Coronavirus pandemic

[Duke87]

Official guidance from the feds regarding phased relaxation of restrictions... for whatever it is worth.

For those of us in the northeast, that is probably nothing as I do not expect the governors in the DE/NJ/PA/NY/CT/RI/MA coalition to pay this any mind. Instead, Governor Cuomo will be deciding what NY does and the rest of the states in that bloc will likely simply follow his lead. Cuomo has, of course, already outlined a different plan of his own.

The federal plan seems to read like it is aimed at states where the size of the outbreak has not been significant. For many states it may be somewhat reasonable to start loosening restrictions after a 14-day downward trend, but states where the disease blew up more before interventions could slow its transmission are going to need more time to get the number of cases down before it becomes responsible to consider any such thing.

It also does not make any sense to me that movie theaters - venues where large numbers of people congregate indoors - would be permitted to reopen in phase one. Indeed, for the same reason, houses of worship objectively should not be in phase one, though I can appreciate the political reasons why they are.
(On the other hand, if you want to show a movie or hold a religious service outdoors, that is safer than doing so indoors and might be okay)

[qguy]

Spelling it as "buku" strikes me as being similar to the way some people think "voila" is spelled "wala."

Not to pile on here, but it's spelled "voilà," with an accent grave. 

Yeah, but I didn't know how to type that on my PC.

Copy it from your character map. If you're on your phone, a lot of keypads (like Swiftkey, for example), have all kinds of characters available. They appear if you hold down a letter key.

[briantroutman]

.... buku bucks....

????? What is "buku"????

Brought to mind the Richard Lewis commercials for Boku juice drinks that I remember seeing in the '90s.

Because of this product, I spent several years as a child thinking that beaucoup was spelled boku. Coincidentally at the same age, Get Smart taught me that chaos was spelled kaos.

[jakeroot]

Brought to mind the Richard Lewis commercials for Boku juice drinks that I remember seeing in the '90s.

Because of this product, I spent several years as a child thinking that beaucoup was spelled boku. Coincidentally at the same age, Get Smart taught me that chaos was spelled kaos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JEbnWl8iz0

Sidenote: as a fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm...holy fuck Richard Lewis has aged badly. He's like the damn crypt-keeper now. He looks 30 in this video by comparison.

[NWI_Irish96]

Spelling it as "buku" strikes me as being similar to the way some people think "voila" is spelled "wala."

Not to pile on here, but it's spelled "voilà," with an accent grave. 

Yeah, but I didn't know how to type that on my PC.

à can by typed by holding down the Alt key and typing 133.

[hotdogPi]

On my Mac, it's option-` + a. No need to memorize numbers for every single accented letter.

When I was working at Stop & Shop, every item had a description to go with the bar code. There was a frozen food sub-brand that was called Voilà, but two of the ~12 items under that brand were labeled "Viola" instead.

[TheGrassGuy]

Official guidance from the feds regarding phased relaxation of restrictions... for whatever it is worth.

For those of us in the northeast, that is probably nothing as I do not expect the governors in the DE/NJ/PA/NY/CT/RI/MA coalition to pay this any mind. Instead, Governor Cuomo will be deciding what NY does and the rest of the states in that bloc will likely simply follow his lead. Cuomo has, of course, already outlined a different plan of his own.

The federal plan seems to read like it is aimed at states where the size of the outbreak has not been significant. For many states it may be somewhat reasonable to start loosening restrictions after a 14-day downward trend, but states where the disease blew up more before interventions could slow its transmission are going to need more time to get the number of cases down before it becomes responsible to consider any such thing.

It also does not make any sense to me that movie theaters - venues where large numbers of people congregate indoors - would be permitted to reopen in phase one. Indeed, for the same reason, houses of worship objectively should not be in phase one, though I can appreciate the political reasons why they are.
(On the other hand, if you want to show a movie or hold a religious service outdoors, that is safer than doing so indoors and might be okay)

If you ask me, they should start testing kids as well. That way, we could know whether kids are "silent spreaders", and schools could reopen safely, which solves the problem of other businesses not being able to reopen as long as schools remain shut. CDC and FEMA's plan prioritized school reopenings, but the Feds' plan doesn't.

