How Is Covid-19 Impacting Life in Your City?

[the urban politician]

Barbarian raids

[benp]

Well, the Toronto Blue Jays are scheduled to play home games in our city starting tonight as the team couldn't get permission to hold games in Canada due to COVID. First Major League Baseball game held here in over 100 years.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by photoLith

25-30 percent of the restaurants and bars in Pittsburgh have already permanently closed due to COVID restrictions. I’d imagine roughly half will be gone by this time next year because I don’t see the restrictions and constant closings from the governor to end.

Maybe Pennsylvanians need to acknowledge that their own stupidity in failing to wear a mask and lack of social distancing might just have resulted in Wolf's restrictions and closings? Illinois (at least Chicago) has generally done a very good job in terms of people abiding by mask-wearing and social distancing, and there are relatively few restaurants and bars that have permanently closed. I mean there are quite a few in terms of raw numbers, but as a percentage of the total it's likely 10% or less.

I'm sorry, but it's failure of people to give a damn about anyone but themselves which has brought upon this disaster. Americans have shown themselves to be arrogant, self-righteous, self-important schmucks who don't give a flying fuck about anyone but themselves. It's utterly pathetic, and Pennsylvania (exclusive of Philly and the CITY of Pittsburgh) can be rightfully included in this group.

Aaron (Glowrock)

[Pedestrian]

If New Zealand Can’t Stamp Out Coronavirus, Can Anyone?
After 102 days without any locally transmitted cases, New Zealand reported an outbreak that prompted authorities to reimpose restrictions in its biggest city. New cases on the remote island country raise questions about whether it’s possible for any country to keep out the virus

https://www.wsj.com/video/if-new-zea...=hp_listb_pos1

New Zealand suspects ‘some failure at the border’ after COVID-19 returns
By Dennis NormileAug. 12, 2020 , 1:45 PM

New Zealand officials and scientists are eying a breach in isolation security as the possible cause of the first cases of community transmission in the country in 102 days. Investigators are exploring several possibilities, but experts believe the alternatives—that the virus was circulating undetected or that it entered the country on a freight shipment—are unlikely.

“We must have had some failure at the border, it’s unlikely there could have been silent transmission for that long,” says Nick Wilson, a public health scientist at University of Otago . . . .

Incoming travelers face government supervised quarantine or isolation for 2 weeks. (Until yesterday, all 22 known active infections were among returning travelers in isolation facilities.)

The cluster of new cases caught the nation by surprise. The government announced yesterday that a person in their 50s living in South Auckland first tested positive for the virus after seeking medical care. Subsequently, three other members of the family tested positive; three others did not have the virus. The index case of the group had no history of overseas travel. All close contacts of the four cases were asked to self-isolate for 14 days; casual contacts will be in self-isolation pending test results.

Today, the Ministry of Health reported finding an additional four probable cases linked to the cases reported on Tuesday. Test results are pending. “It sounds like there has been transmission within a workplace,” Wilson says.

New Zealand scientists doubt the virus has been circulating undetected the past 3 months. “Anybody in hospital with respiratory symptoms gets tested and we’ve had nothing,” says microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles of the University of Auckland. The possibility that the virus hitched a ride into the country on imported chilled or frozen food is being investigated, because one of the infected family members handled such imports at work. Environmental samples are being collected from that workplace. But Wilson considers this route “a remote possibility.” Transmission from contaminated surfaces was the possible mechanism for a few rare cases, he says, but overwhelmingly “it is person-to-person.”

Virus samples from the new cases and from recent travelers are now being sequenced and will be compared to try to identify links. The results should be available tomorrow, Wilson says. In the meantime, the government returned Auckland to Alert Level 3 at noon today, requiring people to stay home except for essential trips. The rest of the country was moved to Alert Level 2, which encourages social distancing but allows gatherings of up to 100 people and domestic travel. The restrictions will be in place for at least 3 days.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020...vid-19-returns

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by glowrock

Americans have shown themselves to be arrogant, self-righteous, self-important schmucks who don't give a flying fuck about anyone but themselves. It's utterly pathetic, and Pennsylvania (exclusive of Philly and the CITY of Pittsburgh) can be rightfully included in this group.

Aaron (Glowrock)

Look at what's going on in Europe before you target Americans for such an attack. It's as bad or worse there with the young especially completely unwilling to endure any sort of self-sacrifice. We have a representative of that group right here among us.

This is a western "democratic" issue. And in autocratic countries, the leaders generally know better than to ask the people to sacrifice over an invisible enemy. Most are simply denying it's a serious problem and telling their people people it's just a "bad flu".

