Are covid shut downs coming to a town near you?

[Hikergirl]

I mean, the 10 PM thing is ridiculous. About as ridiculous as letting bars be open, but movie theaters had to stay closed. Everytime I heard him bragging about how NY bent the curve & tamed the virus, I wanted to scream. Of course things are gonna get bad again. He had no business bragging & patting his own back. Sorry, rant over.

I guess he should have waited to publish his book until after the Pandemic was completely over

 

[LuvOrlando]

Not sure anything is on the books but I am really hoping there is some sort of pause when the college students stream home around the 20th for the semester close. If these kids are free to roam... it's almost unthinkable what will happen.

 

[Heigh-Ho]

I mean, the 10 PM thing is ridiculous. About as ridiculous as letting bars be open, but movie theaters had to stay closed. Everytime I heard him bragging about how NY bent the curve & tamed the virus, I wanted to scream. Of course things are gonna get bad again. He had no business bragging & patting his own back. Sorry, rant over.

That might be why he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Hubris is not a thing needed right now. You either want the collective good or you want the pedestal. There were ways to offer advice in a way to say this seems to work and then there were ways he did it. And from what I observed on a casual level majority, though not all, of at least NYC residents on this forum took up the hubris mode too. They may have not meant to but enough people seem to get that impression. I don't think he's a bad guy, I think he just let it get away from him, come back to earth like a lot of us are.

 

[Hikergirl]

Not sure anything is on the books but I am really hoping there is some sort of pause when the college students stream home around the 20th for the semester close. If these kids are free to roam... it's almost unthinkable what will happen.

My kids have to take a COVID test and be negative in order to return home. They go to SUNY schools, I am not sure if that requirement includes private schools too.
I'm not sure what happens if you test positive, I assume they will have to quarantine somewhere on campus for 2 weeks.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Not sure anything is on the books but I am really hoping there is some sort of pause when the college students stream home around the 20th for the semester close. If these kids are free to roam... it's almost unthinkable what will happen.

I honestly don't know what my alma mater is doing but I would love if they did the saliva tests that they required for when school was starting back up again. I don't think the issue is letting the college students go home. I think the issue is not looking to mitigate community spread for where the college students' home bases are like what happened in the spring.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Some will never recover from the financial devastation it leaves in its wake.
[/QUOTE]

Very true, depending on what type of job or business people have.

The problem with our response is that because we never had a national plan to control the virus beyond two rounds of "15 days to slow the spread"....which quickly turned to "Liberate Michigan!!" And so we were left with an ad hoc response where states, cities, towns and individuals were put in the position to make their own plans. I feel like we all got a bit of a break over the summer. At least there was outdoor dining for those who wanted to partake. Leisure travel even picked up a little bit...up to about 1/3 of what it was a year ago, but still much better than it was when we shut down. Now it's retreating again.

As we see the virus raging again in an alarming way, millions of individuals will make the decisions that our federal government won't make....they will hunker down for the most part until there is a vaccine. Others will get together inside, and spread the virus causing the numbers to spike even further, causing people to further disengage. I saw a report that Southwest Airlines said that they are seeing cancellations for air travel in November and December, and that demand is not where they thought it would be. Several other reports show movement of people in retail settings show that traffic is beginning to dip. It's all just baked in at this point. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel....vaccines are coming, it's just a question now how long that tunnel is.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Several other reports show movement of people in retail settings show that traffic is beginning to dip.

That would also be in part to Black Friday being considered way different this year as in the retailers themselves opting out of Black Friday as a moral decision due to crowd concerns with the virus.

Black Friday sales going on since October and for sure now in November regarding Black Friday. Immense online shopping and more. Curbside is in so many places now that helps out. For months we weren't doing Walmart grocery pick up and instead going into the store but we can feel confident enough to do that at least from time to time now (we've done it several times already in the past 2-ish months and for non-grocery items too).

