COVID-19 Thread [V2.0]

[Machu Peach]

In this thread alone people have said

1) I don't believe in medical science

2) I don't believe in vaccination

3) I don't think that cases and deaths are increasing in WI

4) I consider WI a 'success'.

 

I haven't made any of those statements. They're ridiculous on their face.

[Outlander]

That to me reads like NYC in March is the bar for bleak. But, my apologies for misinterpreting. Frankly, I do value the medical perspective and more nuanced arguments than we get from the news.

Well it is the bar for bleak. Saying NYC was worse in March certainly doesn't mean WI is a success right now. The only people thinking he is making that claim that WI is a success are a couple of moderators here.

[RobertR]

I'm just going to try to steer it back to the topic.

 

I'm not optimistic about Wisconsin, not with the current growth rate, not with colder weather forcing people insides, not with deer hunting a month away and Thanksgiving not much further, and not with the political dysfunction in the State. And not with the political power of the Tavern League.

 

Yes, treatments have come a long ways since March. But, quantity of cases matter. And, it really seems that we're going to be fighting Wisconsin's culture as winter sets in.

 

I will say that in the circles I travel in, mask wearing has been good. Yeah, there's always that one guy or family, but for the most part I see people trying.

 

People are clearly staying out of the movie theaters as well. The taverns, not so much. I get it, I was young once too. But, I just wish that people would drink at home. And I can't see shutting down the taverns, like they did in Arizona, happening here. Not without the government getting together and writing a big check to each tavern owner and fat chance of that happening.

 

I do think that we should hold some sort of Trick or Treat. We've learned enough on how it can be done relatively safely. At least we can give the kids (and adults) a little semblance of normalcy. Safely.

[nate82]

 

People are clearly staying out of the movie theaters as well. The taverns, not so much. I get it, I was young once too. But, I just wish that people would drink at home. And I can't see shutting down the taverns, like they did in Arizona, happening here. Not without the government getting together and writing a big check to each tavern owner and fat chance of that happening.

 

Movie theaters are not a dangerous activity. You can actually fully social distance and be safe in a movie theater there is plenty of enough room to spread people out and be safe in a movie theater. This is just fear mongering please stop with your fear mongering.

 

There is no evidence that movie theaters are a dangerous activity with appropriate social distancing.

[RobertR]

 

People are clearly staying out of the movie theaters as well. The taverns, not so much. I get it, I was young once too. But, I just wish that people would drink at home. And I can't see shutting down the taverns, like they did in Arizona, happening here. Not without the government getting together and writing a big check to each tavern owner and fat chance of that happening.

 

Movie theaters are not a dangerous activity. You can actually fully social distance and be safe in a movie theater there is plenty of enough room to spread people out and be safe in a movie theater. This is just fear mongering please stop with your fear mongering.

 

There is no evidence that movie theaters are a dangerous activity with appropriate social distancing.

 

Did I say movie theaters are a dangerous activity? I said people are staying out of them. Which is a fact.

 

People are picking and choosing which public activities that they will still engage in. In Wisconsin at least, they're choosing taverns over movie theaters. I'd agree that the reverse would be preferable.

 

I tend to think that part of the problem with theaters is that people have been trained to only come out to the big, blockbusters over the last decade. So much so that Hollywood has more than ever abandoned mid-budget movie making. I kind of also think that Tenet wasn't the right blockbuster to bet everything on either. It's cold, has an offputting sound mix, and is more than a little confusing. It's like expecting Blade Runner 2049 to bring in the same crowds as a Marvel movie. And Tenet's struggles scared off everyone else. I think Candyman would have been a much truer test of the viability of theaters at this point.

 

I think theaters will still be around after the pandemic. I'm less sure of the existing theater chains.

[Machu Peach]

Did I say movie theaters are a dangerous activity?

It seems like you did

[RobertR]

Did I say movie theaters are a dangerous activity?

It seems like you did

 

Touche'.

[RobertR]

I should add, I think that a lot of activities are relatively safe with non-recycled air, social distancing, and mask wearing. There's little reason to think that going to the theater is that much more dangerous than grocery shopping. Albeit, grocery shopping usually doesn't call for a 2+ hour commitment. And I think the fact that theaters have had lax cellphone policies undercuts their credibility that they'll enforce restrictions.

 

But I sure as hell don't believe a tavern is enforcing anything.

 

Of course, the movie theater experience hasn't truly been stress tested yet. People would need to show up. And I'm still flummoxed that Miller Park, or the equivalent, weren't turned into pop up drive ins.

 

Incidentally I think Milwaukee Film has really handled it well. They engaged streaming partnerships to bring in some revenue, they pivoted to restoration and refurbishment of the Oriental, and they're managing to stage a virtual film festival now with a solid app.

[homer]

As you touched on, the interactions at a grocery store are so brief that there's really almost zero chance of spread particularly if people wear masks. I tend to agree that theaters are probably safer than most indoor spaces but it really depends on the ventilation.

