POLL - Should We Start To Open Our Economy Again?

[Blackcat31]

Can we just take a moment to pray for our brothers and sisters isolating in tiny 90sqft apartments in NYC? Holy cow they must have the mental stamina of a monk!!

I’d be spending all my time on Zillow looking for somewhere else to live... ! ::

[dreamer]

IMO its too early for things to start opening back up. We are finally starting to get over the worst of it, and opening everything will just start it all back up again, and more people will die. I say we wait at least another month, get more people tested to see how bad things ACTUALLY are... and then, when the numbers are very low, start to open everything back up slowly.

[Valerie928]

IMO its too early for things to start opening back up. We are finally starting to get over the worst of it, and opening everything will just start it all back up again, and more people will die. I say we wait at least another month, get more people tested to see how bad things ACTUALLY are... and then, when the numbers are very low, start to open everything back up slowly.

There are millions of people in America. We will never know the true number of infected individuals, we have slowed the spread but it's temporary. We have to adapt and learn to live with the virus being around because it's not going to go away.

[Josiegirl]

There are millions of people in America. We will never know the true number of infected individuals, we have slowed the spread but it's temporary. We have to adapt and learn to live with the virus being around because it's not going to go away.

I do agree with this statement but how does the population adapt and learn to live with this virus?

I think the government taking some of it into its own hands, such as mandating(and supplying!!) masks, etc. is the answer, because ultimately if people aren't forced into complying with healthier actions there are some who will never believe or learn; they will always deny, disregard, and test. Therefore, it's(the virus) going to continue to gain footing and destroy more than the economy. I completely understand how people feel about having their constitutional rights stripped away but where do you draw the line? Wearing seat belts and helmets have proven to save lives, as has buckling kids into car seats. Some people even balk at those decisions when it becomes mandatory by the government. No, I don't want to be told by the government what to do all the time. But when many people continue to make the wrong choices, leaving the rest of us in unhealthy dangerous situations, then something has to give. And I don't believe it should be giving us the choice of 'well, if we don't like it, then just stay home'. Not wearing a mask(or 100 other choices by other people) affects more than just me. It affects all who they come in contact with, all who *those* also come into contact with, and ultimately could trickle to health care providers, other places of employment etc., etc. And what about all those front-line workers who don't have a choice, they have to keep their job serving all those people that are making bad choices.

I'm wondering how the health care system will hold up under this crisis if it continues on? Will there be less doctors and nurses, less paramedics, hospital workers, etc. coming into the field due to fear? I know medical personnel could be switched from one facility to another but how many will want a job like that, where they are always taken from their families to work somewhere else?

There have got to be new laws, new regulations put into place, until our world catches up with this virus, can contain it, knows more about it, and can treat it like a 'normal' flu.

Our states gave us new regulations we had to follow, to work in daycare. Did it please us? HeLL no. But we did it. If the government can do that, then they should be allowed to change some of our current laws to prevent more catastrophe with this virus.

*sigh* just a bunch of discombobulated thoughts this a.m.

[MomBoss]

I feel like the people who are wanting to be on complete lockdown indefinitely, they must have the savings to not be able to work? Because a lot of people cant survive financially if we dont let them work. Im sorry, but if I lose my house, and my kids and I end up on the street hungry.. then thats a problem. Does that make me a bad person to care more about my kids than lives of people I dont even know?
Alcohol is legal, yet we dont care about all the lives we could save if we just ban it. Same with guns. Same with cigarettes. Combined, those have killed WAY more per year than this virus.
We allow people to take those risks everyday and I dont underStand why it took a virus for people to care about human lives.
I believe i already had this. In February I had a cough that lasted 4 weeks. I felt like I couldnt get any air and my lungs were filled with something. I had never been sick like that before. All the daycare kids got whatever this was as well, some were having wheezing and fevers. If this antibody test is real and we can actually get it, it will be interesting to see If I did.

[dolores]

The financial fallout is real and will get worse for families the longer the economy is closed. New York City is densely populated where people (literally) live on top of each other and crowded subways take people too/from work. It is necessary to close/reduce the economy here to save a significant number of lives; and to slow down the contagion to reduce the burden on an already strapped health care system including health care workers.
However, I don't know that the economy should close in sparsely populated or spread out areas where the virus is truly novel; except that people who live in dense areas will flee to sparse areas (which has been happening) especially those in which the economy is open which will keep the virus thriving.

