One of the most distressing pieces of news this week was the fact that gyms, massages and movie theaters were in the first weekend of Georgia's re-opening plan. And then it got worse -- gyms are in Phase One of Trump's re-opening plan for the whole country. Why? No surprise -- lobbying.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/politics/...index.html
This portends very poorly for how re-openings will go, whether we can contain the virus, and whether we will have another round of lockdowns, if decisions are based on lobbyists and corrupt dollar$ instead of being science and evidence-based.
When I read about super-spread, the conditions have included very close contact (hugging at the wedding in New Rochelle, or handshakes at the Biogen conference), increased spitting or panting (the choir practice in Seattle or the church in Daegu), sustained contact over an hour (the Covid dinner or the choir practice in Seattle), being indoors and tightly-packed (like the choir practice in Seattle or the ski lodge in France), and of course being in large crowds (Mardi Gras or rallies in Spain).
On the positive side, this may be good news for malls and uncrowded shops with adequate ventilation, because the contact is not sustained.
But even if you limit the number of people in gyms, they are still indoors, proximity is *sustained* (many workouts are an hour+), and people are panting as they exercise. It is one of the WORST places. It is like opening Shincheonji churches all across the country first.
And massages? If weddings and business meetings were super-spread events because people hugged, if a customer is infected and the masseur is putting his elbow into a person's back, you can assume they'll have Covid by the end of a sustained, 1 hour massage in a small room. And then you can assume a bunch of the clients for the next week will soon be infected.
Even if you think you can space out a movie theatre, it's still **sustained** contact for ~2 hours, sometimes 3 hours. Look at the transmission map from the flight where SARS was spread and the seating chart at the restaurant in China. You can't infect 45 members of a 60 person choir if it travels only 6 feet. If the exposure is sustained (like a movie), there is evidence it can infect people further away. (At least movie theatres have high ceilings, which may reduce the calamity, but on the other hand, they tend to crank up the air-conditioning, which didn't work out well for people seated downstream in the restaurant in Guangzhou).
Every time you think we can't screw things up any worse and harm the country any more, some politicians get dumber and even more crooked.
Quote:"Their inclusion follows a last-minute lobbying push by an industry not known for flexing its muscles in Washington. While not every major company was part of the effort, conversations with 10 leaders in the fitness-club business reveal an influential network of relationships that kicked into gear over the past few weeks and helped move gyms to the front of the line -- even to the surprise of many in the industry.
Noteworthy figures in the effort include a Trump-loving fitness-center owner in Pennsylvania, Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew, billionaire real-estate mogul Steve Ross and the US Surgeon General."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/politics/...index.html
This portends very poorly for how re-openings will go, whether we can contain the virus, and whether we will have another round of lockdowns, if decisions are based on lobbyists and corrupt dollar$ instead of being science and evidence-based.
When I read about super-spread, the conditions have included very close contact (hugging at the wedding in New Rochelle, or handshakes at the Biogen conference), increased spitting or panting (the choir practice in Seattle or the church in Daegu), sustained contact over an hour (the Covid dinner or the choir practice in Seattle), being indoors and tightly-packed (like the choir practice in Seattle or the ski lodge in France), and of course being in large crowds (Mardi Gras or rallies in Spain).
On the positive side, this may be good news for malls and uncrowded shops with adequate ventilation, because the contact is not sustained.
But even if you limit the number of people in gyms, they are still indoors, proximity is *sustained* (many workouts are an hour+), and people are panting as they exercise. It is one of the WORST places. It is like opening Shincheonji churches all across the country first.
And massages? If weddings and business meetings were super-spread events because people hugged, if a customer is infected and the masseur is putting his elbow into a person's back, you can assume they'll have Covid by the end of a sustained, 1 hour massage in a small room. And then you can assume a bunch of the clients for the next week will soon be infected.
Even if you think you can space out a movie theatre, it's still **sustained** contact for ~2 hours, sometimes 3 hours. Look at the transmission map from the flight where SARS was spread and the seating chart at the restaurant in China. You can't infect 45 members of a 60 person choir if it travels only 6 feet. If the exposure is sustained (like a movie), there is evidence it can infect people further away. (At least movie theatres have high ceilings, which may reduce the calamity, but on the other hand, they tend to crank up the air-conditioning, which didn't work out well for people seated downstream in the restaurant in Guangzhou).
Every time you think we can't screw things up any worse and harm the country any more, some politicians get dumber and even more crooked.