Def. people are looking at "hey let's get the Christmas shopping done now" but it's not merely "if the Federal government won't mandate this, mandate that, then I'll do it myself".

 

[HeatherC]

I'm sure everyone who already lost a job already would love it if everything would just stop for 6 weeks.

I know, right! I certainly hope it never happens. I never thought we would EVER even hear talk about a national lockdown.

 

[spiders]

Let me rephrase. It's so 2019 that if you need to work to pay your bills you can expect to be able to do that.

It doesn't do people any good to have essentials working if they can't afford the groceries they sell and don't have health insurance to seek the medical care they are providing.

No, I get it. It wasn’t really an attack on you. It’s just hard not to point out the hypocrisy of everyone who claims it’s too dangerous to be open but how those rules only apply to them. Essentials are all immune, have no parents and have no children. They’re just like real life Jason Bournes.

 

[mom2rtk]

I honestly don't know what my alma mater is doing but I would love if they did the saliva tests that they required for when school was starting back up again. I don't think the issue is letting the college students go home. I think the issue is not looking to mitigate community spread for where the college students' home bases are like what happened in the spring.

Your neighbor state's flagship campus is doing absolutely nothing. In fact, it's actually kind of complicated to get a test. Can't get one without lying about having symptoms. Then on top of that they are bringing students back on campus after Thanksgiving before scattering them to the wind, many of whom reside in your metro area.

I'm all for keeping things going as much as possible with smart mitigation in place. But this is a complete abdication of duty.

 

[mom2rtk]

No, I get it. It wasn’t really an attack on you. It’s just hard not to point out the hypocrisy of everyone who claims it’s too dangerous to be open but how those rules only apply to them. Essentials are all immune, have no parents and have no children. They’re just like real life Jason Bournes.

It's apparently all good as long as there are enough Jason Bournes to deliver their groceries and Amazon packages and take care of them if they're sick.

 

[Hikergirl]

My kids have to take a COVID test and be negative in order to return home. They go to SUNY schools, I am not sure if that requirement includes private schools too.
I'm not sure what happens if you test positive, I assume they will have to quarantine somewhere on campus for 2 weeks.

Quoting for reference

I just read a little more about the test requirements.
The students have to get a negative test within the 10 days preceding campus departure.
My ds's school required students to have their tests on Nov.10, but they are still in in person classes until the 20th.
That makes little sense, they are still at risk of catching and spreading before they leave.

 

[spiders]

It's apparently all good as long as there are enough Jason Bournes to deliver their groceries and Amazon packages and take care of them if they're sick.

Those are my favorite. They are the first ones to complain about a late package (that they shipped via the cheapest way possible) but God forbid they get in their car and do something themselves.

 

[mom2rtk]

Quoting for reference

I just read a little more about the test requirements.
The students have to get a negative test within the 10 days preceding campus departure.
My ds's school required students to have their tests on Nov.10, but they are still in in person classes until the 20th.
That makes little sense, they are still at risk of catching and spreading before they leave.

All I will say is, it's better than nothing.

 

[LuvOrlando]

No, I get it. It wasn’t really an attack on you. It’s just hard not to point out the hypocrisy of everyone who claims it’s too dangerous to be open but how those rules only apply to them. Essentials are all immune, have no parents and have no children. They’re just like real life Jason Bournes.

I think I understand your point of view, American workers are not expendable and can't be an afterthought. I certainly think there needs to be more support of our critical infrastructure, including the people involved and their families Maybe extensions of gov worker medical coverage, since they are sort of baptised into critical by this mess they could be easily be adopted as a kind of deputized workforce.

