Coronavirus pandemic

[Max Rockatansky]

^That makes sense.  So basically early in the pandemic the sample size was heavily weighted to the most vulnerable populations (ie. elderly and people with underlying conditions) as these were the people most likely to be tested and suffering severe symptoms.  Now that nearly anyone can get tested, it's sampling younger healthier individuals who are much more likely to survive.

Kind of, but don't assume everyone who is elderly is also in poor health of has a compromised immune system...it is just more common in the age demographic..  Don't forget, nobody really knew for certain how deadly COVID-19 was early in the year.  It didn't help that certain places in Europe were reporting things like mass graves and having to pick who had better odds of living.  Those kinds of stories doubled up with a whole hell of a lot of unknowns tends to fear/panic inducing. 

[kphoger]

Yeah, I don't do this in the USA, but no problem in Mexico!


[photo from 2009]

Either the laws of physics don't exist in Mexico, or you aren't allowed go above 10 mph?

Speaking as a parent, I sincerely hope you don't plan on carrying children in your lap in a moving vehicle anymore. That's just reckless contempt for life.

But it is a common part of life down there in Mexico.  I'm not trying to justify it or say the practice is bad, but that's a pretty tame example of what is normal down there.  It kind of reminds me of how driving used to be during the 1980s when things like seat belt use wasn't universally accepted as a truism.  Back in that era even in the United States most would look twice if kids were in the back seat with no belt on or sitting on a parents lap. 

For one thing, traffic generally moves at around 10-20 mph in that town.  But, besides that...  different culture, different norms.  I've sat on the side of a pickup truck bed while being driven down a state highway in Mexico, completely normal there.  When I was in high school, during a Spanish class trip to Mexico, I once sat in a plastic lawn chair in the middle of a conversion van because there weren't enough seats for our whole group.  I believe that, on the day the picture above was taken, there weren't enough seats in the vehicle for all of us, so I had my son sit with me.

Heck, in Mexico, it's common to see on-duty police officers standing up in the back of pickup trucks.

And, anyway, there have been times that my wife breast-fed a baby in the passenger seat while I was driving down the highway here in the US–rather than finding somewhere to park and wasting 15 minutes of drive time.  I also remember once, while my wife was driving south through northern Iowa while one of our sons was potty-training, I crawled into the back of the minivan, got the potty chair out, and had my son use it while we were going 75 mph down the Interstate.  Legal? no.  Safe during a crash? no.  Worth the very slight risk risk, yes.  In my opinion, what's pictured is really safer than putting a kid in a seat on the back of a bicycle and cycling down city streets.

[kphoger]

In other news...

My wife and all three of my sons have now finally had haircuts!

She needed a haircut back in March, but the earliest appointment she could get was the day we left town to go on our most recent Mexico trip.  So she scheduled for the end of March instead.  Then, when we got back, state orders had us home-quarantine for two weeks (all travelers coming in from out of the country), so she had to reschedule for April.  Then further state orders shut down hair salons, so she canceled her appointment altogether.  When salons reopened, she was in the back of line behind all the customers who hadn't canceled, so Thursday was the first opportunity she's had to get a haircut–three months after she needed it.

I took the three boys to the barber on Saturday.

Then we went to church yesterday, for the first time since early March.

[webny99]

So in March and April, the Northeast and Midwest get hit hard when it's cold and gloomy and everyone wants to be inside. Meanwhile the weather in the South and Southwest is pleasant, and they largely get through without a large outbreak.

Now in June, Texas, Arizona and Florida are getting hit hard when it's hot as heck and everyone wants to be inside. Meanwhile, the Northeast and Midwest finally get some beautiful weather, people want to be outside, and they've largely gotten things under control.

There's just no way that's mere coincidence. There's a strong, direct, relationship between time spent indoors and COVID cases.

