How Is Covid-19 Impacting Life in Your City?

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

That's your opinion. The government has endorsed mask wearing as a precaution against contracting COVID. That's not an opinion.

Do you suppose, if someone views masking as "virtue signaling," that there's anything physically preventing them from fucking right off and that's why they keep coming here to piss and moan? I mean let's say that, as someone who lived for decades in Asheville, which hosted a yearly protest where women went topless in response to it being socially acceptable for men, but not women, to do so, I have come to believe that all women, of all ages and sizes, should go bare-breasted at all times. I believe this is the natural order of things and that by covering their breasts, women are "signaling" some false, socially-dictated modesty (aka "virtue"). And yet, every time I emerge from the dank hole I call home, I am assaulted by the sight of women going around with their breasts completely or partially covered. I am deeply offended, but at the same time I don't take to the Internet to bitch endlessly about it, and complain at every available opportunity, in multiple threads, about all these hidden breasts that should rightfully be swinging free. At what point do you suppose it is proper for those who feel more comfortable to wear masks to wear them, those who have been vaccinated and feel more comfortable not wearing them not wear them, and for everyone ensnared in that dynamic to shut up and fuck off about it all?

(Of course, it goes without saying that those who are unvaccinated and who also refuse to wear masks are not part of the aforementioned dynamic, and can all burn in hell.)

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by 10023

Yes, but if the rule is that they cannot police vaccine status then no business feels pressured or obligated to do so because that’s what others are doing, or because of media/press etc. Nothing is ever fully optional. Just as the argument for vaccine mandates is that it lets businesses off the hook from being the ones doing the “forcing”, this lets businesses off the hook from not doing so. It’s the opposite side of the same coin.

No, it's not lol. Banning a vaccine mandate is not the logical opposite of demanding mandating a vaccine.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by 10023

Yes, but if the rule is that they cannot police vaccine status then no business feels pressured or obligated to do so because that’s what others are doing, or because of media/press etc. Nothing is ever fully optional. Just as the argument for vaccine mandates is that it lets businesses off the hook from being the ones doing the “forcing”, this lets businesses off the hook from not doing so. It’s the opposite side of the same coin.

Yeah, well Americans need to be tricked into doing something because the government is telling them to do it. If they add an extra layer people are gonna get lost, especially when they start mixing in new agencies.

I have a lot of sympathy for the argument that employees should be protected from invasions of privacy by their employers (which is something people should care about). I don’t think employers should be allowed to drug test either. And there are all kinds of issues when most people also get health coverage through their employer.

In a tight labor market, one should probably not worry about this because there's somebody willing to do it for less. It's also a public health issue so privacy doesn't matter if it can impact the health of others.

Again, I’m fully vaccinated and not anti-vaccine or anti-science or anything else. I just think that governments have done, and people have allowed them to do, a whole lot of things that they should never ever be allowed to do again. The last year and a half has been an Orwellian nightmare.

I told y'all people can't handle what the government tells them, so things must be forced other ways.

[Pedestrian]

Just the first 2 minutes is relevant:
• Video Link

[10023]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

No, it's not lol. Banning a vaccine mandate is not the logical opposite of demanding mandating a vaccine.

Yes it is.

One is about giving businesses the freedom to demand vaccination without “being the bad guy” (because they are just following a government directive). The other is about giving businesses the freedom to not police employees’ vaccination status, without facing public/media pressure to do so (because a government directive explicitly bars them from doing so).

I actually come down on the side of the latter, because I don’t think companies have any business telling their employees what to do outside of their place of work. That goes for vaccines, drug testing (people should be able to do whatever they want if they don’t show up to work actually inebriated or high), their social media activities (no one should face consequences at work for posts made in their personal time), etc.

This is about principle, as well. Companies have far too much control over their employees and anything that further expands this is bad.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by 10023

Yes it is.

No, it's not. The logical opposite of a vaccine mandate is no vaccine mandate.

Originally Posted by 10023

One is about giving businesses the freedom to demand vaccination without “being the bad guy” (because they are just following a government directive). The other is about giving businesses the freedom to not police employees’ vaccination status, without facing public/media pressure to do so (because a government directive explicitly bars them from doing so).