[vdeane]

.... buku bucks....

????? What is "buku"????

Slang for "a lot."    My mom used to say that when attempting to describe a large amount of anything, especially money. 

I believe the correct phrase for this context is "hella cash".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FFyZA_onM8

In all the years I've lived and worked in California I have yet to hear an actual person in normal speech use "hella"  in a sentence.  Sometimes it gets brought up sarcastically when the over use of things like "The 5"  or "The CHP"  come up.  Most Californians don't dress like Final Fantasy characters either...

Well, most people don't live in a video game published by Square Enix, and the game is set in the Pacific Northwest (Arcadia Bay, OR specifically - based off the real-life Tillamook/Garibaldi/Cape Meares area), so that explains part of that.

[Max Rockatansky]

.... buku bucks....

????? What is "buku"????

Slang for "a lot."    My mom used to say that when attempting to describe a large amount of anything, especially money. 

I believe the correct phrase for this context is "hella cash".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FFyZA_onM8

In all the years I've lived and worked in California I have yet to hear an actual person in normal speech use "hella"  in a sentence.  Sometimes it gets brought up sarcastically when the over use of things like "The 5"  or "The CHP"  come up.  Most Californians don't dress like Final Fantasy characters either...

Well, most people don't live in a video game published by Square Enix, and the game is set in the Pacific Northwest (Arcadia Bay, OR specifically - based off the real-life Tillamook/Garibaldi/Cape Meares area), so that explains part of that.

I just pieced together that the video was from a Square game...now it makes actual sense.  I haven't played a Square Game since Final Fantasy 13 but that look is a dead ringer for what was common in those last couple games. 

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Out of curiosity what is the career field you're looking at?  That more than anything ought to sway the level of schooling someone would need or ought to be looking into.  It seems like most of the higher jobs in the business sector these days require degrees from name brand school, but they again that isn't my field so I'm legitimately curious.

My BS is in Urban Design. It's a focus on public space design. Many students proceed into architectural degrees, but I'm proceeding into GIS work. My school offers a Masters in Geospatial Technologies. For the next 15 years, I'm more interested in experience, but the Masters will help me in the future, especially when it comes to potentially leading a department.

20 years ago, it was called Geography.  Its how I got my BA around here.

[Roadgeekteen]

Out of curiosity what is the career field you're looking at?  That more than anything ought to sway the level of schooling someone would need or ought to be looking into.  It seems like most of the higher jobs in the business sector these days require degrees from name brand school, but they again that isn't my field so I'm legitimately curious.

My BS is in Urban Design. It's a focus on public space design. Many students proceed into architectural degrees, but I'm proceeding into GIS work. My school offers a Masters in Geospatial Technologies. For the next 15 years, I'm more interested in experience, but the Masters will help me in the future, especially when it comes to potentially leading a department.

20 years ago, it was called Geography.  Its how I got my BA around here.

I'm considering majoring in geography. That or statistics.

[Duke87]

That way, we could know whether kids are "silent spreaders", and schools could reopen safely, which solves the problem of other businesses not being able to reopen as long as schools remain shut.

See I would argue schools reopening should be one of the lowest priorities given that schools do not generate economic activity by being physically in session, and teachers are all still working anyway.

As for the "problem" that businesses can't reopen if schools don't, I don't see this as being a problem sufficiently critical that those two things must inherently be coupled. Yes, this is a major problem for you personally if:
- you have young kids
- you do not have a normally stay-at-home parent
- you do not have a parent who can work from home, AND
- you do not have a nearby friend or relative who is available to watch your kids during the day

But only a minority of the workforce has the intersection of all those criteria that make it an issue. Everyone else can go back to work with schools closed no problem, and if someone finds themselves personally in the situation where they cannot return to work until schools/daycare centers reopen... then they can stay home and continue collecting unemployment until schools reopen.