[Ariana]

I’d be spending all my time on Zillow looking for somewhere else to live... ! ::

:: They are probably paying $8K a month for that space! I will never understand the appeal of living like that in NYC

[Ariana]

I feel like the people who are wanting to be on complete lockdown indefinitely, they must have the savings to not be able to work? Because a lot of people cant survive financially if we dont let them work. Im sorry, but if I lose my house, and my kids and I end up on the street hungry.. then thats a problem. Does that make me a bad person to care more about my kids than lives of people I dont even know?
Alcohol is legal, yet we dont care about all the lives we could save if we just ban it. Same with guns. Same with cigarettes. Combined, those have killed WAY more per year than this virus.
We allow people to take those risks everyday and I dont underStand why it took a virus for people to care about human lives.
I believe i already had this. In February I had a cough that lasted 4 weeks. I felt like I couldnt get any air and my lungs were filled with something. I had never been sick like that before. All the daycare kids got whatever this was as well, some were having wheezing and fevers. If this antibody test is real and we can actually get it, it will be interesting to see If I did.

. You are absolutely right that this has been here since January, it just makes logical sense.

[Michael]

We can only do what we can do. We are neither Pelosi nor Trump. But this does reflect who we chose to be in positions of power and what they must do to mitigate the economic and personal destruction that is at hand.

I wrote 3 years ago on FB that there are now “two” truths. Both sides believe absolutely that they are right and that the other side is wrong/stupid/commies/nazis/(put your term of endearment here).

Many politicians are playing the blame game, vying for power and being downright destructive in “not” working with each other.

We had a Pearl Harbor type attack from something we were not prepared for, nor could have been be prepared for. In 1939 we knew there was a war already raging in the world. We then poked the Japanese Empire by blockading it’s need for oil. We were still unprepared for what happened next. The Japanese attacked and forced America to declare war. We continued to lose the Pacific campaign to the Japanese for another six months before turning the tide against them at Midway. It took that long even with a ”unified” country and manufacturing output at 100% for our newly created military industrial complex.

We are again in a world war and our inability to come together is what every adversary would hope for in destroying our country from within.

We’ve become so accustomed to the foundations that make this country exceptional that we expect those support pillars to be there for us, not understanding how fragile they are and how easily they could crumble under the wrong circumstances.

The economic destruction that ensues is going to become real if this country and the world don’t get back to some kind of normalcy soon. That’s when the bottom falls out. Civil unrest with such densely packed cities will cause real death.

I saw 300 M1 tanks being moved by train through my town toward Los Angeles a couple weeks ago. When people are fearful people become desperate.

We still have time to turn this around but it’s going to take Americans and the world to be fearless and to do what is needed. Help each other-compromise for each other.

[e.j.]

There are millions of people in America. We will never know the true number of infected individuals, we have slowed the spread but it's temporary. We have to adapt and learn to live with the virus being around because it's not going to go away.

I think that's the whole point of the social distancing/wear a mask in public advisories. The medical experts have advised us to do these things in order to slow the rate of infection so that our health care facilities don't get overwhelmed. It is meant to be a temporary step to save lives until medicines and vaccines can be developed to fight the virus so that we can get back to our normal lives.

The financial fallout is real and will get worse for families the longer the economy is closed. New York City is densely populated where people (literally) live on top of each other and crowded subways take people too/from work. It is necessary to close/reduce the economy here to save a significant number of lives; and to slow down the contagion to reduce the burden on an already strapped health care system including health care workers.
However, I don't know that the economy should close in sparsely populated or spread out areas where the virus is truly novel; except that people who live in dense areas will flee to sparse areas (which has been happening) especially those in which the economy is open which will keep the virus thriving.

This is what was happening in MA. People from areas that had high rates of infections were fleeing to their vacation homes on Cape Cod - bringing the virus with them. The people who live on the Cape year round were concerned that these visitors would cause the health care system there to become overwhelmed. I think they ended up requiring people to quarantine themselves for 14 days when they arrived. Not sure how you enforce that, though.

We can only do what we can do. We are neither Pelosi nor Trump. But this does reflect who we chose to be in positions of power and what they must do to mitigate the economic and personal destruction that is at hand.