[SEWIGuy]

So in March and April, the Northeast and Midwest get hit hard when it's cold and gloomy and everyone wants to be inside. Meanwhile the weather in the South and Southwest is pleasant, and they largely get through unscathed.

Now in June, Texas, Arizona and Florida are getting hit hard when it's hot as heck and everyone wants to be inside. Meanwhile, the Northeast and Midwest finally get some beautiful weather, people want to be outside, and they've largely gotten things well under control.

There's just no way that's a coincidence.

I agree.  Especially since it doesn't look like there has been much surge due to protests regardless of the location.

Indoor, sustained contact is the problem.  Bars, restaurants, etc. where social distancing isn't occuring seems to be where we are seeing a lot of the new cases. 

[bandit957]

Maybe instead of a "stay at home" order, there should have been a "stay outside" order.

[Brandon]

Maybe instead of a "stay at home" order, there should have been a "stay outside" order.

I've often wondered if we wouldn't have been better off simply requiring masks where needed indoors first, instead of shutting everything down and keeping everyone inside all the time.

[Roadgeekteen]

An Italian doctor said that the Coronavirus might go away on it's own. IDK but I hope he's right.

https://whdh.com/news/coronavirus-is-getting-weaker-could-disappear-without-vaccine-doctor-suggests/

[Max Rockatansky]

Maybe instead of a "stay at home" order, there should have been a "stay outside" order.

I've often wondered if we wouldn't have been better off simply requiring masks where needed indoors first, instead of shutting everything down and keeping everyone inside all the time.

Probably, but again I refer to all those unknowns with the Virus and the scary scenes out of Europe driving a lot of local health policies here.  I would think the mask requirement would be the go-to in a future pandemic rather than it being a point of resistance like it was with COVID-19. 

[Roadgeekteen]

Maybe instead of a "stay at home" order, there should have been a "stay outside" order.

I've often wondered if we wouldn't have been better off simply requiring masks where needed indoors first, instead of shutting everything down and keeping everyone inside all the time.

Probably, but again I refer to all those unknowns with the Virus and the scary scenes out of Europe driving a lot of local health policies here.  I would think the mask requirement would be the go-to in a future pandemic rather than it being a point of resistance like it was with COVID-19.

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

[bandit957]

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

There's plenty of reasons why people just aren't crazy about it.

[Roadgeekteen]

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

There's plenty of reasons why people just aren't crazy about it.

Like what?

[Flint1979]

I wish we were still under a stay-at-home order now we have all the idiots out driving again.

[bandit957]

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

There's plenty of reasons why people just aren't crazy about it.

Like what?

It makes it very, very hard to breathe. It also interferes with social interaction.

[Roadgeekteen]

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

There's plenty of reasons why people just aren't crazy about it.

Like what?

It makes it very, very hard to breathe. It also interferes with social interaction.

I mean if you can't breathe well with one on than don't wear it but I can breathe fine with a mask on.

[GaryV]

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

There's plenty of reasons why people just aren't crazy about it.

Like what?

It makes it very, very hard to breathe. It also interferes with social interaction.

Those are features, not bugs.

Could it possibly be that the areas that got hit hardest first - NYC, Detroit, Seattle - learned their lessons and are applying them so the cases are going down?  And those places where it is increasing have not yet learned?  That's not a coincidence of north/south or hot/cold.

[1995hoo]

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

There's plenty of reasons why people just aren't crazy about it.

Like what?

It makes it very, very hard to breathe. It also interferes with social interaction.

I mean if you can't breathe well with one on than don't wear it but I can breathe fine with a mask on.

Or try a different type of mask/face covering. I've got a number of different ones and they all have pluses and minuses, especially for someone who (like me) wears glasses. I don't find it hard to breathe through any of them except for the softer of the two N95 masks we have, and I think the reason for that one bothering me is that it's a little small for my face and fits too snugly (so we washed it and my wife sometimes uses it instead because the other N95 mask we have is too big for her).

