Wasnât planning to go to the movies any time soon, but at least now I know where not to go whenever I do. Political controversy has to be the absolute weakest possible reason to not require masks.
The research, which is preliminary and hasnât been peer-reviewed, suggests that not all variations of the virus act the same, according to Ozer. Early findings suggest that the virus prevalent in New York might spread to people through the nose and throat at a higher rate than the virus that is unique to Chicago.
The research is giving scientists clues about different characteristics of the infections, though they caution that more research is needed.
âThese differences might help us understand where a vaccine might be most effective,â Ozer said. âWherever those differences are, this is a potential weakness in the virus.â
(Emphasis added)
Thereâs probably some occupancy threshold at which being a mask free zone does not appreciably increase corona virus risk. Itâs probably sparser than seating people six feet away though.
I liked to attend films at odd hours-- a handful of people in the theatre. Hypothetically, had COVID-19 been active at one of those outings, I doubt there would have been infections traceable to the auditorium-- the restrooms and food counter and lines might be a different story. But I canât imagine that showings that sparse would be profitable, anyway.
They make money off concessions, thatâs why theyâre so eager to not have masks. In my own experience, wearing a mask kills peripheral vision, but thatâs not part of watching a film.
Theyâve since reversed their stance on that:
From their website:
As we reopen theatres, to protect yourself and others we will require that all AMC guests wear masks as they enter and enjoy movies at our theatres. If you donât have one, disposable masks will be available at our theatre box offices for a nominal $1.00 price. In the auditorium, masks may be removed to enjoy food and drinks.
@RAvery, emphasis added.
Awww, now howâm I gunna eat the popcorn?
Several states have seen a record number of cases in recent days, leading to fears that the country is experiencing a second wave of infections.
But Vice-President Mike Pence said those fears were âoverblownâ and accused the media of using âgrim predictionsâ to scare the American people.
God bless you, Mike Pence.
Post edited, although you did capture the sentiment of the comments to that Variety article that werenât accusing AMC of being a part of a conspiracy to get people to wear burka, or spam bots claiming to be able to make absurd amounts of money working from home.
Theyâre getting an early start.
âThe campaign takes the health and safety of rally-goers seriously and is taking precautions to make the rally safe. Every single rally goer will have their temperature checked, be provided a face mask and hand sanitizer,â Perrine said. âWe are also taking precautions to keep rally-goers safe in the Oklahoma heat â including providing water bottles to keep people hydrated.â
Attendees will not be required to wear a mask, however.
Despite the warnings, Trump doubled down on rallygoers choosing whether to wear masks and heed public health officialsâ advice, saying in an interview with Axios published late Friday: âI recommend people do what they want.â
Journal of the Corona Year
6/20 - June is busting out all over
We had been told the office would open soon after New York City entered âPhase II.â But my manager assured us the re-opening couldnât possibly happen before July 4th, and might not happen until early August.
It was decided on Friday that Phase II will begin for New York City on Monday the 22nd. We all got an email on Friday afternoon informing us that our office will be opening up right along with it. Monday? My hair wonât grow back by Monday.
The daily procedure for our re-opened office was all explained in the very long email. The email even arrived with two attached documents to further explain what to expect â one from the building and one from the company. We would have to sign and date the document from the company in two places before we were allowed to enter.
Basically, arriving in the morning would go like this:
- Wait in line to enter the building through an assigned door.
- Once inside, proceed in line to enter the correct elevator bay.
- Wait in line for elevator, which now only accommodate four people at a time.
- Proceed to 25th floor.
- Have nurse take your temperature.
- Wait in line to enter elevator back to lobby.
- If your temperature is high, go home.
- Otherwise, proceed in line to appropriate elevator bank.
- Wait in line for elevator.
- Proceed to 2nd floor.
- Find desk.
- Sit at desk for next eight hours while wearing a mask, surrounded by plastic partitions.
So the office is re-opening all while there are more cases of COVID-19 than when it closed in mid-March. That increase in cases might be due to expended testing, but weâll never know. Thatâs part of the problem.
Thatâs a lot of trouble to re-open the office when Iâm not really sure why they need the office in the first place. All a broker needs is a computer screen and a phone to shout into. I think I wrote that earlier but it needs to be restated.
I reiterated my concerns about commuting to work to my manager. At this time it really seems that if you can do your job remotely, it would benefit the entire world to continue doing so.
My manager had one concern: Something needed to be done with all my deskâs contents. Apparently there was a new seating arrangement. Everyone had been rearranged to increase space between people. All the marketing department would now be on the second floor.
I went to the office on Saturday. The building was just as described in their booklet. Tape arrows were on the floor. Rope barriers had been installed. The elevators had squares of tape at the corners indicating where each person would stand.
Everything in the office looked just as shabby as ever. The only difference was every other word station had a piece of paper with a big red X on it. No one could sit in these spaces.
The computer on the desk beside me was still there and still running. This is despite that person having been fired two months ago. It was creepy. It was like walking around the deserted decks of the Titanic after it had been raised.
Before I left I visited the bather room. Half the facilities there were off limits due to social distancing. The bathrooms were horribly inadequate before. I canât imagine what would happen now.
At the vigil Saturday night, Sam called from across the street. He promised to see us in 12 more days. So heâs still around. I assumed he had gone to Tulsa or something. I have a strong feeling he has something planned, like showing up with a gun or running us over with a car.
Kidsâ school closed back down.
Today my spouseâs library is fully reopening to the public. Patrons arenât required to wear masks but staff wonât approach within 6 feet of them if they donât.
As it happens, the phone system is also dead at the branch sheâs been temporarily reassigned to. They rely on that for continuing curbside service as well as many other things.
And also today we have the news that Missouri has broken its record for new cases two days in a row. Granted, that isnât happening in the St. Louis region, but it wouldnât surprise me if itâs not far behind.
My sister-in-law, also a library employee but in Texas, just got off maternal leave and had to go back to work the same week they reopened to the public. Thatâs got to be nerve-wracking, especially with the spike in cases theyâve been having.
Thankfully my workplace hasnât made any noises about coming back to the office, yet.
Ours in Belgium have been open and closed several times. The first time they opened as per the reopening schedule but no kids showed up because of a bad mask policy. They changed that policy but still no one sent their kids because all the grades werenât open. After a couple more days of no kids, they shut down again for âre-evaluationâ (translated: the parents wonât let us ignore them.) There are seven school days left in the year, I donât think theyâre going to try again until fall.
Iâve been wondering a lot lately about whether something like that might be in the near future.
Iâve been bugging my MP and MEP to do exactly that. Now that the Schengen borders are opening up, tourists are going to work their way around the quarantined states. You know theyâll do it. I want our tourists back as much as anyone, and more than many-- but weâve got COVID pretty well under control here and weâd like to keep it that way. The only way to do that is to remain fanatically careful.
No, Iâm not auditioning to be a Handmaid; I just got tired of wondering what my natural hair color truly is. And Pervert Bob the lawn-mower had a bit to do with my decision, yeah.
And yes, those are depictions of some of the animals of Aesopâs Fables - more vintage fabric Iâd found on the back porch.