Lock Down

I'm all for opening. My state's crummy governor pushed it back to May 15th for us, even though are numbers are similar to states that are already opening. Ridiculous.

2 extra weeks for the sake of helping stop the spread a bit, really is worth it. It also gives time to see how the states which have opened end up doing in regard to active cases. If opened states start peaking again then there's trouble, and closed states won't suffer the effects. But if things don't get worse, then all states except about half a dozen can reopen.

I don't see it as New Mexico not doing the right thing, but other states doing the wrong thing. It's better to be safe than sorry, especially when over 40,000 have died outside of New York.

Australia will stay in semi-lockdown until September at the earliest, I'm hearing... We have had very minor easing of restrictions. Now we can have gatherings*** with a maximum of 10 people rather than 2, and schools are back. But not on-campus uni. Most restrictions will stay until that Sept at the earliest date. And that's despite my state having about 40 active cases only.
*** with the 1.5M 'social distancing' rules, of course... (you have no idea how much I despise that term)

Although thank goodness, both of our sports will be returning in late May and late June respectively. No crowds all season though.

« Last edited by Matt77 on May 1st 2020 »

I don't see the point. Two more weeks isn't going to do much at this point. Just reopen and accept the losses that come while we develop a vaccine.

"accept the losses that come" ?

A vaccine can, and is being developed, even during lockdown.

If you look at it in black and white, 2 more weeks would be pointless since the US is already experiencing the peak. But it's the fact that reopening could cause a second wave. In the last 3 days daily cases in the US have increased day by day, and yesterday they were at the second highest they have ever been. Hypothetically lets say opened states start a second wave, it would mean all closed states will have avoided that wave. And if there is no second wave, then the closed states lose out.

Just be glad it wasn't extended by 4 weeks like in some other states.

Whenever places are open again, you will see the number of deaths continue to rise. Pushing it back a few weeks and opening in phases won't change that fact. So you might as well accept it and open the economies of the world.

It's all about trying to minimise risk (deaths vs failing economy). Trump and some thinks the economy opening trumps the death rate (no pun intended). Others think keeping the death rate as low as possible trumps the consequences of keeping the economy shut. I can see arguments for both sides.

At this rate though, states probably have to open. There seems to be an influx of people un-quaranteeting themselves. Some even protesting in their thousands. They decided to pick May 1st as their date.

My state has had 0 new cases in the past 3 days = Semi lockdown until September at the earliest
Texas has had 3,576 new cases in the past 3 days = Reopening



« Last edited by Matt77 on May 2nd 2020 »

I agree with the standpoint of opening the economy and accepting the deaths that come. It's going to happen one way or the other. Rip the bandaid off.

Looks like Trump's gamble is paying off, since there hasn't been a significant change in new cases/deaths. It remains to be seen whether things will change. We'll know for sure roughly 2 weeks after May 1st.

Spain's active cases are rapidly declining. Things are looking much better there.

Australia has made a 3-stage plan to slowly re-open the country. States can do things differently if they wish though.
Stage 1 is to allow groups of 10 people together, for cafes & restaurants to open, & for all businesses to open. My state has already had that in place for over a week (excluding cafes & restaurants opening), and I played tennis with 6 other people today.
Stage 2 will be a while away, an will increase the number to 20 people & allow states to hold larger gatherings if they wish, and will reopen cinemas, zoos, concerts etc for a maximum of 20 people (but no pubs, nightclubs etc).
Stage 3 is even further away, and increases it to 100 people, reopens food courts, pubs, nightclubs, weddings & funerals will essentially be back, and only then can we travel INTERSTATE.

Keep in mind that I'm not criticising the US and saying Aus is sensible, and that my state has just 21 active cases with 0 new cases in the last 9 days. It's absolutely ridiculous the rules we'll have to keep following in my state. They keep talking about stopping the spread, but it's over. There is zero spread. No new cases in 9 days. And even once we reach Stage 3, that isn't even the end of semi-lockdown.

What do you think of our rules? EDIT - My state is now onto Stage 2 already, thankfully.

« Last edited by Matt77 on May 10th 2020 »

Sorry, I started reading but quickly realized it would take a very long time. Maybe I'll change my mind later.

Sound familiar? :P jk XD

It was actually pointless anyway, cause I ranted at how slow my state was to reopen, but the next day they moved onto Stage 2 of reopening.

tl;dr - We are taking steps to get back to normal, we have had 0 new cases in the past 11 days, we have 12 active cases (last time I checked) and just 4 of those are hospitalised. Yet we are still being slammed with ads about "contactless delivery for peace of mind" and "together we can help stop the spread and stay healthy" even though there is literally no spreading happening.

