Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[diehardlionfan]

1 minute ago, mission27 said:

Agreed it wont open soon, clearly at least not until late May given the recent announcement, I think sometime in June or July is more likely, but I'd also be surprised if it was closed much longer than that tbh even with a lot of political pressure on Trudeau about his response.  Once you have similar infection rates on both sides of the border and cases are largely under control and domestic travel has resumed, the public health rationale becomes much weaker and the economic and social cost particularly to the large number of cross border communities and families is going to outweigh the marginal comfort people get from the border being closed.  Same thing with the internal borders in Europe.  

I think early summer we see European internal borders and US-Canada border open up, those borders are so heavily trafficked and the countries have close cooperation on border issues so it will be easier.  Other borders will be longer.  Non-essential transatlantic flights we are probably looking at mid-late summer IMO.

I hope you’re right. Trudeau isn’t under political pressure right now and the major point where he has suffered criticism is closing the border to late.  

I agree about public health rationale however that’s where the trust I previously mentioned comes in. Right now that’s in pretty short supply. It’s in both countries economic interest to open the border as quickly as possible however Trudeau won’t double down on his mistake of keeping borders open to long. 

Its a huge safety management issue.

[mission27]

3 minutes ago, diehardlionfan said:

I hope you’re right. Trudeau isn’t under political pressure right now and the major point where he has suffered criticism is closing the border to late.  

I agree about public health rationale however that’s where the trust I previously mentioned comes in. Right now that’s in pretty short supply. It’s in both countries economic interest to open the border as quickly as possible however Trudeau won’t double down on his mistake of keeping borders open to long. 

Its a huge safety management issue.

Yeah, what I mean by political pressure is more on the other side.  I know he's getting a ton of **** right now for keeping the borders open (in fairness, he really wasn't that far behind other countries and Canada's fairing better than most, so I don't really get it)

The way I'd look at it is Canada is more reliant on the US-Canada trade and travel than the US is, because its a bigger part of the economy and a greater percentage of Canadian's live within an hour of the US than vice-versa.  So while there's a lot of protectionist sentiment right now re: the border that makes sense, when we start to see both the US and Canada open up I think that will give way to economic concerns and also the concerns of families and communities separated by the border, and I think borders in Europe opening will give Trudeau political cover to do it.  The alternative (leaving the US-Canada border... and therefore most likely ALL Canadian international borders... closed indefinitely, potentially for a year plus) doesn't seem viable to me.  Meanwhile Trump will be happy to open the border as soon as Canada feels both sides are ready.

But its clearly a thorny issue in the short term

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

9 minutes ago, naptownskinsfan said:

Buffets have been slowly dying off due to a variety of reasons, but this is going to put the final nail in that coffin.  I saw where Golden Corral was offering meal choices for services like DoorDash and Grubhub, but I can't imagine most of these places remaining open over the next year or so. 

Vegas buffets are a different animal.  They are much higher end and often have waits to get it regardless of day or time.

Last one I went to was like 50 per person plus booze.  Worth every penny, dont get me wrong, but just saying it’s orders of magnitude better than Golden Corral and the like.

Vegas is really the only place I’ve been that has buffets like this though, as far as quality of food and abundance of great options (both in food and different buffet restaurant options).  Most every casino has them and many of them are awfully damned good.

[mission27]

1 minute ago, mission27 said:

Yeah, what I mean by political pressure is more on the other side.  I know he's getting a ton of **** right now for keeping the borders open (in fairness, he really wasn't that far behind other countries and Canada's fairing better than most, so I don't really get it)

The way I'd look at it is Canada is more reliant on the US-Canada trade and travel than the US is, because its a bigger part of the economy and a greater percentage of Canadian's live within an hour of the US than vice-versa.  So while there's a lot of protectionist sentiment right now re: the border that makes sense, when we start to see both the US and Canada open up I think that will give way to economic concerns and also the concerns of families and communities separated by the border, and I think borders in Europe opening will give Trudeau political cover to do it.  The alternative (leaving the US-Canada border... and therefore most likely ALL Canadian international borders... closed indefinitely, potentially for a year plus) doesn't seem viable to me.  Meanwhile Trump will be happy to open the border as soon as Canada feels both sides are ready.

But its clearly a thorny issue in the short term

I think the way you do this btw is you make anyone crossing the border sign up for the Apple/Google tracking app or whatever, so if they do in fact test positive you have a greater degree of certainty you will be able to trace and (anonymously) notify their contacts and hopefully prevent clusters

Between that and possibly testing people at the border, you could make international travel even safer than domestic travel, albeit this is likely a few months away from being pracitcal.  Thats why if I had to guess I'd say early July

[naptownskinsfan]

1 minute ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

Vegas buffets are a different animal.  They are much higher end and often have waits to get it regardless of day or time.

Last one I went to was like 50 per person plus booze.  Worth every penny, dont get me wrong, but just saying it’s orders of magnitude better than Golden Corral and the like.

Vegas is really the only place I’ve been that has buffets like this though, as far as quality of food and abundance of great options (both in food and different buffet restaurant options).  Most every casino has them and many of them are awfully damned good.

There is a great seafood buffet in Ocean City that has lasted decades and has wonderful food.  I think buffets in those areas will be fine.  But if you are talking Golden Corral, your local China buffet, etc, most of those are going to go the way of the dodo.  I'd also trust the Vegas buffets with keeping things sanitized and clean (or maybe even adapting to bring the food to you at the table) versus the others.  

[diehardlionfan]

6 minutes ago, naptownskinsfan said:

Buffets have been slowly dying off due to a variety of reasons, but this is going to put the final nail in that coffin.  I saw where Golden Corral was offering meal choices for services like DoorDash and Grubhub, but I can't imagine most of these places remaining open over the next year or so. 