If we insist on delaying business reopenings purely so we can do them simultaneously with school/daycare reopenings, we're shooting ourselves in the foot economically, and creating a situation where a lot of people are going to get pissed off because "well this isn't a problem for me, why can't I go back to work yet?"

[jakeroot]

Out of curiosity what is the career field you're looking at?  That more than anything ought to sway the level of schooling someone would need or ought to be looking into.  It seems like most of the higher jobs in the business sector these days require degrees from name brand school, but they again that isn't my field so I'm legitimately curious.

My BS is in Urban Design. It's a focus on public space design. Many students proceed into architectural degrees, but I'm proceeding into GIS work. My school offers a Masters in Geospatial Technologies. For the next 15 years, I'm more interested in experience, but the Masters will help me in the future, especially when it comes to potentially leading a department.

20 years ago, it was called Geography.  Its how I got my BA around here.

Universities with a "School of Geography" very often put GIS within it. My school does not, so it's under "Urban Studies".

But yeah, definitely the study of geography, although my school stresses the importance of the context: it's not just "where are wildfires more likely next year". It's also "do higher-end parts of a city have more square-footage of park space?", or "do we have enough food trucks?", etc, etc. They're all related to spatial studies (hence "geospatial") but it's a huge area of study now. Certainly more so than when it took off in the 90s.

[Max Rockatansky]

Funny the topic of kids has come up.  This whole virus thing has been a turn off to the prospect of my wife and I having kids given how much chaos it has caused with immediate family.  We watch our 11 year old niece until the end of the school year right now.  Fortunately that's an age where she can take care of herself at home so it hasn't been that big of a deal aside from wondering if she will be held back.  Younger kids would be a huge issue since we both work which would require an expensive sitter or someone saying home.  Near term it doesn't seem economically feasible given all the uncertainty.  Given we are both close to 40 this might be the final nail in the coffin in the prospect of kids.   

[Rothman]

The stay-at-home order has been great for my kids and me.  My ex-wife and I shared custody of them (I had them every weekend).  Due to the virus (ex-wife was concerned about possible exposure through her significant other's employment), I now have both kids here full-time, albeit that they're quite grown.  Has been a chance to feel more like a family.

[TheGrassGuy]

That way, we could know whether kids are "silent spreaders", and schools could reopen safely, which solves the problem of other businesses not being able to reopen as long as schools remain shut.

See I would argue schools reopening should be one of the lowest priorities given that schools do not generate economic activity by being physically in session, and teachers are all still working anyway.

As for the "problem" that businesses can't reopen if schools don't, I don't see this as being a problem sufficiently critical that those two things must inherently be coupled. Yes, this is a major problem for you personally if:
- you have young kids
- you do not have a normally stay-at-home parent
- you do not have a parent who can work from home, AND
- you do not have a nearby friend or relative who is available to watch your kids during the day

But only a minority of the workforce has the intersection of all those criteria that make it an issue. Everyone else can go back to work with schools closed no problem, and if someone finds themselves personally in the situation where they cannot return to work until schools/daycare centers reopen... then they can stay home and continue collecting unemployment until schools reopen.

If we insist on delaying business reopenings purely so we can do them simultaneously with school/daycare reopenings, we're shooting ourselves in the foot economically, and creating a situation where a lot of people are going to get pissed off because "well this isn't a problem for me, why can't I go back to work yet?"

Two points I would like to clarify:
1) The "nearby friend or relative" thing is still problematic considering that we shouldn't even be seeing those people anyway.
2) Try telling that to governor Cuomo. For those of you still confused why NY (or NJ, CT, etc.) hasn't shut down schools until September statewide already, he's using the logic of "schools closed implies businesses closed", compliant with CDC/FEMA, but not with Trump's plan/your opinion. Though of course I wouldn't be surprised of Cuomo chose to disregard both of them...