I wrote 3 years ago on FB that there are now “two” truths. Both sides believe absolutely that they are right and that the other side is wrong/stupid/commies/nazis/(put your term of endearment here).

Many politicians are playing the blame game, vying for power and being downright destructive in “not” working with each other.

We had a Pearl Harbor type attack from something we were not prepared for, nor could have been be prepared for. In 1939 we knew there was a war already raging in the world. We then poked the Japanese Empire by blockading it’s need for oil. We were still unprepared for what happened next. The Japanese attacked and forced America to declare war. We continued to lose the Pacific campaign to the Japanese for another six months before turning the tide against them at Midway. It took that long even with a ”unified” country and manufacturing output at 100% for our newly created military industrial complex.

We are again in a world war and our inability to come together is what every adversary would hope for in destroying our country from within.

We’ve become so accustomed to the foundations that make this country exceptional that we expect those support pillars to be there for us, not understanding how fragile they are and how easily they could crumble under the wrong circumstances.

The economic destruction that ensues is going to become real if this country and the world don’t get back to some kind of normalcy soon. That’s when the bottom falls out. Civil unrest with such densely packed cities will cause real death.

I saw 300 M1 tanks being moved by train through my town toward Los Angeles a couple weeks ago. When people are fearful people become desperate.

We still have time to turn this around but it’s going to take Americans and the world to be fearless and to do what is needed. Help each other-compromise for each other.

I wish, as a nation and as a world, we would all take the politics out of this and work together. The virus knows nothing about compromise and it infects without regard to a person's political affiliation.

Rather than listen to the politicians, listen to the medical experts who are trying to educate themselves and the rest of us about this virus. Based on what they've learned, they are recommending that we social distance, wash our hands and wear masks out in public. (Yes, the policy on masks has changed. We've been told recommendations may change as new information about this virus becomes available. It's a small enough adjustment to make so I do it.) Since some states and individuals have refused to comply with those recommendations, recommendations and advisories have become mandates in some areas. People are still refusing to comply. The longer we refuse to listen and do what is recommended to slow the infection rate, the longer and faster it's able to spread. The longer it spreads, the longer we are told to stay in place and the faster the economy goes down the tank.

Maybe if instead of fighting the recommendations and mandates, we listened and complied, we could all get back to our normal lives and jobs sooner than later and the economy could get back on track that much sooner.

I liken it to my day care kids. I ask them to pick up their toys so we can go outside to play. They argue, stall, refuse to pick up, tell me they suddenly have to go to the bathroom, cry because they "don't want to!" and yell at me because, I'm "not the boss of them!" I tell them, "The faster you pick up your toys, the faster we can get outside. The faster we get outside, the more time you'll have to play." It takes forever some days; it's not fun to pick up. We finally get outside but not for as long as we all would have liked because of the time wasted arguing. Eventually, the group gets older and they get it. They clean up with cooperation and little to no argument....and we have a lot more time to play outside before lunch. Lately, I feel like screaming to the world, "For *&#$% sake! Could we all just pick up the *&$%ing toys and just get this done so we can all get outside and play again!

[Michael]

Maybe if instead of fighting the recommendations and mandates, we listened and complied, we could all get back to our normal lives and jobs sooner than later and the economy could get back on track that much sooner.

This virus will be with us from here on out like much the flu. I believe everyone will come in contact with it no matter how we isolate. We have to manage the propagation of it. The remedies, management and knowledge we gain will help us cope with its effects in order to live with it.

[e.j.]

The remedies, management and knowledge we gain will help us cope with its effects in order to live with it.

That's a statement I can agree with.

No matter how we choose to deal with the current situation as individuals and no matter what decisions our elected leaders make in regard to fighting this virus, I sincerely hope we all stay as healthy as possible.

[Josiegirl]

I don't understand something. Nothing new there. Up until this point, we've been allowed to leave our state borders and cross the river to go to Walmart, etc. We're talking small town America on both sides here and Walmart is a mere 17 miles away. There have been many police cars at the border watching, taking count maybe? But yesterday a woman was made to return home even though her trip to Walmart was to get a prescription filled so now she has to get an okay from her doctor.
Is the law different with all of your states' borders? I've seen nothing about not being able to cross over except for a sign that says you need to self-quarantine for 2 weeks after.
I know some areas are very strict about this and I understand they're trying to decrease the spread in this way but, unless I missed something, wouldn't they announce it somewhere? And how do they enforce an action like that; I'm thinking of all the secondary roads into the next state?

