As businesses start to open in your area, which places will you vist and which ones still avoid?

The Quarantine Zone
1

In his [del]in[/del]finite wisdom, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has decided we gotta open some shit (or die trying). I’m anticipating possibly going to the hair colorist by the first of June. I’ve described below why this seems low-risk to me.

Gov. Greg Abbott to let restaurants, movie theaters and malls open with limited capacity Friday (May 1)

I was reading elsewhere that restaurants cannot survive on 25% or even 50% occupancy, so they will likely just keep doing takeout until they can open for real.

For myself, I will not be going to retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, malls, museums, or libraries any time soon. When Unca Greg clears barbershops, hair salons, bars, and gyms, I won’t be going to those either.

HOWEVER, my colorist Mary Lou doesn’t work in a wide-open salon with multiple operators and a waiting area. She works alone in a space she rents-- a separate room, really-- in a complex where each stylist is completely cut off from all the others with their own chairs, sinks, supplies, linens, etc. The door to her room closes completely. You pay her directly, i.e., there isn’t a reception area where you check in and pay on the way out. I never have to wait when I see her, because she is good at scheduling. When I go to her, she is the only person I see or come in contact with. She and I are good friends, and keep in touch by text. When the Gov gives the all-clear for hairdressers, I will likely go for a long-overdue appointment.

In the past six weeks, the only place I’ve been is to Whole Foods once. Otherwise, I haven’t been in the presence of another human being in all that time. With the setup Mary Lou has, I would be less exposed to other people than at the grocery store. So this seems low-risk to me. I need the treatment, and she needs the income. Right now, I’m thinking by the end of May, first of June.

I generally get my hair cut elsewhere, but that is a regular open salon with multiple chairs and a waiting area. It’s also located in a part of town where (a friend tells me) social distancing/mask-wearing is not being practiced rigorously. I don’t know when I’ll get back to that salon-- it might be months. I can ask my colorist to cut my hair, too, although I’ve been loyal to this other cutter for years-- don’t want to take a chance on her location, even if Unca Greg says it’s okay.

As things in your area start to open, what places will you visit, and what places will you continue to avoid?

2

I think we’re about to go seriously backward WRT confirmed cases, deaths, etc. All these protests and pressures to open and politics all over the US are tantamount to disrespect for science and mathematics. Contain it in one state and watch it bleed in from neighboring ones. I think you’re wise to overcompensate in an effort to battle the governor’s undercompensation and I would corroborate the figures and math.

3

My state (Maryland) has not set a date for reopening yet (afaik) but I will certainly be getting a haircut (maybe not right away but in the first few weeks) and going to the library. I also plan to buy some furniture, which should be pretty low risk, one would think.

4

Ohioan here.

It will be a long time before I’ll go to a restaurant, months in fact, perhaps not until next year. I’m still waffling about a hair salon. I may just take a #8 to my head.

Basically, I don’ t plan on changing much from what I’ve been doing for the past 6 weeks. I thing we’re reopening too soon.

5

No to cinemas, theatres, or hairdressers. Restaurants, maybe after a while.
Malls might be ok.

6

I thought the idea of reopening was that we have flattened the curve and the rest of us can get exposed now. I doubt there is a way over the next 24 months to completely avoid contact with this virus, so I’ll be happy to resume my old behaviors and get it when I get it. However, no bowling alleys.

7

I tried to get into my optometrist before the state was locked down but my insurance wouldn’t cover it until the first day of lockdown.

I bought a pair of EchoFrames in February and really want to get lenses in them. Besides that I’ll probably get started wrapping up some of my projects that got stalled: finishing up a home remodel, fencing the yard, sprinkler system, plant lawn, plant container garden. Those shops have all been open during lock down but the weather hasn’t been in the shape we need. We’re debating sending the youngest to daycare since the eldest is still home unless summer camps open up its of a debatable benefit. We’re also debating about taking the 3 months of family leave for my wife so she can stay home and take care of the kids rather then sending her back to the office in two weeks.

Basically we’re not doing anything out in the economy until the fall but we didn’t do a lot of that stuff before either.

8

Depending on how long this all drags out, I may go to get molds for new orthotics. Mine are kaput (I was literally going to get the new ones the week after lockdown), and I can’t do much pain-free standing or walking without them. It should only take a few minutes, and masks can be worn.

I’m going to procrastinate as long as humanly possible, though.

9

I’m also in Texas. I’m not changing my behavior for at least two weeks after May 1. Then I will re-evaluate.

An aside… My wife and I made a quick stop at Sprouts grocery store over the weekend. I stayed in the car. I saw 9 men go in and out of the store and only 2 were wearing masks. Every woman that went in and out of the store (many more than 9, but I didn’t count) was wearing a mask.

10

I’m open to seeing my mom, outdoors and at distance. Outdoor transmission is apparently really, really rare. We are also all pretty strictly socially isolating, so I think the chances of her household or mine having it are also very low. We are already doing take out every week to ten days. I am doing my “bulk” grocery store shopping by pick-up, but every week to 10 days I am darting in somewhere with a mask to get something that can’t be done through pick up (like TP). I’m letting the maid in. I’m letting an HVAC man in tomorrow. That’s it. I can’t imagine going to the movies or a restaurant or the mall. It’s not the strictest possible regime, but it’s way more conservative than the state recommends, and I think it’s probably a safe range of activities.

