Strangest COVID-19 stuff you have witnessed

[AustinBike]

Just now, JMR said:

One might think that covid is yesterdays news. People are getting back to work. They're not getting sick, despite what the news is trying to make you believe. It's time to move on to the next distraction. What was once fear has been replaced by violence.

This statement will not wear well. Let's revisit it in a couple months.

Someone else said this whole thing was overblown back when there were only a few cases.

Wanna bet on the over/under for deaths? When do we get to 200,000? At this rate we'll double the massive 100K+ that we have by the end of the year. At ~100K new infections per week, how long until we cross the 2M mark.

[JMR]

1 hour ago, AustinBike said:

This statement will not wear well. Let's revisit it in a couple months.

Someone else said this whole thing was overblown back when there were only a few cases.

Yes. Let’s revisit this in a couple of months. Let’s see if the experts were right that this virus can’t survive over a certain temperature. Let’s see if UV light helps prevent the virus. Let’s see if the people who are looting and setting stuff on fire catch the virus. Let’s see if we have another surge this fall (right before elections).
 

I am truly curious. 

[ATXZJ]

My frustration is we haven't even given social distancing a chance to really work. The original plan was we would begin to open things up when there was a consistent decrease in infections for a period of two weeks. That came directly from the government. That plan lasted about a week and we opened things up 5/1 while we were still seeing increases in new cases. Then we went straight into to the chaos of memorial day, then the "i'm not gonna wear a mask" protests, now the mass demonstrations that has erupted over the weekend. Because of this we have little idea of WTF is going on with the virus right now. 

You are correct in that we are moving on to something else because herd immunity was the plan all along. 

This is what a failed state looks like

Edited June 2, 2020 by ATXZJ

[RidingAgain]

On 5/5/2020 at 2:10 PM, ATXZJ said:

Mother nature is f@cking pissed.

Thing is... If you think about it... Human population increase is a result of Mother Nature.

Maybe Mother Nature is just finding a way to utilize Mother Nature to ensure Mother Nature remains in control.

[ATXZJ]

9 minutes ago, RidingAgain said:

Thing is... If you think about it... Human population increase is a result of Mother Nature.

Maybe Mother Nature is just finding a way to utilize Mother Nature to ensure Mother Nature remains in control.

on this, we totally agree.

[AustinBike]

6 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

My frustration is we haven't even given social distancing a chance to really work. The original plan was we would begin to open things up when there was a consistent decrease in infections for a period of two weeks. That came directly from the government. That plan lasted about a week and we opened things up 5/1 while we were still seeing increases in new cases. Then we went straight into to the chaos of memorial day, then the "i'm not gonna wear a mask" protests, now the mass demonstrations that has erupted over the weekend. Because of this we have little idea of WTF is going on with the virus right now. 

You are correct in that we are moving on to something else because herd immunity was the plan all along. 

This is what a failed state looks like

Herd immunity is not the plan, that only works on things like measles where you have a vaccine and can get to 90% immune without having to suffer through the deaths.

quick back of the envelope math puts the dead at ~7M if we tried herd immunity. Pretty sure that was not the plan. Instead “we don’t have a plan” was the plan. 

[ATXZJ]

58 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

Herd immunity is not the plan, that only works on things like measles where you have a vaccine and can get to 90% immune without having to suffer through the deaths.

quick back of the envelope math puts the dead at ~7M if we tried herd immunity. Pretty sure that was not the plan. Instead “we don’t have a plan” was the plan. 

Our "leaders" were throwing around herd immunity theory from the get go. Just like they did with dying for the economy. The feckless "we don't have a plan" strategy was the default that ultimately results in herd immunity regardless.

Imagine that

Edited June 2, 2020 by ATXZJ

[AustinBike]

22 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

Our "leaders" were throwing around herd immunity theory from the get go. Just like they did with dying for the economy. The feckless "we don't have a plan" strategy was the default that ultimately results in herd immunity regardless.

Imagine that

They threw around the idea, nobody ever did the math. I herd it a lot from people and when I asked them what it meant, they described it. Then I asked them to do the math. Pretty much had 100% say "yeah, that is not a good idea." Shocking that nobody ever challenged that theory early on before they spouted it.

[AustinBike]

21 hours ago, JMR said:

Yes. Let’s revisit this in a couple of months.

Sure, let's do this.

As of today, 1.8M infections, 106,000 deaths. 