[reillymcshane]

My sister-in-law's family has six people (her father, two sisters, both their husbands, and a niece) with COVID. Her father, who is past 90, is hospitalized. They had to increase oxygen for him yesterday, so that's kind of scary.

 

I don't know how seriously they have all taken COVID, but I know at least one of them thought the whole thing was a hoax.

[PeaveyFury]

My assistant tested positive yesterday, so that's great.

[stoutdude04]

Father in law tested positive.

[madbad2000]

So Wisconsin's spread is actually a thing. My cousin, great-aunt, grandfather and mother all tested positive. Last week my grandfather died from it and I was able to make it from Alabama to his deathbed within 30 mins of his passing. I was extremely cautious and wore an N95 and distanced constantly with sanitizers and cleaning. After all of that, I tested positive on Sunday. Thankfully, I planned ahead with isolating my family at her parents house prior to my return. So now I'm in quarantine and thankfully have mild symptoms. Even saying that, its not a pleasant feeling at all and I feel for those people who have been hit hard.

[PeaveyFury]

Yikes. Glad to hear you're doing ok, and sorry to hear about your grandfather.

[reillymcshane]

So Wisconsin's spread is actually a thing. My cousin, great-aunt, grandfather and mother all tested positive. Last week my grandfather died from it and I was able to make it from Alabama to his deathbed within 30 mins of his passing. I was extremely cautious and wore an N95 and distanced constantly with sanitizers and cleaning. After all of that, I tested positive on Sunday. Thankfully, I planned ahead with isolating my family at her parents house prior to my return. So now I'm in quarantine and thankfully have mild symptoms. Even saying that, its not a pleasant feeling at all and I feel for those people who have been hit hard.

So sorry about your grandfather. Good luck for you and the rest of your family.

[TURBO]

So Wisconsin's spread is actually a thing. My cousin, great-aunt, grandfather and mother all tested positive. Last week my grandfather died from it and I was able to make it from Alabama to his deathbed within 30 mins of his passing. I was extremely cautious and wore an N95 and distanced constantly with sanitizers and cleaning. After all of that, I tested positive on Sunday. Thankfully, I planned ahead with isolating my family at her parents house prior to my return. So now I'm in quarantine and thankfully have mild symptoms. Even saying that, its not a pleasant feeling at all and I feel for those people who have been hit hard.

 

Sorry to hear that man, speedy recovery...

[RobertR]

Yes, condolences and wishes for a speedy recovery.

[LouisEly]

My sister-in-law's family has six people (her father, two sisters, both their husbands, and a niece) with COVID. Her father, who is past 90, is hospitalized. They had to increase oxygen for him yesterday, so that's kind of scary.

 

I don't know how seriously they have all taken COVID, but I know at least one of them thought the whole thing was a hoax.

Unfortunately, for a certain segment of the population, having a close family member hospitalized is what it's going to take to get them to take this seriously.

 

I wonder how much misinformation people like that have gotten from Russian/Chinese/Iranian/North Korean hackers via social media and other means, taking advantage of confirmation bias to affect mindset and behavior.

[FVBrewerFan]

I would say none, since none of the social media allow that content.

[homer]

I would say none, since none of the social media allow that content.

 

I'd be willing to bet a large sum that while they don't "allow" that sort of thing that it's still getting posted. Regardless, there are plenty of domestic sources spreading misleading info anyway.

[igor67]

I'm not sure what any of the specific companies policies are, but even while I understand they have made some efforts to clean things up it's not feasible to stop either on the up front filtering from certain locations (too many ways to work around that temporarily at least) and on the backside no automated filtering can accurately (100%) detect misinformation given the lack of precision in human language. Even operating with purely truthful facts one can absolutely mislead. Even something as being provocative induces emotional responses that decrease logical reasoning (this is a very well established bit of neuroscience).

[Jimbo]

Based on Congressional Districts, Wisconsin's 5th is now the world's hot spot at 115 per 100K per day. The USA is at 20.

[nate82]

I found this information rather interesting.

 

https://mises.org/power-market/google-mobility-data-suggests-sweden-socially-distanced-less-other-countries

 

So Sweden looks to be a weird outlier or it is the model that everyone should be following? At a minimum it is telling us that the draconian lock downs don't and will not work.

[Machu Peach]

I assume you mean 115 new cases per 100k. Is that correct?

[homer]

I found this information rather interesting.

 

https://mises.org/power-market/google-mobility-data-suggests-sweden-socially-distanced-less-other-countries

 

So Sweden looks to be a weird outlier or it is the model that everyone should be following? At a minimum it is telling us that the draconian lock downs don't and will not work.

 

The virus has a habit of making bold predictions look silly after a month or two. I'm gonna wait and see how winter plays out before declaring "winners" in the Sweden did it right or wrong sweepstakes.

 

But I will say that all these articles comparing Sweden to the rest of Europe always seem to forget to compare them to the countries on either side of them. Comparing Sweden to Spain is like comparing Wisconsin to Alabama. Different climate, culture.