Lockdown ? Really ? (How much locked down are we ?)

[Nodice83]

Hello Boys and Girls,

Makes me wonder, how strict the lockdown is in your area ? I hear it is not necesarilly the same everywhere.

In Poland where i live in you can easily go to the supermarket (but only those where you can buy food), pharmacies, you can also see a doctor (some specialists - those in hospital specialist visits were limited) but only when confirmed on the telemedicine first (no symptoms and history of contacts with infeted people). Gas stations are open 24/7 as always. Restaurants, pubs, gyms, cinemas, theathres, barbers, SPA, etc. all banned. Demonstration, public events, concerts, shows all banned. Indoor sport activities are restricted for the proffesional athletes only. But outdoors are relatively alowed - you can jog, ride bike, go war for a walk with your dog ;p etc. - only when masked and maintaing social distance (so no football/soccer, no basketball..). Police has been allowed to fine people for not wearing masks (all those cases were lost by police at courts as unlawful so far), they also fine people who try to run their business (those banned). No country wise travel restrictions, no police hours. All who can, should work at home (company rules, guidances but not law). Vaccination does not entitle you to meet other vaccinated people - it can make you feel better, nothing more. There is no travel ban but you will probably not travel to certain countries. First gov't claimed you should have a really good reason to tavel (work, health - procedures that are life saving, etc.).. but recently i heard that many people travel to some vacation destinations (especially so called 'celebs').

So all in all, what lockdown means in your cases ?

Regards

 

[kurczak]

New York is relatively open by now. The one big thing that remains closed is indoor dining/drinking. Some stuff like gyms and other physical activities are open, but there's a limit on the number of people per square foot. Masks are defacto mandatory indoors and people are pretty disciplined about it. Even the lumpenproles put them on in a store. Although it's becoming more symbolic, with more people having them over the mouth only or so loose that they may as well not bother.

 

[Nodice83]

New York is relatively open by now. The one big thing that remains closed is indoor dining/drinking. Some stuff like gyms and other physical activities are open, but there's a limit on the number of people per square foot. Masks are defacto mandatory indoors and people are pretty disciplined about it. Even the lumpenproles put them on in a store. Although it's becoming more symbolic, with more people having them over the mouth only or so loose that they may as well not bother.

Sounds quite liberal to me.

Have you actually felt the difference in "new cases rate" since vaccination started? I saw its more than 25% of the population that have received the first dose in US. Wonder how this influenced the City.

 

[kurczak]

No I haven't. I remain the only person in NY I know that has had it But yeah the City is doing a decent job with vaccination logistics. I think we're quite ahead of the national average, but I don't know the exact numbers. They were by appointment and age group in the beginning, but they have been walk-in for anyone for some time by now. The testing and vaccinating sites are all over the place. The city did also a good job with quarantines, we got free food three times a day, a free oxymeter and some other medical gadgets. The mayor is a total ****lord, but I have to admit he did well in the pandemic. The lockdowns which were pretty strict March through August and the disaster of shovelling sick people to retirement homes, were the state's doing, not the city's

 

[Corndawg]

Sounds quite liberal to me.

Have you actually felt the difference in "new cases rate" since vaccination started? I saw its more than 25% of the population that have received the first dose in US. Wonder how this influenced the City.

NYC has been at a pretty high daily caseload (currently going down, thankfully) since the January spike, but the death rate is drastically lower than it was at the beginning of the pandemic. Currently 25% in the city are fully vaccinated, myself included.

Otherwise, things are pretty much how kurczak described them, though indoor dining has been a thing since Valentine's Day. They're very slowly increasing the capacity. Folks are definitely getting more comfortable, especially on warm days. I work some of the farmer's markets in the city and there's always crowds. I imagine the next big test of how the city is doing will be Pride, which comes about in June.

 

[kurczak]

indoor dining has been a thing since Valentine's Day. They're very slowly increasing the capacity

Whaaa...ok I googled it and you're right, but it's so weird that all restaurants where I am are still take-out only. What's the deal with that.

 

[Corndawg]

I'd imagine it's store preference. It's probably more economical for some places to just stick to takeout rather than spend the money/time to open up indoor dining at a limited capacity. The place I work for is a restaurant/bakery based in Gowanus with tight quarters and no street space; they'd only be able to seat a few folks at a time, and even then it's only locals coming in for food. Compare that to an Italian place off of Union Square I went to with a few friends the other week where they have a lot more indoor space to work with and semi-permanent outdoor seating that makes it much easier to adhere to safe practices.

 

[Ser Jon]

There's no lockdown where I live, not anymore, beyond no open restaurants/fast food chains etc. Everything is handled with at-door testing (temp check) and a questionnaire you fill out every single time asking if you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 or traveled outside of the country. Oh, and a mandatory mask requirement, though the young people really do love either ignoring it or not putting the mask over their nose too.