63,000 cases for Texas, and the trajectory does not look good, I am not seeing a "flattening":

[TAF]

Just saw this today:

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/austin-sees-dramatic-rise-in-covid-19-cases-since-economy-started-reopening

[GFisher]

Rode by the YMCA at Brushy yesterday and the camps looked to be in full swing. Lots of groups, not a mask to be seen. It felt very odd.

[notyal]

17 minutes ago, GFisher said:

Rode by the YMCA at Brushy yesterday and the camps looked to be in full swing. Lots of groups, not a mask to be seen. It felt very odd.

Doesn't sound like much fun to stay at the YMCA right now. 

[mack_turtle]

I may have asked this before: where around Austin do you live, and what's the rate of mask compliance where you live?

I am in southwest Austin. my closest HEB stores are Circle C and the Brodie/ William Cannon store. that's one fo the few businesses I have visited in the past two months. I know masks aren't everything, but I find that 99% of shoppers are wearing one. the few that aren't look jarringly out of place.

two weeks ago, I visited Lakeway and picked up some lunch at Hat Creek Burgers. Employees were wearing masks. for some reason, my food took freaking forever, just shy of 30 minutes. I saw about two dozen customers go in and out. the playground was open. a large group of teenagers took over a table for a while. not one single customer in a mask anywhere to be seen the whole time. do people in Lakeway think they're immune? Is Hat Creek a magical haven? (their veggie burger is righteous though.)

Edited June 5, 2020 by mack_turtle

[notyal]

I picked up some Taco Bell last week (a rare guilty pleasure). Every one of the employees technically had a mask on, but not a single one was wearing it correctly. Most had it covering their mouths but with their nose exposed. One lady was just wearing it below her jaw. 

[Tree Magnet]

I drove through Houston this weekend on the way to see the in-laws (hurricane prep) and I saw maybe two people wearing masks in the ENTIRE city.  It was bizarre.  I think the social stigma of doing something different is strong.  If most people around you aren't wearing a mask, people think twice about wearing one.

[AntonioGG]

11 minutes ago, notyal said:

I picked up some Taco Bell last week (a rare guilty pleasure). Every one of the employees technically had a mask on, but not a single one was wearing it correctly. Most had it covering their mouths but with their nose exposed. One lady was just wearing it below her jaw. 

 

[mack_turtle]

9 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

I drove through Houston this weekend on the way to see the in-laws (hurricane prep) and I saw maybe two people wearing masks in the ENTIRE city.  It was bizarre.  I think the social stigma of doing something different is strong.  If most people around you aren't wearing a mask, people think twice about wearing one.

I've heard that about Houston too. as if living in Houston was not bad enough already...

[AntonioGG]

I'm in NW Austin.  HEB at 183 and Spicewood SPrings is my HEB.  I just went there this week and saw a dad with a mask and his daughter with no mask.  A mom and kid with no mask, and several younger (millenials) people with no mask.  I don't think most people get what the purpose of the mask is.  Most people were wearing masks and were respectful of the distance.  But the one lady with her son (who kept asking about wearing a mask) was almost in your face doing it like she was trying to prove a point.  People suck.  This HEB is pretty diverse as far as the clientele, but my neighborhood is not.  It's basically 100% professionals of some type, lots of Asians and caucasian people.  In the neighborhood, lots of people walking, some with masks, and all of them cross the road or give you lots of room.  At work I have coworkers that seem pretty nonchalant about it, but they respect others and will wear their mask when around others.

Edited June 5, 2020 by AntonioGG

[GFisher]

3 minutes ago, AntonioGG said:

I'm in NW Austin.  HEB at 183 and Spicewood SPrings is my HEB.  I just went there this week and saw a dad with a mask and his daughter with no mask.  A mom and kid with no mask, and several younger (millenials) people with no mask.  I don't think most people get what the purpose of the mask is.  Most people were wearing masks and were respectful of the distance.  But the one lady with her son (who kept asking about wearing a mask) was almost in your face doing it like she was trying to prove a point.  People suck.  This HEB is pretty diverse as far as the clientele, but my neighborhood is not.  It's basically 100% professionals of some type, lots of Asians and caucasian people.  In the neighborhood, lots of people walking, some with masks, and all of them cross the road or give you lots of room.  At work I have coworkers that seem pretty nonchalant about it, but they respect others and will wear their mask when around others.

Same HEB for me. Last time I was there I was shocked EVERYONE had a mask. That was several weeks ago. 

So the lady with no mask was questioning people with masks why they were wearing one? I would be very pissed.

