The "Re-Opening" the Economy Thread

[Hersh]

27 minutes ago, Busch1724 said:

 

Yeah beyond cost savings, I don't see much benefit for telemedicine. 

 

Cost savings is kinda a huge factor for both patient and doctor along with time saved and reduced stress. We used it recently for my 6 year old and it saved us from driving to a hospital late in the evening and waiting for who knows how long. It was great. Had a 10-15 minute call with a doctor and it cost $45 or something. Didn't have to have my son up late, didn't have to spend 30 minutes round trip in a car, didn't have to be in a hospital for multiple hours, didn't have to pay the cost of being in a hospital room. 

[purbeast]

Last week was my son's first full week back, with Wednesday still being virtual (Kindergarten in MoCo).

 

After Monday he said he liked zoom better, but after Tuesday he said he liked going to school better.

 

Then on Friday he said he wanted to go to school Saturday because he loves it so much lol.

 

His teacher has been posting TONS of videos and pictures on that Seesaw app to show us and parents exactly what is going on in the class, which has been really cool so we can get a glimpse into their day, especially in a time like this.

 

 

[skinsmarydu]

1 hour ago, Hersh said:

 

Cost savings is kinda a huge factor for both patient and doctor along with time saved and reduced stress. We used it recently for my 6 year old and it saved us from driving to a hospital late in the evening and waiting for who knows how long. It was great. Had a 10-15 minute call with a doctor and it cost $45 or something. Didn't have to have my son up late, didn't have to spend 30 minutes round trip in a car, didn't have to be in a hospital for multiple hours, didn't have to pay the cost of being in a hospital room. 

Agree.  I paid $88 with no insurance to talk to my regular NP and get my one BP med refilled.  She said as long as I keep track of it, (I have a wrist cuff here at home), she won't need to see me until I want to be seen. 

[visionary]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[Hersh]

On 3/24/2021 at 5:16 PM, visionary said:

 

No. Not while the other side remains bat **** crazy and not after we see another spike in Covid numbers because dumb **** GOPers won’t get vaccinated. 

[China]

Anti-mask West Melbourne bar owner charged with hosting illegal all-male strip show

 

West Melbourne police say a host of city ordinances regulating adult entertainment were violated Thursday night during an all-male revue they raided at Westside Sports Bar & Grill.

 

Undercover agents with body cameras attended the male strip show at 3026 W. New Haven Drive on Thursday night. The bar's owner, 31-year-old Gary Kirby, is accused of knowingly and illegally operating the strip show after being cautioned by police in the past. 

 

During the performance, the dancers reportedly violated various city rules against giving lap dances, displaying nudity, and touching customers in certain areas of their bodies, according to the arrest affidavit. 

 

City ordinances banning the display of male genitals were also violated, according to the affidavit. 

 

Westside Sports Bar & Grill has received support and ridicule on social media for making strong anti-mask posts, going as far to host an "anti-lockdown" party on St. Patrick's Day and saying no masks or social distancing would be allowed inside the establishment. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Local bar opening in rural Illinois was tied to at least 46 new Covid cases, CDC says

 

A local bar opening in a rural Illinois county in early February was tied to at least 46 new coronavirus cases and a school closure that affected 650 children, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.

 

The county’s per capita case count doubled as a result of the bar opening, the CDC said. Before the event, the county had an average of up to 42 cases per 100,000 people over seven days. That daily case average more than doubled 14 days after the opening, the CDC said.

 

The case, highlighted in a research paper released Monday, provides more evidence of how weddings and gatherings at restaurants and nightclubs have the potential to become super-spreading events for Covid-19.

 

After routine case investigation, local health officials identified a cluster of cases linked to a handful of people at the indoor bar opening, including one attendee who was diagnosed with asymptomatic Covid-19 the day before and still went. Four people who had symptoms and later tested positive for the virus were also there that night.

 

“These findings demonstrate that opening up settings such as bars, where mask wearing and physical distancing are challenging, can increase the risk for community transmission,” the CDC said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

 

[China]

Yikes.  Not only are they packed together, many are not wearing masks.  No thanks.