The key thing about Abbott’s relaxation isn’t the reopening so much as it is the testing. The whole thing is premised on the idea that we’ve already ramped up testing (kinda, not really) and that we will have really ramped it up by mid-May. I honestly think his plan would make sense if you could get tested on demand at any pharmacy and they shut down areas where there was a spike in cases. But we are no where near that.

11

Again, a big part is not passing it to someone else like an elderly grandparent. And from what I gather, if we had enough test results we could be more sure of where we stand.

OP is talking about Texas. According to this, given the current trends 2% will be infected, hospitals won’t overload, and in three months 6,000 will die. Lift restrictions? In 3 months more than 70% infected, hospitals will overload May 14, and 253,000 will die. I’m going to assume “Lift restrictions” means do anything you want (not what the gov said, though some people will go apeshit)…if the site is correct it shows how terribly bad this could go in a short period of time if we’re reckless.

You can change the state of course to see your situation.

12

I work from home anyways and my wife is a teacher so she isnt going back any time soon. I am bracing myself for a second wave a week to three weeks after states start reopening, and for the possibility that this second wave will be worse than anything we’ve seen so far. Not going anywhere until contact tracing is at a level where it actually makes sense to reopen.

13

I’m in Texas also and IMO this 25% of occupancy idea is nuts. Who’s going to want to stand in a line to be let into a store? Grocery stores are necessary and so you have to put up with the difficulties of going there if you really need produce or supplies, but for a clothing store or something at the mall? Nah! I’m definitely not going anywhere I don’t absolutely have to anyway until I see what happens over the summer. Maybe over the fall too! I need to get some blood work done, have a couple of doctor appointments and see the dentist, but I think I’ll try to hold off and hope it doesn’t kill me.

It’d be crazy IMO to eat inside a restaurant or go to the movies anytime soon.

Abbott is trying to rush things. Two weeks between stages isn’t enough.

14

The Governor of Missouri is lifting any restrictions on May 4. No limit to crowd gatherings provided that the 6’ can be maintained. Cities in MO may still maintain more stringent restrictions.

I’m in KS, but only a stone’s throw from Missouri. Which means that MO lifting their lockdown will be disastrous for the rest of the Kansas City Metro on the KS side as well as for MO.

I’m not changing a thing. Grocery store, drive-through food, and sometimes Home Depot. That’s it.

15

I’m in Texas also and IMO this 25% of occupancy idea is nuts. Who’s going to want to stand in a line to be let into a store? Grocery stores are necessary and so you have to put up with the difficulties of going there if you really need produce or supplies, but for a clothing store or something at the mall? Nah! I’m definitely not going anywhere I don’t absolutely have to anyway until I see what happens over the summer. Maybe over the fall too! I need to get some blood work done, have a couple of doctor appointments and see the dentist, but I think I’ll try to hold off and hope it doesn’t kill me.

It’d be crazy IMO to eat inside a restaurant or go to the movies anytime soon.

Abbott is trying to rush things. Two weeks between stages isn’t enough.

I’ve been WFH since before this happened and likely will continue until such time as my job falls apart. The pandemic has severely affected my work but so far hanging in there. But there are other job issues not pandemic related and I sure would hate to have to go job hunting in the next couple of years. That worries me most.

16

Benjamin Franklin’s comment at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence: “We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

17

I plan on scuba diving from the beach when it’s feasible, which will necessarily involve going to the dive shop to get my tank filled. I’ll take reasonable measures; I’m happy to drop my tank outside, call them and stay out entirely. The beach itself should be fine; I go early in the morning and leave before the sunbathers arrive. But I really need this outlet.

Other than that, what I most want is to see my friends and family. Normally I get together with people in restaurants and bars, but I’d gladly clean up the house to have them over instead once that’s safe enough. Zoom get-togethers are the fat-free muffins of social interaction.

18

Outdoor recreation; Hiking, parks, boating, fishing.

19

Hello, Mary Lou,
goodbye gray :smiley:

Yeah, a haircut would be nice. My curly hair is looking like clown hair these days. Fitting, I suppose. :slight_smile:

I was thinking, whether things reopen soon or not, to wait until the next nice weekend, then ask M. who’s been cutting my hair for >20 years now if $100 would suffice to get her to come over and cut the Firebug’s and my hair on our back deck.

Is any of that banned where you are? Here in Maryland, some parks are closed, but other than that, outdoor exercise in public places is fine as long as one observes social distancing. I go out running a couple times a week, bicycling when the weather’s suitable, and frequently go for short hikes in a local wooded area.

20

I’m going to see my sister and my BF. Get my hair cut and colored, go to the library. I’ve been going to work, the grocery store, and the barn all along. I will wait 30 days after lifted restrictions before I go back to the gym.