[mhays]

Take a look at death rate trends...western Europe is doing very well compared to the US shitshow.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by glowrock

Maybe Pennsylvanians need to acknowledge that their own stupidity in failing to wear a mask and lack of social distancing might just have resulted in Wolf's restrictions and closings? Illinois (at least Chicago) has generally done a very good job in terms of people abiding by mask-wearing and social distancing, and there are relatively few restaurants and bars that have permanently closed. I mean there are quite a few in terms of raw numbers, but as a percentage of the total it's likely 10% or less.

I'm sorry, but it's failure of people to give a damn about anyone but themselves which has brought upon this disaster. Americans have shown themselves to be arrogant, self-righteous, self-important schmucks who don't give a flying fuck about anyone but themselves. It's utterly pathetic, and Pennsylvania (exclusive of Philly and the CITY of Pittsburgh) can be rightfully included in this group.

Aaron (Glowrock)

PA is actually doing pretty well. In terms of cases per capita they are near the bottom, and deaths per capita they are only slightly above average for the US.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by mhays

Take a look at death rate trends...western Europe is doing very well compared to the US shitshow.

Many places in Europe are seeing a recurrence and it's BECAUSE they won't cooperate in public health measures just as in the US:

Spain

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...rus-cases.html

[mhays]

That shows new cases at half the previous peak. It's apparently Spain, the worst of the current trends (France, Germany, and even the UK are much flatter.)

In the US, new cases are DOUBLE the previous peak!

But yes, other countries are making mistakes too.

[0214685226]

It's so god damned sick here. Super sick, like face covering sick magnitude. It's so sick I'm going to get take out OR I might drive and pick it up to avoid the delivery fee. It's that bad.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by mhays

That shows new cases at half the previous peak. It's apparently Spain, the worst of the current trends (France, Germany, and even the UK are much flatter.)

In the US, new cases are DOUBLE the previous peak!

But yes, other countries are making mistakes too.

Yes, because much of Spain's current problem is imported . . . from the UK. But Germans are protesting control measures as aggressively as we are though they don't have the problem we do on a national scale.

[mrnyc]

out of work bartenders selling swanky cocktails in the parks:


https://nypost.com/2020/08/12/out-of...-in-nyc-parks/

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Look at what's going on in Europe before you target Americans for such an attack. It's as bad or worse there with the young especially completely unwilling to endure any sort of self-sacrifice. We have a representative of that group right here among us.

This is a western "democratic" issue. And in autocratic countries, the leaders generally know better than to ask the people to sacrifice over an invisible enemy. Most are simply denying it's a serious problem and telling their people people it's just a "bad flu".

exactly, aside from the multiple sources and open access of information that is a hallmark of america, whats also dubious in other places is the amount of testing going on. easy way to keep your true corona numbers hidden.

[kool maudit]

Chill COVID times are like the only thing my temperament enjoys about Swedish society.

Thanks Anders I needed this one.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

out of work bartenders selling swanky cocktails in the parks:

https://nypost.com/2020/08/12/out-of...-in-nyc-parks/

These guys are everywhere, especially in Prospect Park.

It's kind of a nice amenity, actually. I hope the cops leave them alone, and it survives post-pandemic. And many of the bartenders are from really nice restaurants.

[kool maudit]

That would be impossible in Sweden. The stick up this country's ass is a mile wide and everybody is proud of contributing their little splinter.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

That would be impossible in Sweden. The stick up this country's ass is a mile wide and everybody is proud of contributing their little splinter.

Even in Toronto we've had plenty of bars serve cocktails to go now (either a mason jar or a glass with ice with a cocktail poured into a 26oz bottle), and off-sales of beer/wine are officially permitted for the long-term. Even the City has officially changed their stance on public drinking from NEVER to not "involving excessive alcohol". All of this has seemed to continue despite patios opening up and some places allowing limited indoor seating. So, progress I guess!

It's actually been a pretty fun summer despite everything, though it's easier for me to say that having a regular job that's just shifted to work from home. As does most of my friend group.

[Centropolis]

everybody is going to be doing go cups and nixing of open container laws now. it was a nice secret vestige of the long slow nod to new orleans in st. louis that was a nice treat (instead of like the veiled prophet strapped with pistols and a knife and a high murder rate).

[Centropolis]

it was like yeah we are in the flyover but we ALSO do not have open container laws like puritan chicago or whatever and it’s legal to drink in a car.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

That would be impossible in Sweden. The stick up this country's ass is a mile wide and everybody is proud of contributing their little splinter.

So I take it you haven't been to a nude sauna/spa in mixed company yet?