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Post by Kapitan on May 26, 2020 13:34:30 GMT
I shit you not, started relieving themselves in the yards of nearby homes! ... Police issued a few tickets to the public poopers Pun intended? I agree entirely. That's the scary thing about it. Once people feel they've done their part, the weather improves, and things open up, I don't think they're going to follow restrictions unless or until things get much worse.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on May 26, 2020 14:56:41 GMT
I shit you not, started relieving themselves in the yards of nearby homes! ... Police issued a few tickets to the public poopers Pun intended? Yes, and I'm pleased someone caught it
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 13, 2020 12:12:36 GMT
The past two days were two of our 10 highest in terms of new coronavirus cases announced: 804 and 710. (804 is actually the 4th highest.)
In the past few weeks, it has been anecdotally obvious that people weren't just easing back into a semblance of cautious normalcy, but very often just total normalcy. It's as if people have decided it's all or nothing, and they went with nothing. As a result, our new caseloads look like they did back in mid May, which were the worst few weeks so far.
Closing down most businesses (again) is a crushing step that I don't want us to take again. I'm certain that almost everyone agrees we should avoid that. That's why I don't understand how people don't take the relatively simple (though admittedly awkward/uncomfortable) steps of social distancing and, when inside public or commercial spaces, wearing a mask.
Foolproof? No. Comfortable? No. Better than nothing? By far. Better than closing down businesses and returning to quarantine? My god, do you have to ask?
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Jul 13, 2020 13:39:57 GMT
Seeing the reports of high case counts south of the border and in other countries is worrying and saddening. A coworker of mine whose family are all in Brazil lost a fourth family member to Covid-19 on Friday.
Masks have been made mandatory in all indoor public spaces now. Despite the fact that we've been pretty successful here and we're down to about 120 per day on average for the whole province, we of course have some resisters who insist on protesting masks. They've called themselves the Hugs Over Masks group. They've been going around riding transit and entering public spaces wearing t-shirts with that phrase on it in protest. Mind-boggling. Clearly the restrictions have working here. Why set us back? Don't they want things to ever go back to normal?
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 13, 2020 13:47:28 GMT
It's the strangest thing that people who advocate loudest for reopening as much as possible also refuse to wear masks or keep any distancing in place (which are of course the best ways to reopen as much as possible).
I do have some sympathy depending on location. In rural areas with few or no cases and not a lot of movement of (outside) people through the communities, I get that it all seems over-dramatic. That's certainly the case in my hometown, where my parents still live. (That said, they're both well into their 70s, are being careful and wear masks, and wish more others did the same.) But in Minneapolis or other cities? Common sense, people.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Jul 13, 2020 15:25:12 GMT
I see what you're saying about smaller towns. My own hometown is kind of going through the same thing. To them it feels like it's over. But people are starting to travel again, and it only takes one person to visit a larger city and bring the virus back with them. My mom is insisting on coming to visit next week - she bought a plane ticket without talking to myself or my sister first, likely because she knows we'd have tried to talk her out of it. I get that she's desperate to see her grandkids, but we do still have an active situation here, even if things are improving. I'm concerned about her getting on that plane.
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Post by B.E. on Jul 13, 2020 15:38:51 GMT
The situation certainly seems to be getting a lot worse in the US and now it's hitting close to home. My uncle is convinced he has it. He lives in Florida, but was working out of state (he's a pilot) and came into contact with a mechanic who had the virus, told no one, and took no precautions. And, this is someone they knew and have a working relationship with. He was supposed to get his test results within 48 hours, but it's been closer to a week. He might take another test which is supposed to have faster results, but he's got a very high fever (among other symptoms). He's currently at home, as far as I know. I hope to be updated on his condition today.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 17, 2020 15:21:58 GMT
This story got my attention. I know some people who have the same attitude or opinion as the person in this story. It is sad but I thought worth posting:
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 17, 2020 15:32:02 GMT
I've seen several similar stories over the weeks. It's very sad, and I think displays a massive misunderstanding about risk. Some of these anti-mask people correctly say that masks and distancing don't guarantee your health. So they incorrectly seem to think it's all the same and they may as well not bother to take precautions.