[Ball Security]

I’m confused. I thought MLB was canceled.

Edited April 6, 2021 by Ball Security

[China]

So are they giving these away at the gates?

 

[The Evil Genius]

Sigh. I guess with 34% first dose vaccinated this makes sense right now..and it's still a target date. But 😬.

 

At least the mask mandate stands.

 

 

[Barry.Randolphe]

Looking at the charts, there will be around 70% vaccinated by June 15th....that makes a lot of sense to do it that way. Gives a hard date for people to look forward to

[China]

Experts: Increased restaurant capacity partly to blame for COVID surge in CT

 

Some health experts are concerned that loosening COVID restrictions, specifically restaurant capacity, has contributed to a new surge of cases in Connecticut.

 

“Dine-in at restaurants is a risky activity because, by necessity, people can't wear masks while eating, and most restaurants will not have the level of ventilation to make that indoors environment safe from airborne viral transmission,” said Pedro Mendes, a researcher and professor in computational biology at UConn.

 

In March, Gov. Ned Lamont began allowing increased indoor capacity in Connecticut restaurants. He announced restaurants could go to 100 percent capacity on March 19, with the caveat that social distancing and mask rules would remain in place.

 

Some experts say loosening restrictions on indoor dining while more infectious variants continue to spread is part of the reason for the increase.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

 

[TheGreatBuzz]

I’m not gonna try to make this into some larger point or draw conclusions from it.  Multiple restaurants and other stores that would employ low wage workers are having a very hard time finding employees. To the point that places are cutting back the hours they are open because the don’t have enough people to work.

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[China]

Just wait until we start catching people falsifying vaccination records so they can circumvent vaccination requirements.  You know some people will, and I believe some have already:

 

Health-Care Workers Are Bragging on TikTok About Forging Vax Cards

[Larry]

1 hour ago, China said:

Just wait until we start catching people falsifying vaccination records so they can circumvent vaccination requirements.  You know some people will, and I believe some have already:

 

Health-Care Workers Are Bragging on TikTok About Forging Vax Cards

 

Guaranteed.  

 

[China]

Paging @skinsmarydu...

 

Unemployed workers defect and debate their next moves, leaving restaurant owners to contend with a labor shortage

 

Restaurants across the U.S. are desperate to hire as outdoor dining season begins, indoor dining restrictions lift, and vaccination rates trend upwards. But despite the hospitality industry losing nearly one-third of its jobs during the pandemic, workers aren’t coming back. In many cases, they’re not even applying.

 

In Philadelphia, Sofia Deleon managed to keep the seven-member team at her Guatemalan restaurant, El Merkury, employed through the pandemic, getting by on takeout, delivery, and cooking meals for organizations like World Central Kitchen. But she’s struggling to find dishwashers, cashiers, and servers for a new location she’s opening in a nearby food hall this spring.

 

“I have had zero luck,” she said. Even with pay starting at $12 an hour and paid vacation—better wages and perks than many quick-serve restaurants in the city—she’s had virtually no applicants, let alone qualified ones. “I’ve asked friends of friends, other friends, posted it, posted on social media and it’s been crickets. Everybody seems to be having the same problem.”

 

In highly competitive markets like Southern California, owners are rolling out unheard-of perks. “We’re offering a hiring incentive where if you bring a friend on referral, if they last a certain amount of time, you get a $250 bonus, and it’s $500 for managers,” said chef Jason Neroni, owner of 350-seat restaurant The Rose in Venice, a beachside community in Los Angeles. “It has been an extreme challenge. I can’t even activate my areas outside because I don’t have enough service staff.”

 

Neroni brought back about half his 250 employees after the first shutdown last spring. But after another hit right before the holidays, he said, many workers moved out of the area or shifted into other professions. To boost capacity from this winter’s cutback to 220 seats, he’s added seating for 100 in the parking lot—but without bartenders, floor managers, and servers to work them, those tables sit empty.

