COVID-19 Shutdown Exit Strategy?

[cathy63]

Orange County, Florida - home to Walt Disney World - has come out with some guidance for amusement parks, hotels and restaurants, once they're allowed to reopen. https://touringplans.com/blog/2020/...nomic-recovery-task-force-reopening-strategy/

Disney and Universal will be mandated to:

* All employees must wear face masks.
* Touchless hand sanitizer must be stationed at each ticketing entry/turnstile.
* Touchless hand sanitizer at each attraction entrance and exit.
* Temperature checks for staff prior to shift. (Those with temperatures over 100.4 will not be allowed to enter premises.)
* All employees with flu-like symptoms will be advised to stay at home.
* Wipe down all railings and surfaces after every use.
* Phase 1: 50% capacity
* Phase 2: 75% capacity

Guidelines include:

* Tape marking 6 ft apart in attraction queues.
* Staff to regularly wipe down surfaces at random.
* Phase 1 and Phase 2: Staff 65 years or older are encouraged to stay at home.

Hotel guidelines will include:

* Phase 1: Housekeeping services to be limited and allow for limited guest and employee exposure
* Phase 1: Promote, if available, mobile check-in
* Phase 1: Housekeepers only clean upon request, or when a guest departs
* Phase 1: Allow employees to work from home if they are not playing a critical role in serving guests.
* Phase 1: Only deliver room service to guests doors.
* Phase 1: Provide self parking
* Promote social distancing for guests and staff
* Recommended touchless hand sanitizer at entry
* Increased cleaning services/additional sanitation services through cleaning companies
* Phase 1 and Phase 2: Staff 65 years or older are encouraged to stay at home.

Hotel mandates:

* All employees will be required to wear face masks
* Hand sanitizer at entry to be available in plain sight.
* All employees with flu-like symptoms will be advised to stay home.
* Front desk to sanitize themselves on a regular basis.
* Consistent cleaning of all guest areas.
* Front desk to utilize sneeze guards.
* Remove all service items in guests hotel rooms including glassware, coffee cups, etc.
* Mini bars are not to be stocked.
* Do not offer self food services.
* Space pool furniture according to distancing guidelines.
* Pool gates and pool chairs to be sanitized regularly.
* Door handles, elevator buttons, and railings to be sanitized regularly.
* Remove all coffee makers from guest rooms.
* Remove all guest collateral items, except those that are single use.
* Sanitize guest keys before and after each use.
* Sanitize bell carts after each use.
* Phase 1 and 2: No conferences.
* Promote social distancing for all guests and staff.

As far as restaurants are concerned, guidelines are:

* Paper/disposable menus
* Encourage takeout/online orders
* Touchless sanitizer at entry
* Phase 1 and Phase 2: Staff 65 years or older are encouraged to stay at home.

Restaurant mandates are:

* Hand sanitizer at every table.
* Hand sanitizer at entry in visible sight.
* All employees required to wear facemasks.
* Temperature checks for staff prior to shift. (Those with temperatures over 100.4 will not be allowed to enter premises.)
* All employees with flu-like symptoms will be advised to stay home.
* Doors to be wiped regularly.
* All staff behind counters must wear gloves, except for bartenders.
* Bartenders must sanitize hands after making each drink.
* Seated tables to be six feet apart.
* Phase 1: Limit restaurant to 50% capacity
* Phase 2: Limit restaurant to 75% capacity

 

[Dtail]

Orange County, Florida - home to Walt Disney World - has come out with some guidance for amusement parks, hotels and restaurants, once they're allowed to reopen. https://touringplans.com/blog/2020/...nomic-recovery-task-force-reopening-strategy/

Sometimes there are hour waits for a popular ride. What will the line look like with the 6ft distance rule?

 

[harllee]

Sometimes there are hour waits for a popular ride. What will the line look like with the 6ft distance rule?

I bet there will not be many people at Disney for quite a while. I know I won't go for a long time.

