Florida is interesting because, despite limited and later state government limits, people there apparently limited their movement like in states with more restrictive limits, based on mobile phone movement.
http://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/florida (you can select other states to compare)
Would be interesting to see movement data newer than 5/4…
I admit, I lost the bubble on this thread a long time ago, but I’m hopeful it’s the right place to push this.
What are people doing about gym memberships? I love going to the gym, and I feel like I do a better workout at the gym. However, I really am nervous about COVID, and I doubt I will go for at least a few months once things return to the “new normal” - whatever that is.
If I cancel, I may or may not have to pay a higher fee if I decide to return (It’s already 150ish a month for 2 of us).
Thoughts - Especially about the risks, or if I’m being too cautious?
Thanks in advance
For the first time, DH will be required to wear a mask at work, and will be screened going in. That’s nice and all, and he’s been working at home more than the office, but the factory workers have been in the factory every day and not required to wear masks until now. Crazy stuff.
Spoke to a friend today who is an local insurance agent in New England. She’s never been so busy - apparently everyone is spending their CARES act checks and buying motorcycles, cars, boats, etc… you name it. A combination of those checks and tax refunds has put most in the area on a spending spree. This is a solidly middle class area with a mix of blue collar, white collar, and retirees. I think a lot of people who are laid off (and making more money on unemployment than before) are thinking they will get their job back when the unemployment wears off and are not saving the money they are getting from these checks. Living paycheck to paycheck is a way of life. I think this is really good for our consumer driven economy, but may be bad if things don’t turn out as people expect next year and the year after when layoffs may be permanent.
Our gym is moving half of the equipment out. What’s left will be spaced about 10 feet apart. Classes typically have 12-15 in them…these will have a limit of 6 people. Reservations only…we will have to sign up for the times we want to come to the gym…first come first served and I think there is a limit on the amount of time you can spend there too. Same with the classes. Reservation only.
Between “sessions” they will wipe down all equipment. They have asked folks to wipe down themselves before they use equipment as well…and as they leave too.
Masks required.
I think this will be better than going to a small boutique shop.
Cannot imagine getting in a real workout with a mask. Deal breaker.
Got an email yesterday from our cleaning crew that comes every two weeks saying they want to start back up later this week.
The owner stated the precautions they will take, but I’m just not comfortable yet, esp. with my whole family home here while they’d be cleaning.
FYI, I have been paying them about 75% of their rate since mid-March. I would pay 100% but I’m self-employed, and my work has dropped off significantly so three-quarters has felt pretty fair, esp. they don’t have travel or supplies costs when they aren’t coming over.
Curious if I’m out of step in terms of thinking it’s too soon to have cleaning folks in your home? What are others thinking/feeling about when it’d be ok?
Apologies if this has been covered – I’ve not been reading this thread.
The virus might be reaching our area more. I know many people haven’t been concerned and have been like many other areas still going out and doing things, meeting with people, etc.
Checking email one last time before heading out to finish mowing the field I see a prayer request. It says, “Please keep _____________ in prayer as they have been exposed to the corona virus. Several of their family members and others have tested positive and are sick.”
We’ll be staying home and watching. Fortunately our church has been online for a few weeks now.
I’ll report back on how the gym goes tomorrow. As far as I know, there are no masks required. Membership is only $22 a month for me, so I never bothered cancelling. Plus, it’s a big gym with tons of free weights, and is a family-run business that bought the location from a corporate chain that sold out, and so I wanted to stay loyal.
The gym actually said they are adding some equipment to reduce any wait times (but crowding has never been an issue, honestly). Open 24/7, so it should not be difficult to find a relatively uncrowded time to work out.
No masks required?!? I just don’t get it.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/18/health/fitness-classes-coronavirus-korea-wellness/index.html
We have started to relax our SIP protocol here, too. We have transitioned from basically staying home (with the exception of once every two week grocery store trips, neighborhood walks or trips to the mostly secluded dog beach) to spending a bit more time out in public.
We’ve started socializing outdoors (backyard visits with one other family at a time that last until someone needs to use the bathroom and then we, or they, head home).
We headed up to a state park for a hike on Saturday. Encountered a few other small groups on the trail - stepped aside to give wide berth or, if not possible, quickly put our masks on before approaching.
I mentioned the other day that we bought our seasonal beach badges. As long as the numbers are such that there will be room for people to have a wide perimeter of open space, I’ll feel comfortable going.
I don’t know how or when we will feel comfortable being in an indoor space with anyone outside of our bubble. I wonder when I’ll ever feel ready to let D20 spend time with her BF?
I know that this is all behavior that is outside of the comfort zone for many on this thread, but we, like everyone else, are just doing our best to balance a set of competing needs.
I’m torn on the gym, but don’t expect it to be open until June 10th. I’m a gym rat and have been for 30 years. I’ve been told I’m more reliable than the postman. But we also have an awesome set up at home. I can do almost everything at home - except aerobic stuff. I can and have been running outside, but at my age/stage my body feels better if I can mix in the stairclimber and bike. There’s no way I could do those with a mask on. I work out too hard. I also miss seeing the gym peeps. I can’t imagine never going back. But I also am in no hurry to go and get sick. So we shall see. Our membership is only $10/month so I’ll keep the membership going no matter what. I don’t want them to close for good. We have so few options here already
It probably depends on how closely spaced the equipment is and how crowded it gets. Also, a few gyms may have outdoor areas that would be lower risk than indoor areas (particularly if the ventilation is poor indoors).
What you do in the gym can also matter. Using the same station for a long period of time near someone else using a nearby station for a long period of time may be risky if either is contagious, analogous to sitting in a restaurant. But moving from one station to another as in circuit training so that proximity to any one other person is for a much shorter time would be less risky.
I know 4 people who had Covid. My SIL’s best friend and her 18 year old daughter who live a few blocks away. My H’s cousin and her husband - she was hospitalized but thankfully never on a ventilator. All the adults are in their 40’s.
I am a member at a spin gym - dark, close and lots of heavy breathing. It’s been two months closed and I really miss it, but I don’t see going back for a very long time. They did rent out the bikes and you can work out from home, but I’d rather not pay for that and just run or bike outside - at least while the weather is nice.
We are also socializing more. My in-laws come over and we hang out in the yard. I told my kids they can meet up with a friend outdoors as long as they socially distance.
I will also go to the beach if social discos possible.
I meant distancing, not discos- but that sounds great right about now!
We have our own gym equipment in the basement, so I never had a membership anywhere. I do miss ice skating and the friends with whom I skate though. While I understand hockey and synchro skating not starting up, I don’t see why they can’t open the facility, by appointment and with capacity limits, to single skaters. We actively tried to stay 10’ away from other skaters even before this crisis.
Going to be a lot of repossessions in the coming months.
I’m curious which states have kids going back to school. This floors me.
(asking with no judging on anyone here - the decision to go back was not yours!)
@ucbalumnus - yes, kayaking is great for social distancing. Just need to be careful launching, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Bigger problem is that the weather has been and continues to be awful for the most part.
We are keeping our gym membership for now, as we have been members for 20 years+ and the monthly cost is reasonable. We did look into buying some weights (barbells and dumbells) and they are very expensive right now and most are on back order. I think we will continue to do online workouts and jog in the neighberhood for a few more months until if/when the gyms open safely around us.