mission27

I’m in the tristate area and that wasn’t my reaction (I was informed and never felt this was a risk to me personally) but to each his own. Most people under 40 I know were far less careful and concerned than even I was. My support and the support of most other young people was based on a desire to do the right thing and cooperate with the sacrifices everyone was making. It was never intended to be permanent isolation. The problem is we continue to have people who on the one hand say we shouldn’t have any social contact (ie rams) or on the other hand want to open up fully with no restrictions (gov of Florida). Thankfully in the northeast we’ve pursued a middle ground and it’s working pretty darn well so far.

Sure and when people decide those sacrifices are not worth it anymore they are going to act on that. I live in a part of the country that was very supportive of the initial lockdown. There is practically zero appetite for another one. That’s life

Until people said... we aren’t doing this anymore

No I’m not. I’ve consistently said... no bars no mass gatherings. I’m saying, people will socialize. Encourage them to do so in smaller groups and outdoors. But saying “you can’t socialize” will not work.

It’s clear you hold a rather extreme position on this issue (you don’t think two adults should engage in behavior that at worst leads to a single person to person transmission of the virus ie is far from a super spreading event). Not sure what to say other than your position is not being followed anywhere on earth right now and never will be. But we’ll have to agree to disagree.

Good luck with that last one buddy

There have been numerous studies on the topic of transmission indoors vs. outdoors and the impact of heat and humidity. I'm not going to re-litigate that issue, only suggest that just as in March the outbreaks are following a very clear (and opposite) seasonal pattern that is consistent with the scientific evidence on this issue.

I'm literally saying close the f'ing bars. I'm not sure what about that you don't understand. I'm objecting to the delusional view that you are going to keep bars open and somehow 20-somethings aren't going to show up, because of their social conscience. 20 somethings are back to socializing everywhere on earth. The issue is public policy that doesn't limit that socializing to less risky venues.

What we are seeing in the south is seasonality its just a different seasonal curve than we are used to with the flu and common cold. Its clear that this virus does not spread well outdoors, especially when its hot and humid, and spreads very well indoors in cool dry environments. People in the northern half of the country spend a lot of time outside in the summer and don't go outside during the winter. People in the southern half of the country spend all their time indoors in the AC during the summer. This is exactly the same seasonal pattern we see in Israel and other affluent parts of the middle east by the way.

Yes, living our lives increases the risk of COVID spread which is why when the outbreak was at its worse everyone put their lives on hold. No socializing, no seeing friends and family, no going to work. That wasn't sustainable. We had to figure out how to open up while continuing to limit the most high risk activities. Some places have done much better than others. I don't think its because young people in Florida are worse people than young people in New York or Europe. Its public policy and climate related.

This is BS. We isolated for longer than they did. We opened up later. And judging by the Instagram stories of dozens of friends in Europe, they are doing the exact same **** people are doing here (large gatherings of young people, parties, bars, restaurants, you name it). The difference is public policy and climate.

Nobody is talking about "easing" restrictions. Restrictions were clearly eased too far in places like Florida. We are talking about placing the onus on policy makers to come up with restrictions most people will willingly follow, that still allow for people to live their lives, and then enforce these restrictions. Which actually means more restrictions, in places like Florida.

But this is exactly my point. Its up to policy makers to shut down the highest risk venues and encourage people to socialize in safer settings (outdoors, low capacity restaurants, etc.) because young people have a different cost-benefit in this thing and don't always make the best decisions and they will socialize. Shutting down high-risk venues and regulating crowd sizes is the only way to slow this thing down. I don't know how old you are but as someone in the 20-40 age range, going out with my friends and meeting new people and getting laid is absolutely a basic social and biological urge that I will and do willingly sacrifice my health for. In normal times the main venue for that type of activity is a crowded bar. mission is very informed & has been more careful than most. If you want the masses to be cooperative though you need to bend their behavior through restrictions that still leave opportunities to socialize and live their life.

Exactly. Its the same reason abstinence only sex ed doesn't work. Public policy that is based on unrealistic assumptions about how compliant people will be, in the face of basic social and biological urges telling them not to comply, will never be effective. Lets try stuff that could actually work.

There's a big difference between prohibiting behavior that the vast majority of society views as unacceptable (drunks driving drunk, murderers) and prohibiting behavior that a large portion of society wants to engage in (socializing with their friends and family) as shown through their actions if not necessarily their stated beliefs. That's why prohibition, the war on drugs, etc. don't work. Unfortunately a lot of people have never learned that lesson of history. Blaming people for wanting to live their lives isn't going to work. At best it will make you feel better about your moral superiority. If you focus on more realistic public policy solutions (limiting capacity for indoor dining and closing bars, for instance) and actually enforce these rules, you will have more success.