How's everyone doing amongst the Coronavirus shut down? (Reading, York: fit in, income)

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by TownDweller

Are people in Philly wearing masks? I am taking daily walks in Conshy and aside from me I rarely see any.

OTOH, social distancing is being held. When two people pass each other on the same sidewalk one invariably goes into the street to maintain distance.

We were out walking around Center City on Sunday, and I would say about 30% of the people (including us) were wearing masks. I was not happy when joggers would run right by us, most without masks. We walked by groups of people hanging out on stoops and in one case, we encountered a house full of people hanging out their windows waving to passers-by and chatting amongst themselves. None of these people were wearing masks. It's clear to me that there is still a sizable slice of Philadelphians who still don't take this thing seriously.

I read that Paris is banning people from going outside for exercise during the day, between 10 am and 7 pm. Wish we could get something like that here. I'd settle for a requirement that everyone who is outdoors other than to get groceries or attend to other essential needs be required to wear masks.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

We were out walking around Center City on Sunday, and I would say about 30% of the people (including us) were wearing masks. I was not happy when joggers would run right by us, most without masks. We walked by groups of people hanging out on stoops and in one case, we encountered a house full of people hanging out their windows waving to passers-by and chatting amongst themselves. None of these people were wearing masks. It's clear to me that there is still a sizable slice of Philadelphians who still don't take this thing seriously.

I read that Paris is banning people from going outside for exercise during the day, between 10 am and 7 pm. Wish we could get something like that here. I'd settle for a requirement that everyone who is outdoors other than to get groceries or attend to other essential needs be required to wear masks.

Yeah, and the people exercising need to provide 20 feet of distance because the force of exhale pushes potential contamination so much further. It's really hard to maintain distance when other people aren't watching where they're walking, not following instructions, etc. It's even worse when they are running because they could jut your way and get too close with almost no notice.

I really miss Center City (haven't been there since 3/13), but I can't say how thankful I am to be in Mt. Airy during this time. There's just more room, nature and less people. Although I saw an article about the Wissihickon being overrun with people even on rainy days.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by AJNEOA

Yeah, and the people exercising need to provide 20 feet of distance because the force of exhale pushes potential contamination so much further. It's really hard to maintain distance when other people aren't watching where they're walking, not following instructions, etc. It's even worse when they are running because they could jut your way and get too close with almost no notice.

I really miss Center City (haven't been there since 3/13), but I can't say how thankful I am to be in Mt. Airy during this time. There's just more room, nature and less people. Although I saw an article about the Wissihickon being overrun with people even on rainy days.

Yea, this is a time when being in CC is a disadvantage for anyone who wants some solitude outdoors. I have been to Rittenhouse for about two weeks. It must be crawling with people violating one another's space. It wouldn't surprise me if we don't end up with some more restrictive precautions people will need to take before heading out to walk or exercise.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by TownDweller

Are people in Philly wearing masks? I am taking daily walks in Conshy and aside from me I rarely see any.

OTOH, social distancing is being held. When two people pass each other on the same sidewalk one invariably goes into the street to maintain distance.

I have been wearing a mask, since I'm an old head, ever since stuff got " lock down/closed". I only go out when I have to which is 2/3 times a week.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

Well sure, I suppose so. People still need exercise and fresh air however. Driving, parking and surfing completely alone (before we knew COVID-19 could live on water) would have probably been safer than taking a walk in the city.

I do see your point.

Before this I was a big walker. It's probably the major reason I'm in better physical condition than many of my peers.
Now I'm only doing a fraction of the walking I have been used to. I'm sure as hell not going to MLK Drive for exercise!

I'm a morning person so when I do go out it's basically at dawn when there are very few people. I'm out for less than an hour where before I'd be out most of the day.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by kyb01

I do see your point.

Before this I was a big walker. It's probably the major reason I'm in better physical condition than many of my peers.
Now I'm only doing a fraction of the walking I have been used to. I'm sure as hell not going to MLK Drive for exercise!

I'm a morning person so when I do go out it's basically at dawn when there are very few people. I'm out for less than an hour where before I'd be out most of the day.

