The obvious answer is to protect the non-believers ;)

Now that's some highbrow humor, right there.

Im old and have no idea what language this is.

Man, and to restate what should be obvious, during those 10 hour shifts we're wearing that mask so our *customers* don't get sick, and many aren't returning the favor. Way of the world.

But it's also a strange new way for us to behave. All our lives, being symptomatic was what kick-started our empathy. If I'm feeling sick, I then care enough about people that I don't want them to get sick...that's turned on its ear now with so much asymptomatic spread, so it's a difficult adjustment.

Where I live I've seen extremely high mask compliance. The only place I've seen it lax is in small mom and pop stores, and only a few. Our major grocery and gas chains have security guards who will literally throw you out if you're not wearing one (I believe they made the national news for it). It probably helps that the governor made it mandatory for businesses, so companies have much more cover to enforce it on their employees and patrons. More importantly, if you're an employee who feels unsafe because you're business is not in compliance, you can demand they comply and have reasonable protections against any retaliation.

Sadly the ironic thing is, we could probably actually re-open a lot of the economy if we had high mask compliance, yet the ones least likely to comply are the ones rushing to re-open.

Bars were allowed to reopen with patio seating only today. As you can expect, several videos are circulating of bars with packed patios. In at least one instance, police were called to shut the place down. So, no, not everyone is taking this seriously.

Dum dum Minnesotans flocked to Wisconsin yesterday and packed their bars.
Crimony.

"We have to shelter in place for a little while to protect each other and prepare the healthcare system."

"Wah, it's too hard, we give up."

Yeah, I was driving today and saw parking lots PACKED at big box stores. They should really be regulating occupancy. I can't imagine it's safe in a store like that when the parking lot is so full.

But, retailers are desperate to get revenues up. Their most immediate financial incentive is to allow as many people in as possible. So they'll do that unless legally mandated otherwise. I know that restaurants here are regulated to cut their previous occupancy allowances by half. I'd think in a large retail environment where people are constantly moving around, 1/3 or 1/4 would be better.

A few weeks back, most of the people that I saw were being pretty smart about distancing and sanitation. I thought that a gradual reopen would be safe, because people are acting smarter, and new cases in my area have been on the decline. But now seeing folks crammed into large stores, I worry that I may have given my fellow citizens too much credit.

We're doing Thanksgiving-Christmas season numbers some days (big box in a suburban area with medium-strength measures), and we've been beating sales goals ever since this started.

There is technically a limit in place everywhere I'm aware of, but it would be really hard to reach it. 125-150 (including employees) seems about right for something like a department store/grocer combo or home/garden superstore, speaking just out of concern for everyone's health. The actual numbers used by retailers...at least double that lol.

The cash grab is real. Several places are even cutting back hours and working their people to the nubs for an extra couple bucks (despite sales being high enough to support waaay more staff), reasoning that customers will tolerate diminished service quality, which is really short-sighted imo, but that's what do.

My mom's been in a nursing home in Miami for about 10 months. She was tested Fri the 8th, and was found to be positive, but asymptomatic.

She was still asymptomatic and feeling fine when I spoke to her Wed the 13th, but developed symptoms Thu the 14th.

She sounded quite congested (but not horrible) when I spoke to her yesterday. But I kept the conversation short, because I felt guilty even making her talk.

She's 89. I'm trying not to freak out and maintain my sanity, but I really hope she's strong enough to get through this.