My wife ordered two face coverings that are sort of like a "neck-up" for skiing except much lighter weight; you can wear it around your neck and then pull it up over your face only when you need to cover your face. Makes it easier compared to taking a mask on and off for driving, for example, and I was surprised to find on Saturday when I wore it for the first time that it wasn't uncomfortably warm.

In general, I've found the more snugly the part that bridges your nose fits, the less eyeglass fogging there is.

[SEWIGuy]

Maybe instead of a "stay at home" order, there should have been a "stay outside" order.

I've often wondered if we wouldn't have been better off simply requiring masks where needed indoors first, instead of shutting everything down and keeping everyone inside all the time.

Probably, but again I refer to all those unknowns with the Virus and the scary scenes out of Europe driving a lot of local health policies here.  I would think the mask requirement would be the go-to in a future pandemic rather than it being a point of resistance like it was with COVID-19.

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

It's not. It's a ridiculous argument.

[ixnay]

Maybe instead of a "stay at home" order, there should have been a "stay outside" order.

I've often wondered if we wouldn't have been better off simply requiring masks where needed indoors first, instead of shutting everything down and keeping everyone inside all the time.

Probably, but again I refer to all those unknowns with the Virus and the scary scenes out of Europe driving a lot of local health policies here.  I would think the mask requirement would be the go-to in a future pandemic rather than it being a point of resistance like it was with COVID-19.

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

It's not. It's a ridiculous argument.

An argument that a lot of folks on free republic.com are fond of making.

[bandit957]

I have a really hard time with making things mandatory.

[NWI_Irish96]

I have a really hard time with making things mandatory.

It's mandatory the people can't: kill you, assault you, rob you, print lies about you, defraud you, etc. I'm guessing you don't have a problem with any of those things.

[SEWIGuy]

I have a really hard time with making things mandatory.

Get over it. Shoes are mandatory in stores and restaurants too.

[SEWIGuy]

Maybe instead of a "stay at home" order, there should have been a "stay outside" order.

I've often wondered if we wouldn't have been better off simply requiring masks where needed indoors first, instead of shutting everything down and keeping everyone inside all the time.

Probably, but again I refer to all those unknowns with the Virus and the scary scenes out of Europe driving a lot of local health policies here.  I would think the mask requirement would be the go-to in a future pandemic rather than it being a point of resistance like it was with COVID-19.

I would hope, but tons of people seem to think that wearing a mask is an infringement of their freedoms.

It's not. It's a ridiculous argument.

An argument that a lot of folks on free republic.com are fond of making.

Good for them. They're wrong.

[webny99]

Wearing a mask is not that hard, and it's unfortunate that many people are resistant to it. It's literally the least one can do, not just to stop the spread of COVID, but also just to signal a general willingness to accept the current situation and the government recommendations that come along with it. As I mentioned upthread (somewhere in the vast 4200-post expanse ...), would you claim that "no shirt, no shoes, no service" rules are an infringement of ones freedom? Of course not, and mask wearing is not any different. It's not even like it's all the time, just indoors in stores and when social distancing is impractical.

Obviously, if you've got breathing problems, that's different. Mask wearing is no fun with glasses, either, but it's really not that big of a deal if it means we're helping contain the virus and allowing the economy to hum along somewhat normally.

[oscar]

Maybe instead of a "stay at home" order, there should have been a "stay outside" order.

I've often wondered if we wouldn't have been better off simply requiring masks where needed indoors first, instead of shutting everything down and keeping everyone inside all the time.

Of course, as Dr. Fauci admitted, the government initially lied about the usefulness of masks for the general public, to keep masks available for medical personnel, etc. who most needed them.

It's literally the least one can do, not just to stop the spread of COVID, but also just to signal a general willingness to accept the current situation and the government recommendations that come along with it.

So should people stop wearing masks if they don't necessarily "accept the current situation and the government recommendations that come along with it", even if they otherwise agree with you?