Yeah, and the scary situation is now that all the "experts" are predicting a much less extreme outcome from COVID-19, a shorter duration lock-down and trumpeting how social distancing is working, there are going to be a lot of people out there who think this is all but over. As the weather gets warmer and sunnier, this could turn bad quickly.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

We were out walking around Center City on Sunday, and I would say about 30% of the people (including us) were wearing masks. I was not happy when joggers would run right by us, most without masks. We walked by groups of people hanging out on stoops and in one case, we encountered a house full of people hanging out their windows waving to passers-by and chatting amongst themselves. None of these people were wearing masks. It's clear to me that there is still a sizable slice of Philadelphians who still don't take this thing seriously.

I read that Paris is banning people from going outside for exercise during the day, between 10 am and 7 pm. Wish we could get something like that here. I'd settle for a requirement that everyone who is outdoors other than to get groceries or attend to other essential needs be required to wear masks.

The infections will never settle down in this country if people do not take this seriously. I guess they really do not care if we end up with 100-200 K dead people.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

Yeah, and the scary situation is now that all the "experts" are predicting a much less extreme outcome from COVID-19, a shorter duration lock-down and trumpeting how social distancing is working, there are going to be a lot of people out there who think this is all but over. As the weather gets warmer and sunnier, this could turn bad quickly.

You got that right. Over 700 dead in the last 24 hours in NYC. Those numbers are nuts! Philly just increased more as well, but not even close to NYC's rate.

This is far from over and there is really no exit plan yet because we didn't take as extreme measures as Wuhan, which is just now starting to open back up. Although I never trust China's "numbers". Regardless, we have a long way to go.

[DXBtoFL]

Originally Posted by AJNEOA

You got that right. Over 700 dead in the last 24 hours in NYC. Those numbers are nuts! Philly just increased more as well, but not even close to NYC's rate.

This is far from over and there is really no exit plan yet because we didn't take as extreme measures as Wuhan, which is just now starting to open back up. Although I never trust China's "numbers". Regardless, we have a long way to go.

No one believes any of the Chinese numbers.

That aside, the economy can't remain shut down much longer. End of May is the longest I give it.

For the vast majority (99%+) of Americans, the virus is an abstract concept and most will not know anyone who died of it or even had it. Far more people will know people who died of cancer or heart disease (650,000 Americans die of heart disease every year, far outstripping any estimates of COVID-19 deaths).

It will be interesting to see how things play out in a few months from now, when bored Americans start getting angry at being unemployed and not allowed to go to work and shop and get on with life when they also don't see any real signs of the virus around them. Especially when none of the projections of overcrowded hospitals are playing out except for maybe one or two in New York. But even then there's no critical shortage of ventilators as was anticipated and the rate of hospitalizations is now falling noticeably. We're heading for a severe economic contraction caused by the shutdowns, and it will create problems of its own that will spill over into politics this November. Will make for an interesting election season for sure.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by DXBtoFL

No one believes any of the Chinese numbers.

That aside, the economy can't remain shut down much longer. End of May is the longest I give it.

For the vast majority (99%+) of Americans, the virus is an abstract concept and most will not know anyone who died of it or even had it. Far more people will know people who died of cancer or heart disease (650,000 Americans die of heart disease every year, far outstripping any estimates of COVID-19 deaths).

It will be interesting to see how things play out in a few months from now, when bored Americans start getting angry at being unemployed and not allowed to go to work and shop and get on with life when they also don't see any real signs of the virus around them. Especially when none of the projections of overcrowded hospitals are playing out except for maybe one or two in New York. But even then there's no critical shortage of ventilators as was anticipated and the rate of hospitalizations is now falling noticeably. We're heading for a severe economic contraction caused by the shutdowns, and it will create problems of its own that will spill over into politics this November. Will make for an interesting election season for sure.

Social unrest is getting particularly bad in Italy and no doubt the US will be closely behind. The challenge is that the transmission rate of COVID-19 is twice that of the annual flu and the death rate is much higher. You didn't mention the flu in your post, but 20,000 - 60,000 people die every year from it and COVID-19 is expected to kill potentially over 200,000 people.

No one would have expected that a pandemic could shut everything down like this, and I suspect no one is going to ignite a quick back-to-normal routine in the face of so much death and illness. The unemployment and hunger issues may be the worst part of all of this.

Despite all of the factors, hospitals and medical workers have probably never seen anything like this, ever. Despite cancer, heart disease, flu deaths, this eclipses everything because so many people are sick so quickly. And with this being an acute respiratory disease, it's particularly ugly and difficult.

Sadly, a close friend of mine had his father, 75, pass from COVID-19 this morning.