It won’t break my heart. I DON’T eat at buffets. Period! 

Nine years ago my wife and I renewed our vows in Vegas. All our friends and family came down. Three days before The ceremony, under great pressure, I relented, ate at a buffet, and ended up hospitalized with food poisoning. 

Being sick was bad enough but getting involved with the hospital was really eye opening. We have fabulous travel insurance that we’ve used internationally on three occasions. Hospital policy is you pay out of pocket and they send a refund when your insurance company pays. That even though our insurance company, which is a major company was in the phone guaranteeing payment. Luckily, I was only in there for 3.5 hours and the bill was just $3700.00. Just a cumbersome inconvenience.

[diehardlionfan]

Just now, naptownskinsfan said:

There is a great seafood buffet in Ocean City that has lasted decades and has wonderful food.  I think buffets in those areas will be fine.  But if you are talking Golden Corral, your local China buffet, etc, most of those are going to go the way of the dodo.  I'd also trust the Vegas buffets with keeping things sanitized and clean (or maybe even adapting to bring the food to you at the table) versus the others.  

I can’t recall all of them but The Nugget and T.I. have closed forever.

[diehardlionfan]

6 minutes ago, mission27 said:

I think the way you do this btw is you make anyone crossing the border sign up for the Apple/Google tracking app or whatever, so if they do in fact test positive you have a greater degree of certainty you will be able to trace and (anonymously) notify their contacts and hopefully prevent clusters

Between that and possibly testing people at the border, you could make international travel even safer than domestic travel, albeit this is likely a few months away from being pracitcal.  Thats why if I had to guess I'd say early July

I think you open in stages. Right now it’s just essential traffic. Which also includes the 2000 or so medical personnel living in Windsor that work in Detroit. 

Step one would be to get it open for property owners. Citizens of each country own recreation property in the others country. 
Step two is opening for work related crossings. 
Step three is open. 

I think the tracking app idea is great. I would never do it personally but it’s certainly an option that would work for many people.

[bigbadbuff]

33 minutes ago, diehardlionfan said:

We just cancelled September and December trips to Vegas. While I personally expect Vegas to be somewhat open by then it certainly won’t be the Las Vegas of last year. Already a number of buffets (who would eat at a buffet) are closed permanently. Rumours I’ve heard is they’re looking at removing up to 50% of slot machines and gaming tables, removing restaurant seating etc. They haven’t even beg7n thinking about how to reopen the shows.

Las Vegas will probably be impacted more than any other U.S. city. It’s really sad. We have a great number of friends there and TIPS make the world work in Vegas so even with relief hospitality staff might get from government it won’t be enough. They desperately need to get back to work.

Its sad because housing prices just reached 2008 levels in January. 

Blahhhh i had my bachelor party scheduled first week of April, haven’t chosen a date to move it to get, we just moved the wedding from June to November so i was hoping to get to Vegas sometime in October.

[mission27]

6 minutes ago, diehardlionfan said:

I think you open in stages. Right now it’s just essential traffic. Which also includes the 2000 or so medical personnel living in Windsor that work in Detroit. 

Step one would be to get it open for property owners. Citizens of each country own recreation property in the others country. 
Step two is opening for work related crossings. 
Step three is open. 

I think the tracking app idea is great. I would never do it personally but it’s certainly an option that would work for many people.

Yep for sure

The good thing with the tracking apps too is it works for folks who live in border communities who are crossing frequently for a bunch of different reasons and could never be expected to abide by more stringent requirements like border tests or being screened for symptoms if they're going across for the day to visit their uncle or going to the grocery store that happens to be in the other country.  Those are the people most hurt right now by the border closures.  The tracking app could be downloaded and kept on your phone, its a privacy issue but you have a lot more leeway with foreign nationals / immigration issues than you do with your own citizens and I think most people who want to cross the border would be OK with it for the time being if they were assured the information was only used for anonymous contact tracing (I don't have blind faith in either government, but the US and Canada is not Russia and North Korea by any means)

Edited April 19, 2020 by mission27

[Mega Ron]

15 minutes ago, bigbadbuff said:

Blahhhh i had my bachelor party scheduled first week of April, haven’t chosen a date to move it to get, we just moved the wedding from June to November so i was hoping to get to Vegas sometime in October.

Any of you fools getting married should look at the virus as what it is, the perfect excuse not to do it.

Run. Live. Be free. And HAPPY.

[mission27]

5 minutes ago, Mega Ron said:

Any of you fools getting married should look at the virus as what it is, the perfect excuse not to do it.

Run. Live. Be free. And HAPPY.

mission honestly looking at it the opposite way tbh

The bachelor lifestyle does not lend well to lockdown

[mistakey]

44 minutes ago, mission27 said:

I think the way you do this btw is you make anyone crossing the border sign up for the Apple/Google tracking app or whatever, so if they do in fact test positive you have a greater degree of certainty you will be able to trace and (anonymously) notify their contacts and hopefully prevent clusters

Between that and possibly testing people at the border, you could make international travel even safer than domestic travel, albeit this is likely a few months away from being pracitcal.  Thats why if I had to guess I'd say early July

Anonymity+ tracking = ha

[mistakey]

15 minutes ago, Mega Ron said:

Any of you fools getting married should look at the virus as what it is, the perfect excuse not to do it.

Run. Live. Be free. And HAPPY.

Only child married a flight attendant and now were stuck in same ny apt together 

[mistakey]

1 hour ago, bigbadbuff said:

Will i be safe to go to Vegas in October? Let’s hope

No