 

[REWahoo]

The city of San Antonio started requiring masks in public a few weeks ago. One of my grandsons (HS Sr.) works at an HEB supermarket and one of his jobs is to keep watch on the entrance to be sure everyone entering is wearing a mask/face covering. Talked with him yesterday and he said very few try to come in without them, and only one has put up a fuss when told they couldn't enter unmasked. He was escorted to the parking lot. (Funny. Those last sentences would sound totally absurd if I posted them three months ago.)

I'm curious to see if the store will continue to enforce the mask requirement starting May 1, when the city's mask ordinance is overridden by the governor's "mask encouraged, not required" order.

 

[statsman]

I bet there will not be many people at Disney for quite a while. I know I won't go for a long time.

You might lose that bet, if the teenagers and young adults showing up at the beaches or otherwise protesting have any say in the matter. A lot of them are going to look at this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - having the parks to mostly themselves without the old farts or families with kids.

 

[gwraigty]

In response to a reporter's question, DeWine said that a business can still mandate that employees and customers wear a face covering. It's easy to imagine the issues that will cause among non-mask-wearing customers who want to shop at ABC Shop that now requires masks, yet XYZ Shop doesn't require masks. I wouldn't want to be the employee at ABC Shop who has to try and bar entry to customers who don't want to comply with their mask mandate. IMO, he should have left it the way he set it yesterday. That way all the businesses would be on a level playing field with regard to wearing masks. They would have had the state order to post plainly in the window. Now that's not available to them.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I see that I posted in the wrong thread...

The Abbott antibody test is a blood-draw-from-arm, mail to lab test.

I think the San Francisco researchers were looking at finger-prick, rapid readout tests.

https://www.healthlabs.com/covid-19-antibody-test

If I thought I'd had it, but wanted to be sure, I'd be willing to go to a lab, get the blood draw, pay my $169, and wait 24 hours for a result. It would be worth that to me to know for sure.

I think the massive, test millions of people, vision is hoping for simpler processes.

Abbott's announcement said the test is being done on their ARCHITECT i1000SR and i2000SR laboratory instruments (capacity 100-200 tests/hour). They also stated there are approximately 2,000 of these systems deployed in the United States. They also stated "We're significantly scaling up our manufacturing for antibody testing and expect to ship close to 1 million tests to U.S. customers this week and 4 million of the antibody tests during April."

In addition, they also plan on being able to run the test on their Alinity Lab system https://www.corelaboratory.abbott/int/en/offerings/brands/alinity/alinity-ci-series at which time they hope to "ship 20 million antibody tests in the U.S. in June and beyond as we expand our testing capabilities" (using that platform).

As you state, probably worth waiting 24 hours or so to get a definitive result.

 

[harllee]

You might lose that bet, if the teenagers and young adults showing up at the beaches and otherwise protesting have any say in the matter. A lot of them are going to look at this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - having the parks to mostly themselves without the old farts or families with kids.

Can they afford the sky high admission charge? Beaches are free, not so much Disney World.

 

[gwraigty]

sometimes there are hour waits for a popular ride. What will the line look like with the 6ft distance rule?

l o n g e r

 

[PatrickA5]

We had planned to take the grandkids to Disney next year, but that will wait. I told DD if she wants a FREE trip to Disney, then we'll go when Granddad says it's ok to go.

 

[Chuckanut]

T
How much longer can we hide in our homes? And no matter how much we flatten the curve, how are we going to ever keep it flat if we need to reopen the economy and let people go back to work? This just seems like delaying the inevitable to me. I don’t feel like we have a plan that accomplishes anything here and we are at 45 days of lockdown with no end date in sight.

I’m feeling really frustrated tonight. I just don’t get it.

Misery loves company and for what it is worth, I understand your frustration.

Yesterday, my governor talked about being 'data driven' in regards to opening up the state. He must have mentioned the term data driven at least a half dozen times. So, some reporter asked him if we could see the data that he is using to make decisions. (Obviously, there are still a few intelligent people in the press. Perhaps all is not yet lost.) The reply had something to do with NYC which I found confusing since we don't have any city in my home state that even remotely resembles NYC in size, density, transportation, etc. I'll see if any of the data driving his decisions is released with an explanation of how it drove the decisions.

