Coronavirus in Massachusetts (homes, elementary school, college)

[jtolpin]

I would NOT want someone picking out my produce.

I weigh the pros/cons and I go to the grocery stores. I go to work. I dont go out to eat, or go to casinos, gyms, barber shops, etc....

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by jtolpin

I would NOT want someone picking out my produce.

I hear you. Of course, having someone else do the "dirty work" might help us individually, but doesn't help much overall I don't think. Someone is having to do the picking. Their life or health isn't less valuable than mine. Instead of a dozen people being in and out in 10 minutes tops, we are now having gig economy workers spend an hour or more for those dozen people and being much more at risk. More of the same, sadly.

[Cantabridgienne]

Who do you think does Instacart shopping, elves?


Buying food is an essential action. Period. Not sure how that is comparable to entertaining indoors without wearing masks.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I hear you. Of course, having someone else do the "dirty work" might help us individually, but doesn't help much overall I don't think. Someone is having to do the picking. Their life or health isn't less valuable than mine. Instead of a dozen people being in and out in 10 minutes tops, we are now having gig economy workers spend an hour or more for those dozen people and being much more at risk. More of the same, sadly.

It helps in a few ways. One of which, it provides jobs to a population that has disproportionately taken an economic beating during this pandemic. Aren't you one of the people here constantly talking about empathy towards others?



Secondly, a person might be immune compromised or otherwise high risk and their risk tolerance level is therefore lower than one who might take that job out of necessity.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by redplum33

It seems pretty hypocritical to go off on msRB311 about doing unnecessary risky things when you (with a compromised immune system) are going grocery shopping when you could easily get it delivered instead. And please don't justify it by saying you want to pick out your produce.


(Note that I'm not defending msRB311's actions.)

I still cannot get grocery deliveries. Still. There was a period over the summer where I could get deliveries, but I didn't need to because I got a farmshare. Since mid-October, it's back to as difficult as it was last March in my area.



I go to the grocery store half an hour before close once every 10 days. If there are open slots for delivery, I'd rather it go to someone who absolutely cannot get out of the house (like someone elderly or with covid) versus the very low risk of going to the store half an hour before close when there are reduced numbers of cashiers and pickers, as well as maybe 5 other customers.



I'm also not potentially spreading covid to more people. I live alone. If I have to go to work, I am tested and it's extremely physically distanced in my workspace (only one person in my office of 30 is allowed to be in at any time). Everyone I come into even remote contact with at work is tested at least twice a week. I go to the grocery store AFTER seeing my grandmother, and plan my grocery trips around her medical appointments. My "bubble" is only my boyfriend, who I only see once every 2 weeks and he gets tested each time he comes to see me. His essential business operates out of an area of New York that has very limited cases. I don't see anyone socially and all of my doctor's appointments have moved online.

[rach5]

I've said many times that it has been a complete failure for us not to provide the financial support to allow everybody to stay home when they have the smallest symptom. Will some take advantage? Absolutely. Would it help our health and our economy? I would think so!
Also, I thought it is interesting to link to BU's covid data: Positivity rate has spiked dramatically in recent days and is now around .5%. This is very low compared to our states' rates due to mandatory testing - but even at such a low daily rate, and even if it were not to increase further next semester, eventually the majority of the BU population would be infected BEFORE vaccines become wildly available. What a tragedy - record breaking vaccine development is still not nearly as useful as it could be, because as a nation/state we have behaved worse than toddlers.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

Who do you think does Instacart shopping, elves?


Buying food is an essential action. Period.

Those people are disposable to society. We view them as essential, don't pay them as essential, and see them as disposable.


Our society is serious F'd. Some people truly need these services. They have compromised immune systems, or are elderly or have other underlying conditions. But most of us? Nope.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by rach5

I've said many times that it has been a complete failure for us not to provide the financial support to allow everybody to stay home when they have the smallest symptom. Will some take advantage? Absolutely. Would it help our health and our economy? I would think so!
Also, I thought it is interesting to link to BU's covid data: Positivity rate has spiked dramatically in recent days and is now around .5%. This is very low compared to our states' rates due to mandatory testing - but even at such a low daily rate, and even if it were not to increase further next semester, eventually the majority of the BU population would be infected BEFORE vaccines become wildly available. What a tragedy - record breaking vaccine development is still not nearly as useful as it could be, because as a nation/state we have behaved worse than toddlers.

Not sure I follow the math on this one. How does 0.5% positivity rate, coupled with frequent testing and mandated quarantining, result in >50% of BU's 18,000+ undergrad student population getting infected before say, April (when I assume...the vaccine will be more widely available)?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by timberline742

Those people are disposable to society. We view them as essential, don't pay them as essential, and see them as disposable.

Well I'm sure "those people" are more thankful for the ones actually giving them a job, than for those virtue signalling from behind their computer screen while they sit at home and collect a paycheck.

[mdovell]

That's why what I implied earlier is that it's not a matter of saying someone has to do it but rather *something* has to do it. If we can automate these processes and get robots to do what we can save lives and lower-costs. As bad as this may be the US think about how much worse it is in a developing world. Can you imagine not having access to clean drinking water and having this happen? Or adequate heat or air conditioning? This is global and if we need to get sais government and unions and companies together to solve these problems and so be it. Look at the coal industry, it automated a heck of a lot more than what they had 30 40 50 years ago and they simply don't need as many people risking their lives over something that's flat-out isn't worth dying for.

Before, covid I used to go grocery shopping an hour before closing at Walmart because it hardly be anybody there and it was great now I'm not so sure. However, I will say they eliminated all the checkouts and replaced it with self-checkout.

Every Monday the City of Springfield as the presentation the last nearly an hour from different department heads talking about how the police are doing the fire department and buildings. Basically school buildings have to be retrofitted with different types of filters and devices and that will take at least two months. The state has asked Boston and Worcester in Springfield for when special ed students will be going back. The argument Springfield is that if special ed students go back it should only be when everybody else does otherwise it's inequality. We might be looking at potentially your year between when this started when they go back into the classroom