OT: COVID-19 general thread part II (and final part - see closing post)

[Jack Be Quick]

The protests haven't been part of the spikes? I kinda thought they were. I could be wrong bc I haven't really read up on it though.

Hundreds of thousands if not a few million have poured on to the streets of NYC, Chicago, and several other major cities for over a month with no spike in cases.

However, most of the states with dramatically high increases in positive cases are the ones who chose to ignore advisories and/or open early.

Now, this thing apparently has a 2 week incubation period, so if we see a massive uptick in cases in most of those cities within the next week then I'll gather the protests had something to do with it. But as of right now the evidence doesn't support that claim.

 

[MartyOwns]

yeah there’s no evidence to suggest protests led to a spike in infections- in fact, it was quite the opposite:

Research Determines Protests Did Not Cause Spike In Coronavirus Cases

that could change as time goes on, but for now there’s nothing to support it.

 

[None Shall Pass]

I'd be surprised if the protests caused an uptick in NYC. Outdoors, the transmission level is already lower than indoors, but here almost everyone marching was masked up to begin with, and there were plenty of people handing out masks as well.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

I'd be surprised if the protests caused an uptick in NYC. Outdoors, the transmission level is already lower than indoors, but here almost everyone marching was masked up to begin with, and there were plenty of people handing out masks as well.

I believe we live in the same neighborhood (plg/flatbush). From what I've experienced ~90% of protesters wear masks and there have been people giving out hand sanitizer and sunscreen all over the place.

 

[None Shall Pass]

I believe we live in the same neighborhood (plg/flatbush). From what I've experienced ~90% of protesters wear masks and there have been people giving out hand sanitizer and sunscreen all over the place.

I'm in the Bushwick / BedStuy area, but yeah that's been my experience as well, and even in general, like in food stores and stuff like stuff. Nearly everyone is masked up and obeying the six-foot distance lines in general here.

 

[Billdo]

I believe we live in the same neighborhood (plg/flatbush). From what I've experienced ~90% of protesters wear masks and there have been people giving out hand sanitizer and sunscreen all over the place.

I'm in the Bushwick / BedStuy area, but yeah that's been my experience as well, and even in general, like in food stores and stuff like stuff. Nearly everyone is masked up and obeying the six-foot distance lines in general here.

Have you guys ventured near the bars and restaurants? Down here at the "Jersey Shore" the ones taking it seriously seem to be few and far between.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Have you guys ventured near the bars and restaurants? Down here at the "Jersey Shore" the ones taking it seriously seem to be few and far between.

Only the ones (and there are many) in my neighborhood as I haven't left since this thing started. They're all taking it very seriously. The ones that have opened for outdoor seating either have tables spaced pretty far apart or plexiglass between them. It helps that the city is letting them set up cafes on the street and closing some streets entirely (5th Ave Park Slope).

Honestly, I wouldn't be upset if we made street cafes, closed aves for through traffic (on the weekends), and drinking in public the norm/legal after all this.

Edit: I have deep connections to the shore and it doesn't seem like many are taking it as seriously as they should. I hope I'm wrong, but wouldn't be surprised if there's a bunch of cases a week or so from now.

 

[Billdo]

Edit: I have deep connections to the shore and it doesn't seem like many are taking it as seriously as they should. I hope I'm wrong, but wouldn't be surprised if there's a bunch of cases a week or so from now.

Yeah, it's def going to happen. The boardwalks, bars, local boating spots where everyone is in the water partying, everything looks business as usual.

 

[None Shall Pass]

Have you guys ventured near the bars and restaurants? Down here at the "Jersey Shore" the ones taking it seriously seem to be few and far between.

I'm still just doing takeout from restaurants and the occasional bar. Near me, there's not as much space to set up outdoor dining, and even if there was, it's too hot for me to eat outside right now lol.

Only the ones (and there are many) in my neighborhood as I haven't left since this thing started. They're all taking it very seriously. The ones that have opened for outdoor seating either have tables spaced pretty far apart or plexiglass between them. It helps that the city is letting them set up cafes on the street and closing some streets entirely (5th Ave Park Slope).

Honestly, I wouldn't be upset if we made street cafes, closed aves for through traffic (on the weekends), and drinking in public the norm/legal after all this.

Edit: I have deep connections to the shore and it doesn't seem like many are taking it as seriously as they should. I hope I'm wrong, but wouldn't be surprised if there's a bunch of cases a week or so from now.

Yeah, it's def going to happen. The boardwalks, bars, local boating spots where everyone is in the water partying, everything looks business as usual.

