# Anyone else questioning the extent of "social isolation"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 17, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671 "2020-03-17T18:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/181 "2020-03-20T01:09:05Z")
So sorry for the duplicates! I kept getting an error message. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/182 "2020-03-20T01:37:57Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > Do we know if a few seconds’ contact can result in exposure? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/183 "2020-03-20T02:08:51Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > So sorry for the duplicates! I kept getting an error message. ☹ Sometimes when you get an error message, your post has in fact gone through. So open another window and navigate to that thread and you’ll probably see your post there. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/184 "2020-03-20T02:22:50Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > We are 13 days behind them, so early April looks like it will be…“interesting”, in the sense of “may you live in interesting times”. :smack: The U.S. has more than 5 times as many people–which means another couple weeks after that to reach the same impact. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/185 "2020-03-20T02:30:47Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > So I went to some grocery stores yesterday. Even though I stood several feet away from the next person in line, people crowded right next to me from behind. > And when I got take-out from a restaurant, it seemed as though the staff and customers were oblivious - standing close to me, touching me when they took my credit card and handed me the food, etc. ☹ Do we know if a few seconds’ contact can result in exposure? This scares me. Did you tell the people to keep their distance? I have to go to the drugstore tomorrow to pick up two OTC medications as per my doctor’s orders. I will have zero compunction about telling people to stay 6 feet away from me when I’m on line. Maybe I should start a thread for tips on maintaining distance in public when others around you don’t seem to be trying to do the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/186 "2020-03-20T02:42:53Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Exponential growth is tricky, and counterintuitive. On this very well-designed logarithmic graph, our line is above Italy’s at the same point in time after the 100th case: [https://twitter.com/SlackerInc/status/1240784543252185088?s=20](https://twitter.com/SlackerInc/status/1240784543252185088?s=20) > > We are 13 days behind them, so early April looks like it will be…“interesting”, in the sense of “may you live in interesting times”. :smack: Thanks – I just posted this on our Geography Department (university) facebook page. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/187 "2020-03-20T03:58:44Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > I wondered about that. The anti-vaxxers up until now have had the luxury of using herd immunity for everything. That doesn’t work with this. If a vaccine were available tomorrow, would they be first in line to get it or would they still not want to “risk” autism for their kids? Might not be fair, though, since kids are already immune to this. They would need to immunize the kids so they don’t give it to the grandparents. Kids are not immune. There are several cases I know of of children under the age of 5 who have contracted COVID-19, two of them in the county I live in. There are also local cases of adolescents and young adults under the age of 30. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/188 "2020-03-20T04:00:22Z")
[quote=“Green\_Bean, post:185, topic:849671”] This scares me. Did you tell the people to keep their distance? I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t. I’ll be more assertive next time. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/189 "2020-03-20T04:23:21Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Kids are not immune. There are several cases I know of of children under the age of 5 who have contracted COVID-19, two of them in the county I live in. There are also local cases of adolescents and young adults under the age of 30. They are immune to dying from it. They often show a much, much lower reaction with greatly reduced symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/190 "2020-03-20T04:42:28Z")
Although I just saw (on the NYT I think) that the risk goes back up when you get to the very very young, like under two years old. JKelly, you’re welcome! > [@PastTense](#): > > The U.S. has more than 5 times as many people–which means another couple weeks after that to reach the same impact. Ah, good point. I guess I was thinking of it as being per capita. We still don’t want to be trending at the same slope though. South Korea showed you can dramatically shift your trend, but I don’t have much confidence of that happening here. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/191 "2020-03-20T04:45:40Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My next-door neighbor apparently has opted for ‘fuck it’. He’s a retired pharmacist and his wife is a retired nurse, so he should know better. He’s still going to the gym, and every morning he goes to the grocery store. The guy is 77. His wife is Latina (Nicaraguan) and has had malaria in her past, along with other medical issues. I really find this to be irresponsible behavior on his part. Gyms in your area are still open? I hope the attitude of “there’s only 88 cases” in Oregon does not give a false sense of security. There was I at the beginning of feb saying there’s **only** 30 cases in Seattle, and most are from one elderly care facility. Hell, there were only about 31 cases in the entire US of A and NY was at zero back then since testing was pretty much unavailable. today: US = 14k NY = 5700 WA State = 1400 (and still can test maybe a few thousand per day) ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/192 "2020-03-20T05:01:33Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > The U.S. has more than 5 times as many people–which means another couple weeks after that to reach the same impact. Doubling time is around three days at the moment … so roughly one week ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/193 "2020-03-20T05:09:07Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > They are immune to dying from it. They often show a much, much lower reaction with greatly reduced symptoms. They are not immune to dying from it. Recent Chinese reports show that some children got sick enough to require supplemental oxygen and in one case intubation, so without question in a large enough sample you would see some fatalities. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/194 "2020-03-20T05:09:33Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > They are immune to dying from it. They often show a much, much lower reaction with greatly reduced symptoms. [No](https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-03-19/coronavirus-has-claimed-the-lives-of-an-infant-and-a-teenager), [just](https://www.vox.com/2020/3/18/21181009/coronavirus-in-kids-symptoms-covid-19-risk) [no](http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/03/childrens-covid-19-risks-unique-chinese-studies-find). It does appear to be a much reduced rate compared to older people, but it is not 0. They are not “immune to dying from it”, whatever that is supposed to mean. This is really dangerous and morally suspect reasoning, especially given actual deaths in kids. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/195 "2020-03-20T05:11:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My next-door neighbor apparently has opted for ‘fuck it’. He’s a retired pharmacist and his wife is a retired nurse, so he should know better. He’s still going to the gym, and every morning he goes to the grocery store. The guy is 77. His wife is Latina (Nicaraguan) and has had malaria in her past, along with other medical issues. I really find this to be irresponsible behavior on his part. Gyms in your area are still open? I hope the attitude of “there’s only 88 cases” in Oregon does not give a false sense of security. There was I at the beginning of feb saying there’s **only** 30 cases in Seattle, and most are from one elderly care facility. Hell, there were only about 31 cases in the entire US of A and NY was at zero back then since testing was pretty much unavailable. today: US = 14k NY = 5700 WA State = 1400 (and still can test maybe a few thousand per day) ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/196 "2020-03-20T05:35:18Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > **They are immune to dying from it.** They often show a much, much lower reaction with greatly reduced symptoms. …you continue to make extraordinary and dangerous claims in this thread. The 14 year-old boy (who was part of the study) who [died](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/health/coronavirus-childen.html)was certainly not immune to death. Many often do show a much lower reaction with greatly reduced symptoms. But obviously that means there are some **who do not**. ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/197 "2020-03-20T05:36:05Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > [No](https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-03-19/coronavirus-has-claimed-the-lives-of-an-infant-and-a-teenager), [just](https://www.vox.com/2020/3/18/21181009/coronavirus-in-kids-symptoms-covid-19-risk) [no](http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/03/childrens-covid-19-risks-unique-chinese-studies-find). > > It does appear to be a much reduced rate compared to older people, but it is not 0. They are not “immune to dying from it”, whatever that is supposed to mean. > > This is really dangerous and morally suspect reasoning, especially given actual deaths in kids. I’m not going to argue with you, but that is nit picking in the strictist form. If this virus killed a fraction of a fraction of a percent of people and only those who are compromised, we would be saying we are, generally, immune to it. Nit pick all you want, though. As far as antivaxxing goes, this will not self correct. Go nit pick stranger if you want to be that picky. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/198 "2020-03-20T07:05:30Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > I’m not going to argue with you, but that is nit picking in the strictist form. If this virus killed a fraction of a fraction of a percent of people and only those who are compromised, we would be saying we are, generally, immune to it. Nit pick all you want, though. As far as antivaxxing goes, this will not self correct. Go nit pick stranger if you want to be that picky. …it isn’t “nitpicking” to correct your assertion that “kids are immune to dying from it.” Kids simply are not immune to dying from it and to claim that they are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic is both dangerous and irresponsible. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/199 "2020-03-20T12:57:32Z")
Here’s a whole bunch of them. “It’s a media hoax to ‘besmirch’ the president.” :smack: **[Coronavirus deniers and hoaxers persist despite dire warnings, claiming ‘it’s mass hysteria’](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-deniers-outbreak-hoax/2020/03/19/46bc5e46-6872-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.htmlhttp://)** > [@](#): > > WELLSVILLE, Kan. — Here in northeast Kansas, in a small town set amid tidy farms and ranches, a Walmart worker named Brandon Crist was growing frustrated with the panic terrorizing the American public. He didn’t understand the need for lockdowns, closing schools, limiting public gatherings and shuttering bars and restaurants. Altering almost all facets of life. > > As he often does, Crist found a meme online that amplified his feelings and posted it to his Facebook page. > > “Does anyone know anyone who has the coronavirus? Not just heard about them but actually know them,” the meme said in bold white letters on a blue background. “Statistically none of us are sick . . . yet concerts are canceled, tournaments are canceled and entire school districts shut down. Out of total irrational fear. If you have not previously feared the power of the media you should be terrified of them now. They are exerting their power to shut down America.” > … > > Virus deniers vow to continue on with their daily activities with little adjustment, convinced that the unprecedented reaction to the virus is nothing more than a plot by the media or liberals out to get Trump. The Pew Research Center released a poll Wednesday that found that 62 percent of adults say the media is exaggerating the risk of the virus. > > “I don’t feel the need to panic,” said Crist, 47. “If you don’t have a fever, you’re going to be fine. If you’ve got a fever, just get it checked. If you’re not sick, we don’t need everybody to stay at home.” > … > “We just need to trust the Lord to solve this,” said Ted Buckley, 73, a retired salesman. “I don’t know anybody personally with coronavirus. We shouldn’t be thrown into a state of panic because of what we hear, rather than what we see and witness.” > > He was passing out little cards that read “C.O.V.I.D. 19” with the acronym “Christ over viruses & infectious diseases” and a comforting Bible verse. > … > > [Another resident said] "…I just wonder how much of this is being done because they want to besmirch our president. We’ve had three years of constant criticism. If somebody shot a goose in Greenland out of season they’d blame Trump.” > … My emphasis. No further comment needed. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/200 "2020-03-20T13:06:25Z")
I wish these people would prove their faith by all moving into a tent city together for a month or two. Sort of a modern twist on snake-handling. But, innocent children would suffer, and they’d all just come back and start coughing on the rest of us anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671.md?page=11)