Shanghai Disneyland will close in effort to contain coronavirus

TheMillenniumRider said:

We work for what exactly?

I work to pay for all the vacations I take. I love vacation.

Jeff said:

About that "it was already here" theory...

https://slate.com/technology/2020/04/coronavirus-circulating-califo...-bunk.html

It's literally an exercise in "how to spot fake news". I'm channeling Carl Sagan on this one. The Demon-Haunted-World, indeed.

The opinion piece reminded me of conversations I have had with a number of friends over the years. They all want to change society in one way or another to make it "better." But talking with them further about it, you understand they just want the world to be more like they wish it would be, so just different not really better in any objective sense.

There is a lot of non-essential spending and dumb spending (though both certainly to a large extent in the eyes of the beholder). But all of it is commerce which puts money into the hands of a lot of people which they use to engage in more commerce. And if people do what the writer suggests, a lot of people will be poorer and income inequality will grow. He likely would be shocked to see that result. But often times people seem to view the world as they want it to be rather than how it actually is. And we should just take all the good and just reject all the bad (if only life was that simple). Makes it a challenge to make much progress.

And I think there will be a broad reduction in spending that lasts for an extended period of time. Not because people will be doing what the writer suggests (though I think there will be some of that for at least some period of time but ultimately Americans tend to like their stuff) but just based on the uncertainty that exists and likely will for a while. Seems likely that any opening up of the economy will happen in stages. Large gatherings won't be allowed for some period of time and a lot of people will be hesitant do go out like they did 3 months ago. All of that will have impacts.

Jeff said:

About that "it was already here" theory...

And you quote a slate.com article? Isn't that the same site that posted the article about some crazy crackpot professor from Ohio forcing his students to face their fears on roller coasters?* Or am I confusing that with salon.com?

In all seriousness, I'm not going to be that d#ckheaded prosecutor that says, 'It's the lack of evidence that's compelling.' If this ends up being nothing but a politically charged statement and the question doesn't get tested, that's pretty disappointing. If there isn't evidence of the virus being here sooner than originally though, that's something I have to accept. I'm reading that there will be some antibody testing done to get a better understanding of how much the population have been exposed to the virus now.

At this point, many of us are searching for reasons to justify this shutdown and others are searching for justification that we over acted. We are seeing different outcomes in different areas of the country, despite the same actions being done in similar time frames. I don't think it's realistic or even a good idea to wait for a vaccine to be released (which could be more than 18 months out) before discussing a return to normal. Identifying areas of the country that have been exposed and have gotten past the peak of infection should be able to start to relax some of the restrictions that have been imposed.

It's encouraging to hear that Dewine is starting to discuss their plan of exiting this stay at home order in Ohio, I would imagine that if there was widespread antibody testing for the virus would help put us more at ease if we've already been exposed to it.

*Disclaimer: this is a fun jab at a fellow poster on this site. Please don't jump on my @ss about it, I'm being sarcastic.

At one point, DeWine would have been publicly flogged and then drawn and quartered for such ideas. ;)

HeyIsntThatRob? said:

We are seeing different outcomes in different areas of the country, despite the same actions being done in similar time frames.

But the time frames relative to the earliest cases are not the same. It still holds that earlier action has better outcomes. Population density is the other slider, and now we're finding that socioeconomic factors that generally influence other health issues (obesity and diabetes especially) magnify this disease as well. Of course there are outliers, but the trends are pretty consistent globally.

HeyIsntThatRob? said:

And you quote a slate.com article? Isn't that the same site that posted the article about some crazy crackpot professor from Ohio forcing his students to face their fears on roller coasters?* Or am I confusing that with salon.com?

I stopped doing crack a long time ago. And technically it was ABC Nightline that really got the ball rolling. Speaking of which, this fall is supposed to be year 11 for the project and it's weird not being able to plan, because I have no idea if we will have a place to go.

Sucks.

Like I said earlier, I would line up to get my whole family pricked to see if we have been exposed at some point. I'll happily donate some antibodies if I got 'em. The test they are using out in CA costs $10, and they have results within 10 minutes.

I'm not sure what algorithm they will use to start estimating how many Ohioans have had the virus, nor have I heard anything about Ohio getting its hands on the new finger-prick test, but if it proves to be useful I can't imagine we would be far behind in implementing it.

Per the article (LA Times)

Experts caution that serological testing is not a panacea. It is still unclear how much immunity a person has from the coronavirus when antibodies are present. And the surge of new tests coming to the market means there is a wide variance in accuracy and reliability.

I think the next week or so will be "exciting" (relatively speaking) with the first results of these tests coming out.

Antibody tests should now be free.

https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-an...-19-public

Issue from what I have read is accuracy. And scaling.

I sure didn’t see this one coming.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/04/13/virginia-pastor-...ronavirus/

I know people like the information porn... this one is pretty good on a county-by-county basis:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map

Cargo Shorts said:

I sure didn’t see this one coming.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/04/13/virginia-pastor-...ronavirus/

Not sure what point you’re making? This pastor last held public worship on March 15 which was when it was still permissible by state recommendations.