« Last edited by Matt77 on May 11th 2020 »

Started Phase 1 of reopening my state today. Bout time.

Was meant to congratulate you on that, but then busyness happened. Trump's gamble appears to have paid off I guess. That's if rumours that he is asking states to not reveal all coronavirus deaths are false (they probably are false, minus Florida, where this was basically confirmed).

One thing's for certain though. In the last 2 weeks I've learned, through hours of reading and viewing, that Trump and his administration are responsible for a couple of tens of thousands of deaths. And even during the criticism he is facing, he is still the red hot favourite to win the election due to his Obamagate diversion tactics, and the Democrats' incompetence for picking a candidate with alzheimers

Rant over...

In my state we have just 2 active cases. Tomorrow we reach Stage 2 of reopening, and on June 8th we reach Stage 3. But even if it reaches 0, we can't fully reopen because Australia dumps all returning overseas Australians on to us.

« Last edited by Matt77 on May 17th 2020 »

I think Trump is doing fine. Then again, all presidents do about the same. lol

My state had almost made coronavirus extinct (2 active cases with 0 in hospital), but then a Kuwait ship decided to dock, with 16 infected passengers. So now even though they are not even Australians, they count as Western Australian cases (?) and the news outlets are panicking about our latest "coronavirus crisis"... Just when I thought it was going to end...

The longer it takes for active cases to reach 0, the less likely my uni semester 2 will be done on-campus. And to make matters worse, our Prime Minister wants my state to open its borders so that other states can start sending people over and starting the spread all over again...

How is phase 1 life treating you Lonely God?

Also Dennis if you decide to pop in, how are things in Spain?

Oh man, it's been way too long friends. How are you folks doing? Class of 2020 gang on my end so that's been fun lol. I work at a grocery store so I've been to hell and back with trying to figure out Online orders for curbside pickup and dealing with grumpy, panicky people. Ugh. Welp, life goes on.

Lol when I asked how life was treating people, I didn't expect you to arrive!

So by Class of 2020, does that mean you just finished high school, or 2020/21 will be your last year? Sorry, I don't really understand how it works overseas. In Australia school goes from Feb-Early Dec, all in the same year. It's good to know that you at least have a job at the moment.

If you're done with high school, you should join us for our NFL tipping competition

But if you're not done with high school, then you probably shouldn't take on a distraction.

He's done with High School. lol

Congrats on finishing, Freez!

Our state is beginning Phase 2 today. Masks are still required if I'm not mistaken. No form of protection is 100% effective though.

There is no scientific explanation as to how US daily cases are slowly decreasing despite reopening, but it's good that it's happening. Maybe the majority of people are using common sense when they go out somewhere.

Our state reaches Stage 3 on June 6th, meaning 100% reopening intra-state. State borders will remain shut as they should be, but we will be back to normal. However, for classes with 40+ people, my uni will be off-campus throughout Semester 2 as well...

Also after I said my state nearly had the virus extinct, that Kuwait ship has ruined the state. About a week ago we had just 2 active cases. Now we have 29, and it's growing by the day. I won't be surprised if lockdown gets reintroduced in the near future.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jun 1st 2020 »

You've got riots in cities across America and with masses of people all bunched together yet there is no mention in the news that Covid-19 is still a problem. It's as if the American press have forgotton about the lockdown and that the virus is contagious and are focussing their atterntion on the riots. I'll be interested to see if there is a rise in cases.

What is the latest news in a nutshell regarding the riots, any sign they are ending or is the situation getting worse?

A majority of states are open in the US, and some have been open for as long as 4-6 weeks. Yet daily cases are slowly decreasing. It makes absolutely no sense. Maybe herd immunity is real? In states that stayed closed down, many people broke lockdown rules and protested for their freedom in large numbers. That was weeks ago, yet nothing changed. As a one-off, active cases even decreased 2 days ago.

So don't expect a rise in cases. Expect daily cases to keep decreasing, somehow. It appears that there will be no second wave in the US.

On the riots, they'll be stopping soon. Trump said yesterday that he's sending thousands of officers in from the national guard, to stop the riots. He's had enough. Quite frankly he doesn't care, so he's going to go on the full offensive. That's referring to the ones who are looting and destroying small businesses, I think. I don't know what he has planned for the peaceful protests, if anything.