Some of what they're doing, seems to be un-doable and creates resources being taken away from other avenues that would clearly need them also. At one point, there were 3 state police cars at the border, watching, counting. There is so much confusion between such different rules, expectations, laws between states, etc. It leaves so many gaps. :confused: I read all of last week's local newspapers yesterday(got caught up) and I'm beginning to be swayed more to the side of reopening more(all the editorials made a lot of sense!). Safely, slowly, protectively, in an intelligent way to support the health of the individual along with supporting small business and the economy. There has GOT to be a compromise.
And yes, politics has got to stand aside for all of this. It has nothing to do with control and power. Covid-19 has all that at the moment.

[Blackcat31]

I don't understand something. Nothing new there. Up until this point, we've been allowed to leave our state borders and cross the river to go to Walmart, etc. We're talking small town America on both sides here and Walmart is a mere 17 miles away. There have been many police cars at the border watching, taking count maybe? But yesterday a woman was made to return home even though her trip to Walmart was to get a prescription filled so now she has to get an okay from her doctor.
Is the law different with all of your states' borders? I've seen nothing about not being able to cross over except for a sign that says you need to self-quarantine for 2 weeks after.
I know some areas are very strict about this and I understand they're trying to decrease the spread in this way but, unless I missed something, wouldn't they announce it somewhere? And how do they enforce an action like that; I'm thinking of all the secondary roads into the next state?

Some of what they're doing, seems to be un-doable and creates resources being taken away from other avenues that would clearly need them also. At one point, there were 3 state police cars at the border, watching, counting. There is so much confusion between such different rules, expectations, laws between states, etc. It leaves so many gaps. :confused: I read all of last week's local newspapers yesterday(got caught up) and I'm beginning to be swayed more to the side of reopening more(all the editorials made a lot of sense!). Safely, slowly, protectively, in an intelligent way to support the health of the individual along with supporting small business and the economy. There has GOT to be a compromise.
And yes, politics has got to stand aside for all of this. It has nothing to do with control and power. Covid-19 has all that at the moment.

My DS lives in a city that is on the border. Many cross from one state to the other for work daily. He works across the border in the other state. His work told him he may get stopped at the border and asked why he was crossing over.

They didn't give him any type of pass or permit or anything; just warned him it could happen. I would assume since he is going to work, he'd be okay to cross but he said there are no police cars monitoring or watching the border crossing so ... I dunno...

I think it's probably smart to limit travel to any and all areas that aren't normal for you to be in, but with so many cities on the borders of states I can't see how it would be possible to continuously monitor them.

It would help if people simply acted with respect for others.
It's not hard to social distance, it's not hard to wash your hands regularly and basically not be so gross about sharing body fluids when sneezing/coughing etc...

Adults and kids shouldn't feel so comfortable touching everything all the time. Personal boundaries and hands off.

Seems so easy.

I am definitely hoping that if we learn anything from this whole mess it is those things.....those lost social etiquette rules we used to follow

[daycarediva]

Any other mask IS effective at lowering the spread if YOU are infected. That is the whole point. If you cough or sneeze your spray can go up to 10ft. That is not happening in a mask. The mask is not to protect you from Covid 19, it’s to protect others from your germs. There are a ton of asymptomatic people spreading it because they don’t feel sick.

I wish we had to wear masks all the time so flu germs didn’t get all over stuff. I am beginning to relate to the Chinese culture of wearing them.

No, this is simply not true. My cough/sneeze is NOT properly contained in ANY MASK, except for an N95. Please look up the videos showing the spray through the masks. Joe down the street sporting a bandana, and therefor NOT covering his mouth is making it worse. Not me, refusing to use a damn mask.

SAVE THE PPE FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS, please.

Cross contamination is RIDICULOUS. None of the average public uses masks or gloves correctly and they are spreading it worse than if they werent using anything.

I am also EXTREMELY low risk. Self isolating, one store/biweekly now, no one in my house is leaving home, my parents are now ALL working from home and ALL are now doing instacart, etc. Our spread is also not even NYC levels.