I'm out of Washington Post articles for the month so I can't read the article. However, many other sources are stating the March 22nd was the last public gathering that he held. This is after the CDC guidelines were published but just before Virginia banned public gatherings of 10 or more people.

She said her father’s encouraging, well-populated March 22 service was held “not to disrespect [officials] but to support those who were scared.”

Two services were mentioned in piece. That quote indicates to me it was in person.

My intent was not a stab against church, religion or the clergy. Only that not following CDC or state guidelines has consequences. Though to be fair there was no proof offered in the piece that the pastor was infected through the service. In hindsight I used a poor choice of words. My apologies.

Gonch is going to be upset with us, this thread went an entire day without anyone posting. But we all came back for more aggravation and debate. :p

I can only be displeased if I open the thread.

Damn it!

Schrödinger's displeasure

Cargo Shorts said:

She said her father’s encouraging, well-populated March 22 service was held “not to disrespect [officials] but to support those who were scared.”

Two services were mentioned in piece. That quote indicates to me it was in person.

My intent was not a stab against church, religion or the clergy. Only that not following CDC or state guidelines has consequences. Though to be fair there was no proof offered in the piece that the pastor was infected through the service. In hindsight I used a poor choice of words. My apologies.

I didn't take any offense to your post. I was just curious what angle your were taking.

I totally agree that for many pastors who openly defied orders after it was clear that their actions would increase suffering and death, kind of serves them right if they get it (though I also wish no ill will for anybody). March 15 or even 22nd was right on that edge where it was hard to figure out how serious these things were and how important it would or would not be for people to gather in their community of faith and worship to bring a sense of hope and courage in the face of a scary and difficult impending lockdown. We (in Bay Area, CA) held our last public worship on the 7th, did virtual from the sanctuary on the 15th, and then started doing virtual from our home on the 22nd. Obviously, in addition to the technical challenges, there's also all the other layers of people needing internet and some level of technical skill, just to find virtual worship services. Then we have to keep people connected and safe during the week, etc. etc. etc. A lot of snap decisions were made that week for us, and it was very tricky to do what we thought was faithful. That said, I have no sympathy for the pastors who say, "Jesus will save us so we're going to meet anyway" this late into the game.

Kings Island following Knott's lead, extends passes through 2021. Curious to see if CP does the same with that cheap Gold Pass.

Dear 2020 Season Passholder:

I hope this note finds you and your family healthy and safe. As we all navigate these unprecedented circumstances, I want to thank you for your support of Kings Island. We continue to monitor and follow local and national health directives while preparing to open our park as soon as it is safe to do so. We look forward to welcoming you back!

In the meantime, I want to share information on how we will manage 2020 Season Passholder benefits:

2020 Season Passes and purchased 2020 Season Pass Add-On Products (if applicable) will be valid for the remainder of 2020 when our park is able to open.
Additionally, we will extend the validity dates for current 2020 Season Passes (as well as purchased 2020 Season Pass Add-On Products) through the 2021 Season according to pass type.
Our Season Passholders represent some of our most loyal guests, and we want to ensure that you receive a full season of fun as promised when you purchased your 2020 Season Pass. Again, we thank you for your understanding and loyalty to Kings Island.

Sincerely,

Mike Koontz
Vice President & General Manager
Kings Island

From Cedar Point:

Dear 2020 Season Passholder:

I hope this note finds you and your family healthy and safe. As we all navigate these unprecedented circumstances, I want to thank you for your support of Cedar Point. We continue to monitor and follow local and national health directives while preparing to open our park as soon as it is safe to do so. We look forward to welcoming you back!

In the meantime, I want to share information on how we will manage 2020 Season Passholder benefits:

2020 Season Passes and purchased 2020 Season Pass Add-On Products (if applicable) will be valid for the remainder of 2020 when our park is able to open.
Additionally, we will extend the validity dates for current 2020 Season Passes* (as well as purchased 2020 Season Pass Add-On Products) through the 2021 Season according to pass type.

Our Season Passholders represent some of our most loyal guests, and we want to ensure that you receive a full season of fun as promised when you purchased your 2020 Season Pass. Again, we thank you for your understanding and loyalty to Cedar Point

Sincerely,

Jason McClure
Vice President & General Manager
Cedar Point

* 2020 Pre-K Pass will be valid during 2020 only

OhioStater said:

I think the next week or so will be "exciting" (relatively speaking) with the first results of these tests coming out.

Antibody research indicates coronavirus may be far more widespread than known

“Our findings suggest that there is somewhere between 50- and 80-fold more infections in our county than what’s known by the number of cases than are reported by our department of public health," Dr. Eran Bendavid, the associate professor of medicine at Stanford University who led the study, said in an interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer.

(Also, I think this is that Stanford study from a few pages back)