But, as of today, it is very frustrating.

That above said, if we old folks have to stay inside another month so that the younger less at risk folks can keep our economy healthy, I will do it. After all, a guy can drink a lot of beer and bake a lot of pizzas in a month.

 

[Lienlord]

My guess is that many stores are going to *require* masks long after the lockdowns are rescinded. We haven't even begun to enter the legal ramifications of COVID-19 on our society. A lot of people are suffering and some will suffer more as we go forward. But not the lawyers.

Stores will need to update their signs...No Shoes, No Shirts, No Masks, No Service!

 

[REWahoo]

Yesterday, our governor talk about being 'data driven' in regards to opening up the state. He must have mentioned the term data driven at least a half dozen times. So, some reporter asked him if we could see the data that he is using to make decisions. (Obviously, there are still a few intelligent people in the press. Perhaps all is not yet lost.) The reply had something to do with NYC which I found confusing since we don't have any city in my home state that even remotely resembles NYC in size, density, transportation, etc. I'll see if any of the data driving his decisions is released with an explanation of how it drove the his decisions.

Anyone have any doubt the "data" driving almost all of these decisions is derived from polling results? No question in my state - what the folks that vote wanted to see happen was the predominate factor in determining when and how much to reopen the state.

 

[Clone]

How much longer can we hide in our homes? And no matter how much we flatten the curve, how are we going to ever keep it flat if we need to reopen the economy and let people go back to work? This just seems like delaying the inevitable to me. I don’t feel like we have a plan that accomplishes anything here and we are at 45 days of lockdown with no end date in sight.

I’m feeling really frustrated tonight. I just don’t get it.

Until there is a vaccine (which I personally do not believe is a possibility, at least within a year), the goal is to hold down the number of sick people such that the health care system is not overwhelmed. I think we have done that. (And all of these things are local, certain areas may be overwhelmed.) Once the initial surge has passed, for the people that may be vulnerable but who can remain isolated, it is to our advantage that the herd gets on with their lives and shares the virus and gets over it. So long as they do not overwhelm the system. The faster they can process through the sickness, the sooner it will be that the vulnerable will be able to re-emerge from isolation.

Right now, we have hospitals that are sitting empty, and health care folks that are furloughed because everything is shut down. It is time to let the folks that need surgery to get back into the system.

Any decision to stay closed or to open up will be politically debated as being wrong. A significant number of people are not willing to deal with reality, and need to blame somebody else. Until we reopen professional sports, the politicians are the closest thing to near meaningless competitors that we have going for us.

 

[Midpack]

Anyone have any doubt the "data" driving almost all of these decisions is derived from polling results? No question in my state - what the folks that vote wanted to see happen was the predominate factor in determining when and how much to reopen the state.

I don’t doubt polls are a huge factor. But in this case you would think no politician would be so short sighted as to ignore what voters would do if a governor opened to early or aggressively and death tolls spiked. Especially if hospitals are overwhelmed in the second wave, testing isn’t ready, etc. Many Governors seem to be handling this pretty well, though the final results of their actions is months away. Voters are free to change their minds 180 every day...what they say in polls now won’t matter if the tide turns later.

 

[gwraigty]

Anyone have any doubt the "data" driving almost all of these decisions is derived from polling results? No question in my state - what the folks that vote wanted to see happen was the predominate factor in determining when and how much to reopen the state.

You're making me wonder. Regarding the masks/no masks issue in Ohio, DeWine said today that he had been hearing of concerned employees in retail who were afraid to go back to work unless everyone had to wear a mask. Hence, a mask mandate as of yesterday. Then last night he got a phone call from a mother with a son with autism who said that it would be extremely difficult for him to have to wear a mask. They talked a long time. I'm not totally unsympathetic, as DS has Asperger's and things were especially difficult when he was younger. But he had rules to follow and he managed somehow. DeWine also heard from people who were offended at the idea of having to wear a mask. So he flip-flopped. What about the concerned retail employees? Maybe he didn't get as many calls from them. Maybe more of them will start calling him tonight. Maybe he can institute a policy of mandating masks every other day.