We are slowly starting our phased approach to returning to our office. We just moved into a new building with the dreaded open floor plan.80% of us are exactly 6 feet apart with walls only about chest high in between. The approach is currently that that is enough and masks only required when approached or away from your desk. Hopefully things start to clear up before I have to head back.

[ATXZJ]

Live on a golf course in south Austin. I don't write this to brag (it's old) but because I have a front row view of the most at-risk age group, and how they're handling the pandemic. I have never seen one golfer wearing a mask, and they all congregate in packs and practice little to no social distancing. Our neighbors, one couple in mid -late 70s with multiple comorbities never stopped going out to stores and businesses. Our other neighbor in her early sixties, going through chemo, still has guests over on a fairly regular basis. So far it seems nobody in the neighborhood has come down with covid, and they way these hens cackle, we'd know by now. Also haven't seen any ambulances in months, which is somewhat rare when you live around aging boomers and silent gens.

As far as retail stores ETC go. We haven't been inside an office, store or eaten out since march 13th. When I do curbside at the depot, HEB or specs, it looks pretty f@cked.

Edited June 6, 2020 by ATXZJ

[AntonioGG]

58 minutes ago, GFisher said:

So the lady with no mask was questioning people with masks why they were wearing one? I would be very pissed.

No.  Sorry I didn't mean to imply that.  It was just the way she carried herself and how she didn't give space or wait for people to go by.

 

59 minutes ago, GFisher said:

We are slowly starting our phased approach to returning to our office. We just moved into a new building with the dreaded open floor plan.80% of us are exactly 6 feet apart with walls only about chest high in between. The approach is currently that that is enough and masks only required when approached or away from your desk. Hopefully things start to clear up before I have to head back.

We have been going to the office since day 1 but it's on a need basis and very few people actually go.  We sign in and sign out on a spredsheet.  I would say <5% occupancy.  We have super dense cubicles but our lab spaces are fairly well spaced out, and lab work is the only reason any of us need to go into work at all.  I predict they will get rid of the .... cubicle farm is not even appropriate anymore, it's more of a middle school cafeteria setup now...but I think this will go away for some alternative way to work.  I predict tons of people will WFH when they can (we are already really good about this since that's our business, and we work no matter where we are.)

I would say if your work is computer work or conference calls then there's no need to head into work, except to get a break from the people at home like annoying teenagers. 🙂

[Sluggo]

I can’t wait to pull my mask down and tell an idiot I work in a nursing home. 

[ATXZJ]

38 minutes ago, AntonioGG said:

 I predict tons of people will WFH when they can (we are already really good about this since that's our business, and we work no matter where we are.)

I would say if your work is computer work or conference calls then there's no need to head into work, except to get a break from the people at home like annoying teenagers. 🙂

Wife is working from home for the remainder of the year and may be doing so long after that. 

[quixoft]

5 hours ago, TAF said:

Just saw this today:

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/austin-sees-dramatic-rise-in-covid-19-cases-since-economy-started-reopening

100% expected with things opening up but the media will milk it and try to scare everyone.

There are lots of studies popping up(including the isolated cruise ship) showing that up to 80% of people infected are asymptomatic. If those numbers are true, the disease is far less deadly than originally thought for healthy people.  However, that means it is basically impossible to control. Most people that don't feel sick don't feel the need to wear a mask, right or wrong. Just take a look at the protests over the past few days. High risk folks are really the only people that it's affecting in large amounts although of course there are always a few exceptions.

Looks like the high risk folks will just need to bunker down and avoid others because there is no way people that don't feel sick are going to wear masks during Texas summers. Hell I wore one outside this afternoon for just 10 minutes today in 95 degree heat with only moderate humidity and I could barely breath because it was a sopping wet mass of sweat and spit after a very short time. It was nasty.

Round Rock HEB off 620 depends on the time of day. I've been there when practically no one is wearing a mask and other times most everyone is.
 

Edited June 5, 2020 by quixoft

[AntonioGG]

20 minutes ago, quixoft said:

High risk folks are really the only people that it's affecting in large amounts although of course there are always a few exceptions.

Please quantify "a few exceptions".

I think my age group (<50) has something like 16-17% hospitalization rate.    Even if you don't get to be hospitalized, who wants to be sick for 1-2 weeks? 

Very fit people are getting sick.  Very fit people are being hospitalized.

Are you familiar with Pascal's wager?

Are you OK with old folks dying in scores?

24 minutes ago, quixoft said:

Most people that don't feel sick don't feel the need to wear a mask, right or wrong. 

Definitely wrong, and those people are idiots.