I actually come down on the side of the latter, because I don’t think companies have any business telling their employees what to do outside of their place of work. That goes for vaccines, drug testing (people should be able to do whatever they want if they don’t show up to work actually inebriated or high), their social media activities (no one should face consequences at work for posts made in their personal time), etc.

This is about principle, as well. Companies have far too much control over their employees and anything that further expands this is bad.

There exists centuries worth of precedent in this country about the right to mandate vaccination. Sorry if you don't like it, but it is what it is.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

No, it's not lol..

Originally Posted by 10023

Yes it is.

Originally Posted by iheartthed

No, it's not.

Reminds me of grade school

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Out of state plates seen in the last few days...2 from Massachusetts, 3 from California, 3 from Florida, 2 from New Jersey, 2 from Oklahoma, and one each from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Louisiana, Virginia, Arkansas, and at least 3 others I couldn't make out.

https://www.statesman.com/story/busi...st/8369839002/

-

And again, other license plates spotted in the last couple of days, 2 more from California, 2 more from Florida, and one each from Louisiana, New Jersey, and New York.

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...ic-levels.html

Austin has returned to pre-pandemic employment, ranks No. 4 in US for labor recovery
Hospitality, education and health services still lag

By Kathryn Hardison – Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal
Sep 22, 2021, 9:18am EDT

Enough jobs were added in the Austin metro last month to bring the labor market back to levels not seen since the pandemic began.

There were roughly 1,142,500 non-farm payroll jobs in August, 100 jobs more than February 2020, the month before the pandemic descended on the region, according to a Sept. 21 analysis by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. That doesn't mean that each of the 137,000 jobs lost in March and April 2020 has been regained, but the wider job market has bounced back to pre-pandemic footing.

That's an important metric because it shows the region's ability to recover faster than most metros in the nation. Only three other major U.S. metros have increased the size of their labor market since the pandemic began — Salt Lake City, Kansas City and Dallas.

The Salt Lake City metro, which has been leading the labor recovery for several months, has added 15,900 jobs since prior to the pandemic, which is a 2.1% increase, according to the chamber analysis. Kansas City ranked No. 2 with a net gain of 700 jobs, or 0.1%, and Dallas ranked No. 3 with a gain of 1,000 jobs, for a negligible percentage change. Austin came in at No. 4 with 100 extra jobs compared with February 2020, also a negligible percentage change, according to the analysis.

[10023]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

No, it's not. The logical opposite of a vaccine mandate is no vaccine mandate.

Or is it a mandate to not get vaccinated? That would be the logical opposite. No vaccine mandate is just the absence of a thing, not its opposite.

Look, on the one hand there is a policy forcing companies to police employees’ health status. On the other is a policy barring them from doing so. I actually prefer the latter - I don’t think companies have any business enforcing this or anything else outside of the workplace.

[Pedestrian]

California has the lowest COVID rate in the U.S. Here's why the Bay Area is doing even better
Kellie Hwang
Sep. 21, 2021
Updated: Sep. 21, 2021 4:05 p.m.

California has recently distinguished itself as the state with the lowest coronavirus case rate in the U.S. — but data this week shows the Bay Area is performing even better.

Since last week, California has been the lone state in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s orange “substantial” level of coronavirus community transmission, with the rest of the nation in the red “high” level, based on case rates and positive test rates.

But the Bay Area’s numbers are lower than the state’s, and certain counties in the region are doing particularly well, despite the highly transmissible delta variant. According to state data, the Bay Area’s 7-day average daily case rate per 100,000 was 13 as of Sept. 20, compared to California’s case rate of 22.

San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties were below the regional average with a case rate of 11 per 100,000, and Marin County’s rate was even lower at 10. Alameda, Contra Costa and Sonoma counties all had rates in the low to mid-teens. The Bay Area counties with the highest case rates were Napa, at 18.5 per 100,000, and Solano, with 20.5 per 100,000 — still below the state average.

Given the Bay Area’s record throughout the pandemic, such relatively low numbers were to be expected, according to Bay Area experts . . . .