The group of worker who drive busses, repairing roads, maintaining our electric grids, teaching if they are being forced into it etc. can't be in a position of "I need to work but if I get sick I lose my benefits." As a society we should not be creating impossible choices for our workforce and as a functioning country we do not have the luxury of time to retrain people who are more risk tolerant. If the essentials start having a version of "blue flu" or start using their FMLA we are going to have some fairly big problems on our hands. Easier and cheaper to prevent the problem that clean up after it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Your neighbor state's flagship campus is doing absolutely nothing. In fact, it's actually kind of complicated to get a test. Can't get one without lying about having symptoms. Then on top of that they are bringing students back on campus after Thanksgiving before scattering them to the wind, many of whom reside in your metro area.

I'm all for keeping things going as much as possible with smart mitigation in place. But this is a complete abdication of duty.

I was reading about that in the local news about the Thanksgiving part and was surprised at that. I'm glad they are happy about their COVID situation but what about the places the students come from and what happens without measures in place if the students come from Thanksgiving back to campus.

The metro just doesn't need any more stuff but if the college you're discussing, my alma mater and the other large college in my state don't test before sending the students home it's just not going to be good. Those 3 schools bring a lot of students from the metro.

 

[Hikergirl]

All I will say is, it's better than nothing.

The SUNY schools have been testing their students every 2 weeks and with the exception of a few schools they have all been able to remain low enough positives where they didn't have to pause in person classes this semester.
I do agree that testing the students before going home is better than not doing it. The10 days is the requirement set by the state, each school picks the date the students are requited to test by.
Having said that there is still a very real possibility though that students at my ds's school will be infected and bring it back to their homes so essentially it's like not getting a test at all.

 

[dreamer17555]

Virus spikes will cause people to reevaluate how and where they are spending money. Furniture sales are extremely high but I could see a holiday season with less eating out.

And yes some of the restrictions don't make sense (close at 10pm) but as someone whose daughter worked at a restaurant that practically turned into a club every night at 11pm I get it. Was it legal? Nope. Did it happen? EVERY Night. So I get the logic. The truth is restaurants are risky but with no help coming for them to stay afloat and many choosing to forgo the smarter option of Take Out and Tip there aren't a lot of options that won't leave more devastation.

So lets break this down-

The virus spreads indoor in restaurants. How much is up for debate. Smarter option? Take out and tip like eating in.

Virus spreads at family gatherings. Ways to mitigate? Try to get everyone to stay home as much as they possibly can for two weeks before the gathering and a week after. Wear masks when not eating. Try to keep it outside if possible. Limit the amount of people.

Virus spreads easily at college. Ways to bring your student home safely? Get them tested before coming home but also for two weeks before coming home ask (beg, plead, whatever it takes) for them to limit their social pod as much possible. If you know they won't or can't- masks when around each other, and they might be eating alone in their room for a week or two.

As for shopping, I am all for it. If you are able to, please stimulate the economy but be smart about it. Try to shop online (you can avoid Amazon and choose smaller stores) and when you must shop in person attempt to make those purchase from small, local businesses. They are hurting. Amazon and Target are not.

And schools should be the priority. Over restaurants, over bars, over movie theaters. There is serious harm happening with students not in school, especially high risk students. I don't think all students should be back. I worry about risks to teachers and staff but we should as a country make sure those most vulnerable students are being given a fighting chance. Learning loss is one thing but for some not having a teacher's watchful eyes means a world of difference about what is going on at home.

Honestly we should all brace for impact here. It might be a brutal holiday season both in terms of virus and the economy. People stop spending when they are nervous and they have every reason to be scared.

Also, I know we don't talk politics but just as an economic heads up- the continuing resolution to keep the government open expires once again in December. I could easily see once again government workers furloughed. It's about to get real out there.

 

[tvguy]

Looking at the cases/deaths per million of some European countries, I am not so sure lockdowns are that effective.

I believe in science. I believe masks should be worn indoors while in public. I am not sold on entire countries being locked down.

Seemed to work perfectly in New Zealand.

 

[Hikergirl]

Seemed to work perfectly in New Zealand.

Are you really comparing a tiny island nation with a population that's half of NYC to the entire US?