I'm also from the shore - @Billdo , your location says Ocean County, and that's where I grew up as well. From what I can tell from friends on Instagram and Facebook, F-Cove / the other popular boating spots haven't calmed down at all, and people are still throwing parties and stuff.

 

[Billdo]

I'm still just doing takeout from restaurants and the occasional bar. Near me, there's not as much space to set up outdoor dining, and even if there was, it's too hot for me to eat outside right now lol.





I'm also from the shore - @Billdo , your location says Ocean County, and that's where I grew up as well. From what I can tell from friends on Instagram and Facebook, F-Cove / the other popular boating spots haven't calmed down at all, and people are still throwing parties and stuff.

F-Cove and Tices were 100% business as usual. Beachcomber on the boardwalk has an upstairs patio that was maxed out regardless of capacity restrictions. I'm sure others were as well. I know even further up the coast like in Deal and Seabright places were wall to wall. That's why Murphy delayed indoor dining. Rather than going after the places that weren't compliant he shut it all down which, in my opinion, isn't the right move but it's probably warranted. It seems like the majority of people need their hands held through all this. People are by and large very stupid I've come to realize.

 

[None Shall Pass]

F-Cove and Tices were 100% business as usual. Beachcomber on the boardwalk has an upstairs patio that was maxed out regardless of capacity restrictions. I'm sure others were as well. I know even further up the coast like in Deal and Seabright places were wall to wall. That's why Murphy delayed indoor dining. Rather than going after the places that weren't compliant he shut it all down which, in my opinion, isn't the right move but it's probably warranted. It seems like the majority of people need their hands held through all this. People are by and large very stupid I've come to realize.

Yeah I also wonder how feasible it is to ask restaurants to self-police that sort of thing, too. We've all seen videos of how some people react when told to wear a mask somewhere. Imagine how that'd be with multiple people who have been drinking all day doing the same, and your front-of-house staff is like two or three people, and you haven't been making any money for months.

 

[Billdo]

Yeah I also wonder how feasible it is to ask restaurants to self-police that sort of thing, too. We've all seen videos of how some people react when told to wear a mask somewhere. Imagine how that'd be with multiple people who have been drinking all day doing the same, and your front-of-house staff is like two or three people, and you haven't been making any money for months.

That's the billion dollar question nobody has an answer to.

 

[OmNomNom]

i still don't get why they reopened public pools, i was surprised, considering Murphy's very conservative reopening responses.

 

[johnny pierogi]

and your front-of-house staff is like two or three people

Yeah, two or three teenage girls will be very eager to tell some huge friggin' guy that's been drinking Bud Light Seltzer's on the beach since 8am that he has to mask

 

[NJDevs26]

Not for nothing but baseball and their COVID problems are becoming a prism for the rest of the country. The Mets and the Yankees? Everything is great, we have enough tests and PPE equipment, etc. Of course things have improved in NY and NJ since it started. Almost everywhere else? Not enough tests, not enough PPE for the Nationals and other teams, results not coming back promptly so teams have to shut down workouts.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Not for nothing but baseball and their COVID problems are becoming a prism for the rest of the country. The Mets and the Yankees? Everything is great, we have enough tests and PPE equipment, etc. Of course things have improved in NY and NJ since it started. Almost everywhere else? Not enough tests, not enough PPE for the Nationals and other teams, results not coming back promptly so teams have to shut down workouts.

Coronavirus Leads Some Athletes to Opt Out, if They Can Afford It Coronavirus Leads Some Athletes to Opt Out, if They Can Afford It

 

[Devilsfan992]

I am a lot more optimistic about our outlook than most of the posters here. I actually think being outside is a good thing, even with crowds. Outdoor transmission has been studied to have a very low transmission rate. In this study 2 out of 1245 people were infected outside. I could argue that if businesses such as bars were to shut down, people would flock to other places including each others homes where indoor transmission is more possible. I do understand the encouragement to wear masks of course, better safe than sorry. I think the difference between NJ and other southern states are they had indoor dining and bars open. I think we would have also seen a huge spike in NYC during the protests if outdoor transmission wasn't rare. Even if 90% of protesters wore masks, that's still 1000's of people without them.

Chinese Study Finds Outdoor Activities Safe From COVID

 

[Camille the Eel]

Exactly what should our elected leaders do? I’m not defending or attacking either side of the aisle. But the idea that government can solve this short of martial law mandating EVERYONE is to quarantine is irrational thinking. See how long that would last before the cry of civil liberties violations are heard. The U.S. is beyond repair in so many ways and COVID-19 is magnifying that.

