not officially. Today our supreme court is hearing oral arguments on the governor's extension of his order from April 24 to May 26. So we will see.
2. We've had a new spike in cases, partly b/c of an election being required to be held in person (the Supreme Court, then as now, meets virtually to consider these cases), b/c of some protests, and b/c of an outbreak in a packing plant. The overall number hasn't been too bad--voters practiced social distancing, and protest numbers were very small, generally speaking, among those who actually violated social distancing orders. Our governor's order is broadly supported and it's a small group of angry, noisy people who are making a fuss.
The bigger issue here--as in many places--is simple noncompliance. I'm seeing a lot more masks in stores, but the number of people out and about skyrocketed with the good weather this past weekend. Cooler and wet today, so I suspect folks won't be out as much. It's a crapshoot, if you are at risk and *must* go out.
Wearing a mask is an act of compassion. Let's not forget that.6 -
Wearing a mask is the law in IL.3
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We are also required to wear masks in Italy and almost everyone is complying. Some older people (usually men) either won't wear one or wear it exposing their nose--useless. They say "I can't breathe". I just think "What do you think will happen if you wind up on a respirator?" Then you'll see what difficulty breathing really is. It's a small sacrifice to make until a vaccine is produced.8
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A thing I'm finding interesting - and wondering who specifically** is behind - are the items circulating on social media with articles/photos that turn out to be false in some way. As a non-party centrist politically, it interests me that these are on both sides of the "great divide": Some supporting and circulated by the "gimme freedom" anti-restriction protestors, some supporting and circulated by the "stay at home, no matter what" continue-restrictions side. Some of them are quite localized and specific.
An example (one of many): A recent photo of a restaurant patio in (name of specific familiar-to-me small town deleted), showing what was purported to be people eating their carryout-only meals without masks on that patio. Not a packed patio, but not at no-mask distance either. Completely plausible . . . until people who actually live in (small town deleted) say "that restaurant has no furniture on their patio yet this year". So, who, and why?
** I know, trolls or troll farms, of one sort or another - but it would be interesting to know the specific source of each item. Grassroots manipulation? Astroturf manipulation? Near source? Distant source?9 -
Thank you to everyone who answered my questions about mask wearing in restaraunts and in general and about rationale for re opening in various areas of US.
It seems to me that you (US as a whole) are opening up far more quickly in comparison to case load than we are here.
South Australia are relaxing restrictions much more gradually
although admittedly they werent as tight in the first place as many other places, including other states of Australia - not due to any political difference between premiers (the equivalent of your state governors, I think) but due to our case load being much less.
Somebody mentioned your federal directive for relaxing restrictions being 14 days of reducing cases - yet restrictions being relaxed despite no states reaching that yet.
Time will tell if that proves safe or not (sadly I suspect not)
In comparison we have had reducing cases for quite a few weeks and that from much lower case levels in first place (state total of active cases now only 5) and no new cases for 13 days - yet restrictions relaxed slightly only yesterday.
I get somebody's point about testing levels - but our low case numbers are certainly not a result of low testing - the opposite- testing has been at increased numbers and anyone with so much as a tiny sniffle can be tested
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I'm curious as to what winter will bring in the southern hemisphere...we are certainly expecting another surge come our cold and flu season, but our health care system should be more prepared and capable by then...hopefully.
yes that is probably part of the reason for caution here - however we are almost into winter now and so far our influenza numbers are way down on this time last year (which was a very bad year for influenza numbers) - no doubt a result of MUCH less social interaction, especially by flu vulnerable people.
People have been encouraged to have flu vaccinations and uptake has been higher than usual.
Here in SA coronavirus is almost extinct now - if we keep our borders closed (expect for essential travellers/returnees who have to isolate for 14 days) then I think that will remain so for the winter season.
All of Australia is seeing reducing coronavirus numbers - but eastern states are still having mini spikes and do have active community transmission.5
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