 

Capacity restrictions and distancing requirements have drastically cut wages for workers like servers, who rely on tips to make up for an hourly wage at or near the federal tipped minimum of $2.13 in many parts of the country, prompting them to find better-paying work. Others shifted to better-paying jobs in fields that boomed while dining imploded, such as retail fulfillment, especially as companies like Amazon and Target pay or have raised hourly wages to $15.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Another cruise line will require vaccines; DeSantis says no

 

Silversea Cruises became the second major cruise line to announce it will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all passengers when it resumes global itineraries on June 5.

 

The decision could set up a confrontation with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when the luxury cruise line is scheduled to sail from Port Everglades in December.

 

DeSantis’ press office on Monday asserted that his recent executive order barring businesses from requiring proof of vaccinated customers extends to cruise lines operating in Florida.

“The Governor’s Executive Order provides that businesses in Florida are prohibited from requiring patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-transmission recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business,” press secretary Cody McCloud said by email. “Therefore, the Executive Order prohibits cruise lines from requiring vaccine passports for their Florida operations.”

 

Silversea’s announcement follows Norwegian Cruise Line’s statement last week that it would require full vaccinations if the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allows it to resume sailing in July. The cruise line is scheduled to run trips out of Port Miami beginning in September.

 

Whether DeSantis actually has authority to bar cruise lines from requiring vaccinations could become the focus of a legal battle involving the cruise lines and the CDC.

 

The Coast Guard and the CDC have asserted control over pandemic-related cruise line activity at the port, but most decisions have been made by a “unified command” that includes the state, federal and county governments, working with the cruise lines, said Ellen Kennedy, spokeswoman for Port Everglades.

 

Asked about DeSantis’ assertion, Port Director Jonathan Daniels said by email: “We are working with the cruise lines and through all local, state and federal regulations and guidelines to effect a safe restart to cruising.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

On 4/13/2021 at 8:24 PM, China said:

Just wait until we start catching people falsifying vaccination records so they can circumvent vaccination requirements.  You know some people will, and I believe some have already:

 

Health-Care Workers Are Bragging on TikTok About Forging Vax Cards

 

On 4/13/2021 at 9:31 PM, Larry said:

 

Guaranteed.  

 

 

‘Ripe for fraud’: Coronavirus vaccination cards support burgeoning scams

 

One listing offered eBay customers an “Authentic CDC Vaccination Record Card” for $10.99. Another promised the same but for $9.49. A third was more oblique, offering a “Clear Pouch For CDC Vaccination Record Card” for $8.99, but customers instead received a blank vaccination card (and no pouch).

 

All three listings were posted by the same eBay user, who goes by “asianjackson” — using an account registered to a man who works as a pharmacist in the Chicago area — and all were illegal, federal regulators say. The account sold more than 100 blank vaccination cards in the past two weeks, according to The Washington Post’s review of purchases linked to it.

 

The listings are a “perfect example” of burgeoning scams involving coronavirus vaccination cards that could undermine people’s safety, as well as the success of the nation’s largest mass vaccination effort, said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. Individuals might use them to misrepresent their vaccination status at school, work or in various living and travel situations, potentially exposing others to risk.

 

Stein, who led a recent effort with 47 colleagues demanding that eBay and other e-commerce platforms crack down on the scams, pointed to the FBI’s warning that anyone who makes or buys a fake vaccine card is breaking the law, and said he would consider prosecution, too.

 

“This is a concern that is national and bipartisan,” Stein added, saying the spread of fake vaccination cards “will extend the pandemic, resulting in more people sick and more people dead.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

4 minutes ago, China said:

All three listings were posted by the same eBay user, who goes by “asianjackson” — using an account registered to a man who works as a pharmacist in the Chicago area — and all were illegal, federal regulators say. The account sold more than 100 blank vaccination cards in the past two weeks, according to The Washington Post’s review of purchases linked to it.

 

Lift his license.  

[Warhead36]

No surprise. The cards are a little too easy simple/basic and thus easy to forge. There's no real seal or digital certification or anything else like that on it. They'll need to digitize it and make it so people can show their vaccine cards on their smartphones or something like that.