geeesh I am gone all day off my computer and with almost 150 replies, very few very informative, and many are just going back and forth. The one thing that I read here is that Doctors know more now than they did in March. I was having this discussion with a friend. As time as has gone on, whether right or wrong, I have become less afraid of dying from this Virus. What still befuddles me though is that there is still such a high rate of death here in the US, but I need to figure out from the numbers how many are folks under 80 as time goes on. It seems that in many locations the deaths are still attributed to nursing homes.
Many people i know did the SIP starting in middle March. Only went out for those so called essentials. Did not spend time with anyone but who was living in the house. 2 months later, and of course the weather is better in most places. This does allow for outdoor socialization and distancing, and more outdoor activities . I think this is part of the mobility we are seeing. But in my “open” state , I am seeing more and more people in stores. The funny thing is in all those “nonessential” retail locations, i see much more mask wearing and Social distancing than I do in the supermarket. In my Kroger this morning maybe 50% wearing masks. It was also not easy to stay 6Ft apart. Walk into a Kohls or Macys, it pretty easy.
AS far as restaurants go, those that have outdoor seating have been doing much better than those with indoor only.
What really has changed, with people I know , is that in the last few weeks they have increased their “circle”. They are now socializing with a few friends. Sometimes just outdoors, but not all the time. I see parents doing playdates with one or two families. Will this increase cases, hopefully not, as I like to think that these would make contact tracing a bit easier if you know that you have been around X small amount of people.
Where I think we will start to see the numbers go back up, is large gatherings. Not the churches that have a fraction of the people there, masks, and Social distancing, but those that are fully opening. Family reunions,. Grad and Birthday parties. I was driving in a neighborhood today to finally pick up my Girl scout cookies from someones mailbox and Saw a bouncie house and plenty of cars. Not sure how we stop the train now. Even in the states where the Governors are keeping things shut as far as retail , gyms, restaurants, how do you stop every get togethers ? you cant.
So yes we will have waves. Hopefully each time, we will get better at treating this , until the death rates plunge. How are some Countries keeping the death rate down, such as Singapore, even as more cases pop up.? For those that can, and feel the risk is too great, you can continue to SIP. I have a friend that before all this rarely left her house, as she was a homebody. She worked from home, and just went to the store or a restaurant occasionally. Lives in a ruralish area. Her life has not changed much.