I am not advocating that everyone quarantine or shelter in place and have not seen anyone who is. First get a consistent and serious message at the federal level. Stop politicizing the epidemic. Put out a message that it’s extremely serious and that we are committed to suppressing it. That suppressing it will actually be good for business. Next mandatory wearing of masks nationwide where interacting with others. Next find work arounds for as many other situations as possible. One way aisles in stores, etc., curbside service where possible. Keep people distanced. Next provide targeted financial relief to the businesses being asked to sacrifice inordinately for the common good (instead of a 1.5 trillion blanket give away for any corporation with assets of over x dollars and no requirement they keep anyone employed or actually maintain business) . . . Etc. Do what other states have been doing more successfully.

 

[Billdo]

I am not advocating that everyone quarantine or shelter in place and have not seen anyone who is. First get a consistent and serious message at the federal level. Stop politicizing the epidemic. Put out a message that it’s extremely serious and that we are committed to suppressing it. That suppressing it will actually be good for business. Next mandatory wearing of masks nationwide where interacting with others. Next find work arounds for as many other situations as possible. One way aisles in stores, etc., curbside service where possible. Keep people distanced. Next provide targeted financial relief to the businesses being asked to sacrifice inordinately for the common good (instead of a 1.5 trillion blanket give away for any corporation with assets of over x dollars and no requirement they keep anyone employed or actually maintain business) . . . Etc. Do what other states have been doing more successfully.

This has largely been used as a political tool at this point. This is by no means meant to reflect my political beliefs or affiliation, but I feel we should've had better leadership from the top with this entire thing. Having said that, I think the pushing of "spikes in positives" can also be attributed to our testing. We are testing so many people that positives are bound to go up whereas some other countries aren't doing the amount of testing we are so they're not having these mass amount of positives. Regardless, this entire thing has been exhausting and I have to go back to work tomorrow, in a school, with tons of unanswered questions while my wife, who does the same thing, in a different place, isn't opening because they don't feel they can do it safely. That confuses and kind of worries me.

 

[Devilsfan992]

This has largely been used as a political tool at this point. This is by no means meant to reflect my political beliefs or affiliation, but I feel we should've had better leadership from the top with this entire thing. Having said that, I think the pushing of "spikes in positives" can also be attributed to our testing. We are testing so many people that positives are bound to go up whereas some other countries aren't doing the amount of testing we are so they're not having these mass amount of positives. Regardless, this entire thing has been exhausting and I have to go back to work tomorrow, in a school, with tons of unanswered questions while my wife, who does the same thing, in a different place, isn't opening because they don't feel they can do it safely. That confuses and kind of worries me.

My personal opinion on what leads to increased cases.

1) Indoor dining, bars and other indoor locations without masks
2) Increased testing
3) Contact Tracing - This is huge and it is expected there will be more caught cases with Contact Tracing. I really wished Murphy would track how many cases were caught from tracing daily.
4) Repeat testing - As tests are more accessible, people will get tested closer to the end of the incubation period
5) Antibody testing - This one I'm not too sure about, but I saw somewhere that some states include positive antibody tests as positive cases.
6) Outdoor transmission in large gathering without masks - This is the one I'm not as worried about as others. From studies I read, outdoor transmission is much more rare than indoor transmission.

 

[JimEIV]

Northeastern University back to back Beanpots, in the new? Noooo.

Expell some students for social distancing.... every news outlet in the country...f*** the media

 

[njdevils1982]

Northeastern University back to back Beanpots, in the new? Noooo.

Expell some students for social distancing.... every news outlet in the country...f*** the media

whatcha talkin' 'bout willis?

 

[Alicat]

Northeastern University back to back Beanpots, in the new? Noooo.

Expell some students for social distancing.... every news outlet in the country...f*** the media

B's fan here who lives in Boston.

NU and the city warned these kids starting in August that there would be zero tolerance for breaking the social distancing guidelines. The President of the university sent a warning to over 100 students who posted on social media that they planned to party.

The kids that got suspended for the semester are living in the Westin Hotel and were part of some special program that allows freshmen the opportunity to study overseas. They were not living in the traditional dorms. They all signed documents agreeing to abide by the rules and had numerous meetings about the rules and still violated them.

The big kerfuffle isn't them being suspended it is actually the fact that the university refuses to give the students back the $36K they shelled out for the semester.

 

[JimEIV]

whatcha talkin' 'bout willis?

Just sucks to get national media attention for this and not something more positive.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/06/coronavirus-covid-updates/

 

[Blackjack]

I just heard the funniest thing...

Can't remember what it is though... oh well.