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Americans have given up on social distancing


It's summer and Trump said it would disappear when it's hot. I think people want to believe him.

Beaches are packed. Parties happening.

The only place coronavirus will die out now is in people's immune systems.

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I think they definitely want to be hopeful and believe that the warm weather will magically whisk it away. I also think people have had the time to see that Covid-19 isn’t exactly the harbinger of the apocalypse it was being touted as.

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It was in the big apple.

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I would even disagree there. 23, 000 or so deaths isn’t exactly apocalyptic against a 19 million population.

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its something only the recovered are in much of a position to comment on, other than from 'at a safe distance it doesnt appear too bad to me'.

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It's dying out over here in Europe. Only 8 new cases today in the Netherlands.

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It is possible to spend the day at the beach in Zeeland?

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Yes, but no doubt it's going to be crowded with such nice weather.

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Yes, but in general which beach would you recommend in order to spend just one day there?

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I'm not familiar with the beaches in Zeeland.

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Ok, let's see, last year I was in Groningen, nice city

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It's way up north, so I've only been there once. Lots of students.

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I think boredom is getting the best of people. There is no where to go, nothing to do. Around me, bowling, movies, swimming pools are all closed. No sports to go to. No waterparks or amusement parks.

Literally nothing to do. If I lived by a beach I'd be there as well.

Plus I think people are realizing this whole thing was blown way out of proportion. If you are scared to leave your house then don't. But we need to move forward.

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People are bored because they only know how to be mindless consumers. They can’t entertain themselves in any meaningful way.

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Oh well ok if you say so.

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I mean that’s basically what you said.

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Not sure if this makes the difference.
Over here, governments cannot impose stay-at-home orders without breaking the constitution (*). Schools were always open to provide day care, fully reopened now. Bars and restaurants were closed for a few weeks but have reopened weeks ago. Shops are open. Movie theaters are open. Gyms, bowling, all open. Public transport always was. I didn't have a single day off work, nor does anyone I know (besides most teachers). Opera houses and brothels are still closed. Premier Football league is playing again (on screens in sports bars).
At the moment, there is not a single hospitalized COVID-19 patient in my state. 6 new cases in the whole country within 24 hours (from 1000+ on days in March)

Technically, I'm allowed to go out and meet up to 1000 people. I could drive to an Italian beach and back without much hassle (but 2x € 90,- for two PCR tests when crossing borders).

Thing is, I don't and most people don't. COVID-19 is still out there, general mobility stayed down.
There are no new movies to watch. There are no music festivals. Museums are empty and show no new exhibitions. Subways, trains and streets are almost empty.
My cycling club doesn't want to meet. My usual restaurant has a reduced menu (without the good Bohemian stuff, I really miss it) and closes early. Chess-drinking has gone completely from bars to online.

There's no shelter-in-boredom, just not much going on out there worth the risks. Two of my neighbors died because their son went skiing in March. Was skiing worth it? A lot of people knew and miss at least one victim.
Just because people are allowed to resume "normal" life, doesn't mean that they are willing to do it.
Same for businesses. Being allowed to reopen doesn't automatically validate a now changed business case. Some only re-opened to close again.


Footnote (*): Some actually tried to impose a curfew and failed. Our federal chancellor openly lied about such an order he never took into parliament. So in fact, some inhabitants took his words for a curfew. But if you didn't, you simply didn't and law was on your side.

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so the constition lets you do what you want?

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Only regarding stay-at-home orders, where civil rights cannot be easily reverted. Our current governmental coalition would need a larger majority or punctual support by opposition parties in order to change constitutional laws, so their hands are more or less bound. But there was uncertainty after our chancellor's exaggerated fearmongering, even some fines collected by police until the supreme court ruled for a payback.

You still have to follow distancing rules. Some locations require wearing a mask. Additionally, nCOV-2 has the same legal status as any other infective disease with obligatory official reporting. So, some freedoms are limited.

Travel is not prohibited, but to phrase it like our foreign minister in the news: "We cannot forbid going to Lombardy, the UK, Sweden or Portugal. We cannot prohibit such travel and we cannot even check. Please use common sense"

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Around here (New York State) the stores still require masks and a lot of them have hand sanitizer bottles at the entrance
I'm not concerned about any of the current hubbub but if these precautions make others feel safe I'll take them

I'm becoming concerned that my regular 4th of July party is a bust...I'm getting 'No, Bro' from all the fellows!
It's all pretty odd

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I've decided to start inviting people over for dinner on the patio - only two people + us at a time and we can sit apart.

Sunday I invited my step-daughter and her husband, so that will be a test to see how it goes. Next, I'm going to have a couple of friends for lunch.

No parties this summer, but I think we can have some fun.

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Yeah, my Pop has been doing the small driveway get togethers
That may be all we get for a few more months:/

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Sucks about the party. Sorry man.

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Thanks, it's our little tradition but everyone seems nervous so I'll make next year even bigger and better👍

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[deleted]

Practices will ebb and flow with the pace of outbreaks. The initial point of strict social distancing was to slow the pace of the outbreaks so the hospitals would not be overwhelmed and have to let patients die in triage bays. Ongoing social distancing will have to be less strict to permit the economy to open, yet still aim to mitigate the risk of spread. Hopefully everyone will do the easy things like wear masks, wash hands, avoid huge gatherings and businesses will find more ways to support these practices.

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I think that there is so much disinformation out there that has been given too much of a platform.

There is also a big part of me that thinks that nature is just trying to cull the herd with thee viruses and that they will keep getting worse until they do their job and wipe a good number of us out.

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Why don’t you say that to my face!!!

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