. . . the Bay Area’s low case rates can be attributed to high vaccination rates plus the “extras,” which include mask-wearing and high coronavirus testing rates. The Bay Area’s counties, with the exception of Solano, are at the top of the rankings for vaccination rates statewide, and the same eight counties have indoor mask mandates for all, regardless of vaccination status.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/a...S-16477225.php

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Just the first 2 minutes is relevant:
• Video Link

Stay classy TX tourists.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/a...S-16477225.php

Whether this is “better” is a value judgment. High vaccination rates are good. I’d rather live somewhere with slightly higher Covid cases but no masks.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Just the first 2 minutes is relevant:
• Video Link

More has come out about this incident. The "attackers" were vaccinated and apparently did show proof. The "attack" was due to tensions between the hostess and the patrons, and other videos show that the hostess was an active participant in the brawl. The "attackers" also allege that the hostess called them racial slurs before the fight.

[Yuri]

81.59% (or 98.28% above 18) of São Paulo state population had got at least the 1st dose of the vaccine.

Despite all the anti-vax craziness, Brazilians are being vaccinated en masse. People down here are a bit hypochondriac and the country has a strong tradition of vaccination programs.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

More has come out about this incident. The "attackers" were vaccinated and apparently did show proof. The "attack" was due to tensions between the hostess and the patrons, and other videos show that the hostess was an active participant in the brawl. The "attackers" also allege that the hostess called them racial slurs before the fight.

The version I read--before I posted the video--was that the Texans were in 3 groups. The first 2 groups were vaccinated but the third group to join the party wasn't and that's when the altercation started: When the unvaccinated group were denied admittance (that being the "tensions") to join their friends.

At some point later, this apparently became a cause celebre for BLM which picketed out front. I don't trust much about reporting on the incident except the video. If at least some members of the party weren't vaccinated there's not much reason a restaurant would be fighting with its customers. New York restaurants deal regularly with a lot of "diversity" and "racism" is an easy accusation to make.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

The version I read--before I posted the video--was that the Texans were in 3 groups. The first 2 groups were vaccinated but the third group to join the party wasn't and that's when the altercation started: When the unvaccinated group were denied admittance (that being the "tensions") to join their friends.

At some point later, this apparently became a cause celebre for BLM which picketed out front. I don't trust much about reporting on the incident except the video. If at least some members of the party weren't vaccinated there's not much reason a restaurant would be fighting with its customers. New York restaurants deal regularly with a lot of "diversity" and "racism" is an easy accusation to make.

In other footage that was released, the hostess was seen shouting at the "attackers" as they were apparently in the process of leaving the restaurant. This happened before they attacked her.

https://pix11.com/news/local-news/ma...o-altercation/

No one knows what was said, and I'm skeptical that she used slurs (a lot of her coworkers appear to be black), but I think it's clear that there was back and forth between her and the patrons. This incident didn't happen because she asked for their vaccination documentation, as had been widely reported by the media.

[10023]

As a small global update for the forum, I arrived in Milan around lunchtime today for a meeting tomorrow. I’ve been to two restaurants and a bar and not once has anyone even mentioned checking the “green pass” that is supposed to be required to prove vaccination (or a negative test/recovery from prior infection). Italians have a very loose relationship with rules as usual. I have the pass of course (from the French government, since the Brits aren’t competent to use a foreign vaccination record).

[the urban politician]

I'm slowly forgetting about COVID over here.....

It's becoming a "meh" issue. Most people I know are living normally, making their usual plans. Masks are still the norm indoors, of course, but we're all getting used to it.

[kool maudit]

Sweden, Norway and Denmark have abandoned all internal COVID regulations, but my suspicion is that a winter outbreak will see them return, and then some.

[10023]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Sweden, Norway and Denmark have abandoned all internal COVID regulations, but my suspicion is that a winter outbreak will see them return, and then some.

But why should that be? Why does a “winter outbreak” matter with vaccination? What, we’re all going into lockdown again because a bunch of people get a tickle in their throat and a fever for a few days?

Other than a handful of forumers here, I think most have realised that post-vax Covid is not a big deal. Even for older people the symptoms will be like they were for most younger people (my food poisoning or stomach flu a couple weeks ago was worse than my Covid). And some modest number of very frail or unlucky people will still be hospitalized, maybe even die, but that’s no different from typical flu or pneumonia or any number of things that bring about the inevitable when people are old.

As for the unvaccinated, they just don’t matter and have waived their right to society’s concern or accommodation.