You could think about it like smoking and lung cancer, or tanning and skin cancer. You can get those maladies without engaging in the risky behaviors, or you can engage in the risky behaviors and not get the maladies. That does not mean it's all the same and you should do whatever you want: you're greatly increasing your risk.
And we have people who seem to conflate precautions with effeminacy or weakness, as if viruses were scared away by big macho muscles or something.
But then I am also truly sickened by the social media pile-ons in response to these stories. People get sick or die, and the pro-precaution team decides to mock them for their "stupidity"? Like "it serves you right"? It's really gross.
The whole thing should be less politicized.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 27, 2020 12:12:36 GMT
Minnesota has had its top two days of newly reported cases in the past week: 903 and 862. (Several other days would rate among the top 10.) Thankfully, even as confirmed positive cases are still high, fatalities are much lower, around 5 a day. During May, when fatalities were peaking, we'd see 25-30 a day.
I heard, and then double-checked the data on, in-state fatality rates by age, and they are really striking. Obviously everyone has heard that younger people are less likely to die than older people, and it does increase as you look at each 10-year age group. But if you just lump cases into 0-49 and 50+, the rates in Minnesota are approximately 0.1% fatality rate for 0-49 and 12% for 50+!
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Post by B.E. on Jul 27, 2020 15:46:54 GMT
12% fatality rate for 50+ is very scary stuff, and higher than I expected.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 27, 2020 15:54:16 GMT
12% fatality rate for 50+ is very scary stuff, and higher than I expected. Isn't it insane? That said, I was lumping all the age groups of 50+ together. Here is how they break down by group in Minnesota:
50-59: 79 deaths / 6605 cases, 1.2% 60-69: 193/3877, 5% 70-79: 298/2094, 14.2% 80-89: 532/1778, 29.9% 90-99: 404/919, 44% 100+: 31/53, 58.5%
It's really a spike at 60-69, and then an insane growth starting at 70. Going the other way, the numbers are astronomically low. For example, 40-49 death rate is 0.28%; 30-39 is 0.13%. And so on.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 29, 2020 12:42:29 GMT
Minneapolis public schools, like everyone in the state, are waiting to hear the governor's decision tomorrow on whether schools can open in the fall; but they say they'd rather begin with remote learning.
Without kids, I have no dog in this race. But my colleagues and friends are understandably stressing over this issue.
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Post by kds on Jul 30, 2020 14:09:31 GMT
Here's a random gripe, and I'm not sure if anything here can relate. But, this whole COVID thing is causing some real overreactions in people.
My wife and I were on vacation two weeks ago, and we went to an indoor restaurant. Now, my wife has had issues with her sinuses her entire life. It was quite humid outside, and that can often trigger her issues, so she had a bit of a cough while at the table. And some total bitch shot her the evil eye the whole time we were eating. I'm not a confrontational person, but it took all my willpower not to go to her table and ask what her problem was. If you're going to be that frightened, and glare at somebody over a fucking cough, stay the fuck home!!!!
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 30, 2020 14:18:25 GMT
I--and a lot of people I've talked to--can relate. In Minnesota, basically every season except winter messes with someone's allergies. Whether it's the organic material being exposed from under melting snow, spring and summer pollen in the air, or drying crushed leaves and plants on the autumn breeze, people often are coughing or sneezing from at least one of these periods due at some time or other.
Now I understand being jittery due to COVID. But so many people, myself included, take perfectly appropriate precautions (re COVID) but still end up sneezing or coughing at some point. You have to give people the benefit of the doubt that they're not just morons spreading the disease! (I'm sure some people actually are those morons, but come on! Most are not.)
EDIT: By the way, restaurant!? I remember those! Alas, it has been months and months... I did go to the just-reopened library yesterday to pick up a few things I'd ordered. Mask required, interior partly gutted to allow much more spacing, attendant at the door to ensure rule compliance and reduced capacity, the bank of computers for public use are gone... but at least I finally got those books I ordered in February and March!
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