 

[statsman]

I wonder how much longer before retail workers decide unemployment plus $600/wk for the next three months is better than being forced into a COVID-19 work environment they are uncomfortable with.

 

[rodi]

Our governor just announced the stages of reopening. Phase 1 is more testing. Phase 2 will allow non-essential businesses that can mitigate proximity and contact to reopen. Retail with curbside pickup for example. The public health doctor also went through some of the mitigations (masks, sick leave without penalty so sick people don't come to work, etc.)

They said that phase would come in 'weeks, not months'. Depending on how that goes they'd move to phase 3 which would allow some school and child cares to open. Again - dependent on physical distance mitigation, mask/face coverings, etc. He's also looking at schools opening sooner (late July/early August) to help make up for the education/learning hit that has effected this semester. Phase 3 would allow personal service businesses (nail salons, barbers, etc.) to open, also movie theaters with a separation... sports without live audiences. Churches, weddings, etc. are ok.

Phase 3 would be in 'months not weeks'.

Phase 4 is wide open, concerts, convention centers, live audience sports.

For those that like to comment on Newsom's haircut - he has not been getting a hair cut - he looked kind of scruffy and laughed about really wanting haircuts to be available. No judgement from me - I had my husband cut my hair. LOL.

 

[pb4uski]

Ironically the woman who is leading the NCReopen protests in my state has come down with Covid-19. I assume that many of the protestors were exposed because there was no social distancing.

 

[Gumby]

Our governor gives a press conference every day, which I have found to be very professionally run and quite informative. Two days ago, there were a substantial number of questions about unemployment insurance. They had the commissioner of the department of labor on the conference, as well as his chief deputy in charge of making the system work. Evidently, processing unemployment claims is quite labor intensive and they now have an instant backlog of claims that is more than 100 times the normal amount of claims they get. So they are doing two things: 1) trying to recall retirees and hire new people to process claims and having them all work overtime and 2) trying to automate as much as possible. Unfortunately, the computer system is old and COBOL-based and appears difficult to reprogram to do that. They were hopeful that they could reduce the backlog substantially by the end of this coming week. They promised that the money would be retroactive.

I know it's no solace if you are currently broke and need to buy food right this minute, but it did give me hope that things will improve shortly. I suspect your state is making similar efforts.

Just wanted to report that as of today, 10 days later, the CT Department of Labor has cleared 85% of their 400k backlog of unemployment compensation claims and is starting to hand out the extra $600 per week, retroactively. So a big "well done" for the DOL.

 

[gayl]

Newsome actually put out a few nice screens of how we're going to reopen. My sister & grandson are in stage 2 so that'll alleviate some stress. Dog parks are there too so my Koda (who's tired of current walks and just wants to run) will be happy. I literally have to drag him past those now

 

[gayl]

Daily hikes are trying!! Koda going on strike [emoji1787]

 

[Ready]

There is a flyer being distributed throughout our neighborhood asking people to join a protest on May 1 at noon. It’s becoming a California statewide movement now with protests in six locations currently scheduled. They are attempting to completely block traffic for two hours to get their point across. It will be interesting to see how the police respond to this.

https://wehaverights.com/

 

[6miths]

We had planned to take the grandkids to Disney next year, but that will wait. I told DD if she wants a FREE trip to Disney, then we'll go when Granddad says it's ok to go.

This is what I was wondering, how much travel, especially to places like Disney is sponsored by Boomers who can no longer afford to risk going to such places.

 

[RAE]

Pretty good short article in The Atlantic today. Basic message is that we are in this for the long haul, as there is no quick fix. Here's a link to the article, and a quote:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/stop-waiting-miracle/610795/

"We won’t get to herd immunity in the near future. A miracle drug is not in sight. The only way to restart the economy, then, is to put a highly effective system in place to test millions of people, trace their movements, and quickly quarantine those who might have been infected.
But even as the past few days have brought bad news about the science of the pandemic, they have brought terrifying news about its politics: It now seems less likely than ever that the United States will do what is necessary to reopen the economy without causing a second wave of deadly infections."