[jeffandnicole]

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/04/murphy-not-ready-to-let-you-pump-your-own-gas-despite-coronavirus-concerns.html

[bing101]

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/04/murphy-not-ready-to-let-you-pump-your-own-gas-despite-coronavirus-concerns.html

Damn this sounds too much like an Onion article on the surface though the New Jersey self service gas debate in the middle of the COVID-19 scare.

[ftballfan]

I have a plan for gradual reopening (to go up a phase, there has to be a noticeable declining trend in new cases over 2-4 weeks):
Phase I

• Retail businesses can reopen with limited capacity
• Beauty salons, such as hair and nail places, can reopen with enhanced sanitation (as in wearing of masks, which is common at nail places)
• Dine-in restaurants and bars can reopen with limited capacity (1/3 to 1/2 of capacity; some counties in MI were already implementing limited capacity before the dine-in ban came into effect)
• Small group gatherings are allowed (10-20 or less)
• Outdoor recreational areas that have been closed can reopen, including golf courses
• Landscaping and non-infrastructure construction can resume

Phase II

• Day cares can reopen
• Amusement centers can reopen with limited capacity (side note: I was at Disney and Universal the week before they closed and they had hand washing/sanitizing stations set up all over the parks as well as increased wipedowns and cleaning of high-touch surfaces)
• Places that opened under Phase I (or remained open throughout the entire pandemic) can increase capacity a little more
• Medium group gatherings are allowed (up to half of a venue's capacity but not more than 200-250 if the venue has a capacity of over 500)

Phase III

• Large outdoor events are allowed as long as groups remain generally separated
• Small businesses that have been operating at limited capacity can go to full capacity
• Large concerts and sporting events can resume, but with limited capacity (open seats between groups at minimum)

I also wouldn't be surprised to see major airports implement temperature checks (those were implemented in parts of Asia after the SARS epidemic in 2003; SARS is a cousin of COVID-19)

[CoreySamson]

Speaking on a personal level, about 40% of Brazoria County cases are deemed recovered, as of now.

I spoke too soon. Out of about 300 cases in Brazoria County, over 50% are recovered.

Are any other counties or states like this?

[hotdogPi]

Speaking on a personal level, about 40% of Brazoria County cases are deemed recovered, as of now.

I spoke too soon. Out of about 300 cases in Brazoria County, over 50% are recovered.

Are any other counties or states like this?

Minnesota

[Max Rockatansky]

Speaking on a personal level, about 40% of Brazoria County cases are deemed recovered, as of now.

I spoke too soon. Out of about 300 cases in Brazoria County, over 50% are recovered.

Are any other counties or states like this?

Minnesota

If recall correctly when California was at about 24,000 cases a couple days back the number of recoveries was about 11,000-12,000.  The data I was looking at seems to have been withdrawn from the source I was looking at since. 

[ftballfan]

Michigan's curve looks to be starting to flatten. For a couple of weeks, Michigan was #3 in total cases (only behind New York and New Jersey). Over the last few days, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have passed Michigan and California and Illinois are likely to pass MI sometime in the next week.

[Max Rockatansky]

Michigan's curve looks to be starting to flatten. For a couple of weeks, Michigan was #3 in total cases (only behind New York and New Jersey). Over the last few days, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have passed Michigan and California and Illinois are likely to pass MI sometime in the next week.

Apparently five counties in the UP still have no reported cases...what a shock.

[NWI_Irish96]

Just wondering if anyone else here works in or has a household member who works in a hospital.  My wife is a respiratory therapist and with this being a respiratory virus she's right in the thick of it.  Her hospital typically has 3-5 vented patients at any given time and now has 10-12.  I guarantee you the idiots out protesting stay at home orders don't have close family members working at hospitals.