Coronavirus in Massachusetts (safest, foundation, therapy)

[jtolpin]

I have a college senior daughter coming home in end of June, going on to grad school. she will be living here.

I have a college sophmore hopefully going back to dorms in Boston.

I have a current junior in high school now. Id like her senior year to go over well.

I want them back in school - if it is safe, obviously. If its not safe, we deal with it.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

If mask wearing is actually critical, I am concerned about our prospects in this area. I did a few overdue errands yesterday and ran across several examples of people not wearing masks in close quarters. Most of these were "essential" workers. At the parts department of a Boston area auto dealership, the clerk helping me was wearing a mask but no less than 3 technicians from the service department came in to the close area wearing no masks. I was thankful I had paid ahead and was just picking up my parts quickly. At a restaurant last night there were several staff members sitting together not wearing masks when I went in for the pickup. They all put them on shortly after I entered.

I get that wearing masks is inconvenient and will get worse as the wether gets warm, however is it essential or not? As we prepare to allow more businesses to open, those employees are the most likely to acquire and spread the virus. It is somewhat concerning.

Yeah, I think it's going to take some time before people figure out how to do it right. I've definitely seen an continuous uptick in percentage of people wearing masks (especially indoors where my experience is nearly 100%). But I have noticed some pretty inexcusable exceptions and plenty of people who are wearing them wrong (i.e. nose out). I hope it gets better.

Also, weird that technicians were without masks. Technicians should be more accustomed than most when it comes to wearing them - the N95 is pretty standard for a lot of the work they do.

[Bridge781]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

I pulled my kids from school before it was closed and they have thrived during remote learning. However, I also realize how the social and emotional component of education is. So yeah, I don't want schools closed in the fall without hard justification. If everything else is coming back, schools should be a priority.

You might be the only person I’ve seen say their kids are thriving during this. If you or your spouse aren’t working I can see where it might be ok or maybe your kids are older. My 4 and 6 year old are very active and need constant attention. They are doing ok but none of us are thriving at the moment. I’m thriving in that I haven’t had to deal with commuting but that’s about it.

[Bridge781]

We had movers move things out of our house last Friday and none were wearing masks. I wasn’t there but my husband told me and was suprised. I guess moving heavy things while wearing a mask would be uncomfortable but....

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Also, weird that technicians were without masks. Technicians should be more accustomed than most when it comes to wearing them - the N95 is pretty standard for a lot of the work they do.

I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Perhaps they are used to removing or pulling down their masks to take a break when leaving the work area, and that is a hard habit to break. However this is a dealership with several locations. You'd think some protocols would be in place for areas where customers would be. The clerk helping me didn't even bat an eye.

The people wearing masks with their noses out, etc. makes me laugh. The joggers who pull up a buff when they are already 6 in away from you, it's like, why even bother. Though I do think the outdoor mask wearing is potentially unnecessary.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

We had movers move things out of our house last Friday and none were wearing masks. I wasn’t there but my husband told me and was suprised. I guess moving heavy things while wearing a mask would be uncomfortable but....

You can always make that part of the job, request it upfront. I've had a few workmen come in and have said upfront that I wear a mask and ask that they do so, also. The guys building the house next door do not wear them and I have had to sort of motion them off when they've approached me outside to ask permission to move their trucks or whatever. It's outside, though.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

I felt like I was in the twilight zone. Perhaps they are used to removing or pulling down their masks to take a break when leaving the work area, and that is a hard habit to break. However this is a dealership with several locations. You'd think some protocols would be in place for areas where customers would be. The clerk helping me didn't even bat an eye.
...

I called my dealership for maintenance appointment and said that I wear a mask and the young woman told me that they do, too, and talked about how the techs sanitize and all. I plan to wait for the car outside, nonetheless. It's Subaru and they are always impeccable.

[NewfieMama]

I grew up in the midwest and have lived on the East Coast for the majority of my life at this point. There is most definitely a difference in how those I know in the midwest are approaching this and how my friends and colleagues here are approaching this.

Not that the midwest is all rural, but the more rural the area, the more autonomous communities are. There is generally just more self-reliance and people aren't looking for an authority to tell them what to do. They are used to taking care of their families and communities without much oversight. So when they suddenly have to authorities telling them their kids can't go to school, they can't meet, they must wear masks, they are much less trusting. Even my own mother when diagnosed with ALS decided to take her life in her own hands, stopped drinking water, and was dead in 3 days. Midwesterners tend to feel that they know what is best for themselves and their families and they'll do what is best without being forced to do it by others who are imposing their will on them.

My great aunts/uncles in the midwest who are 75+ are outraged that those in their generation aren't protesting that nobody asked them if they wanted the world to stop for them. I remind them that we are protecting them even if they don't want to, but it frustrates them that everybody is acting on their behalf without even asking them what they want. Very typical midwestern mentality.

My midwest friends are also talking much more about the cost of the policies we are enacting. In this effort to go beyond flattening the curve (the initial goal), to now basically saving every life, what is it costing us? The midwest has more small businesses that can't afford to be closed until there is a vaccine. They tend to feel that those of us on the coasts are myopic when it comes to the "save any life at any cost" mentality. They would say that even at this point the cure has been worse than the disease, especially in their smaller communities where businesses can't recover, people are out of work, and they can do nothing about it.

I think here people are used to living in a nanny state where there is much more acceptance around being told what to do. And I do understand that we rely on experts to give us the data we need to make decisions. And we feel that if the policy is informed by good data that is the most beneficial to the most people, then why would we question that? But while those here are mostly just listening to Fauci, looking at covid-19 data, and basing decisions on that, the majority of my midwestern friends/family is curious about the economic data around how many lives will suffer/deaths will be caused by depression-level unemployment, what are the long-term effects of the lack of education our children are receiving, where are the mental health experts to talk with us about depression, suicide, etc. that is an outcome of the policy we are enacting.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

If you or your spouse aren’t working I can see where it might be ok or maybe your kids are older.

My spouse works full time, as do I while running a business with employees. Our children are elementary school aged.

At the outset of this we adopted the mindset that life as we know it is over (for now). Managing expectations has helped. We've been trying to make the best of it but have been focused on work and taking care of each other. We're fortunate in that our school was ready to hit the ground running on remote learning. Our youngest is in 1st grade so they need a lot of hand holding. We switch off on which parent is available to help and sometimes schedules need to be flexible. I am often working late at night to catch up and up early to get everyone out for fresh air and exercise. The kids have had to do things for themselves, which perhaps they should have been doing anyway. Some good will come out of this.

Don't get me wrong, it sucks at times, but complaining doesn't help for us. If schools do not open here in the fall but are open in other places, we will definitely consider leaving MA despite having been here for a long time.

[Bridge781]

Interesting that you would consider leaving the state if the schools don’t open in the fall. I’m really hoping they open but I will still be nervous. One of the reasons we just moved to the town we chose is for the schools lol. Just my luck that they’d be closed.