# How will people react if Covid-19 flares up when the lockdown ends? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 29, 2020, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805 "2020-04-29T11:54:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/242 "2020-07-04T21:21:47Z")
I saw a joker wearing a halloween mask in the grocery store yesterday - the kind of hard plastic molded mask with holes for the mouth and nose. He was literally wearing a joker mask. I assume he was trying to make some sort of statement, but in the language I speak the message was, “I am an idiot.” I saw another lady wearing a mask down around her chin like a chin strap. And two more who had pulled their masks down so they could talk… We are doomed. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/243 "2020-07-04T23:53:00Z")
Did anyone have “like f’n idiots” in the betting pool? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/244 "2020-07-05T15:50:30Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I saw another lady wearing a mask down around her chin like a chin strap. And two more who had pulled their masks down so they could talk… I have been seeing more and more chin masks. Usually elderly gentlemen who appear to not understand how this complex piece of apparatus works. Yesterday I saw a guy coming out of a bank with a basic dust mask on his forehead. Brilliant. At least it gives me a visual cue to avoid these people at all costs. Before, I just had to go by the vacant look in their eyes. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/245 "2020-07-05T16:25:12Z")
@Sam_Stone Are masks compulsory where you are? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/246 "2020-07-05T16:32:46Z")
Two jackasses at the grocery store yesterday were arguing loudly that the sign at the store’s entrance said they were required to _have_ masks, but it didn’t say they were required to _wear_ them. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/247 "2020-07-05T16:33:14Z")
Masks are “strongly recommended” in Edmonton, not mandatory. Masks are mandatory at most airport facilities in Canada now. (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton for sure anyway) Individual businesses may make masks “mandatory” but that’s their choice. I am not aware of any province with a mandatory mask rule… yet. This may change if cases start to go up. At the moment, the case rate is quite stable or dropping in every province. For example, BC is seeing around 10 new cases/day. In a population of 5 million. No indication of spiking up. Yet. So there is no need for mandatory mask requirements. Again, this may change, and the provincial public health officers are no doubt formulating plans, just in case. In BC, Bonnie Henry prefers a much softer approach, and tries to avoid “mandatory” whenever possible. But she’s quite firm when needed - see for example the recent decision to not waver, and allow NHL teams to have different rules for quarantine. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/248 "2020-07-05T16:41:38Z")
Other western jurisdictions didn’t introduce mandatory mask laws because of any spike. Germany, for example, did it just as part of the opening up program. (though to be accurate, the federal government introduced mask laws to bring all the states onto the same page as they all had different mask rules) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/249 "2020-07-05T16:48:19Z")
I think the provinces may move to stronger mask recommendations over the next few months. Time will tell if they move to “mandatory”. I know that the Public Health officers want to avoid this if possible, and have mask wearing a normal thing to do, simply because of public acceptance and social pressure. However, they also want to be proactive, and try to not wait until cases ramp up to do anything. We are very lucky in that for the most part, the public health regulations and response has been driven by science and facts, communicated by non-political medical experts in each province. The provincial public health officers have done a very good job, on the whole. They’ve made mistakes, but have then used evidence to correct themselves. And communicated effectively with the public. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/250 "2020-07-05T16:57:30Z")
The problem is, and I know I’ll get grief for it, is that masks haven’t really been shown to be a game changer. So making a new law about it is a little on the “safety theater” side. And even if the hints that it is somewhat useful are true, it’s against best practices for legislating this sort of thing. You want general acceptance in the population before you make this sort of thing mandatory. I never see more than 30% of grocery shoppers masked. Are you going to issue tickets to 70% of the population? ---
**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:** [July 5, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/251 "2020-07-05T17:01:55Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > The problem is, and I know I’ll get grief for it, is that masks haven’t really been shown to be a game changer. So making a new law about it is a little on the “safety theater” side. CDC says that masks are important for preventing COVID and provides evidence in favor. [(cite)](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fprevent-getting-sick%2Fcloth-face-cover.html). > [@RealityCheck71](#): > > I never see more than 30% of grocery shoppers masked. Are you going to issue tickets to 70% of the population? No need. Tell the grocery store you’ll pull their business license if their patrons don’t follow emergency public health guidelines. They’ll figure it out if they want to stay in business. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/252 "2020-07-05T17:04:33Z")
From your CDC cite “Cloth face coverings may help…” Oy vey. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/253 "2020-07-05T17:45:39Z")
Even if they simply bend the curve, even just a .1 difference in R can make the difference between spreading and slowing growth. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/254 "2020-07-05T18:07:11Z")
Let alone the fact that wearing face coverings are a low cost low effort item. When looking at likely benefits to possible costs? No need to really go farther into the evidence that shows how effective they really are. @Stranger_On_A_Train said it well much earlier in this thread. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The problem with trying to dynamically adjust and graduate distancing protocols is getting the public to actually participate when needed. The social dynamics of the contagion are the biggest unknown in a giant pot of unknowns, and we’ve seen already how defiant and obstructive many people have been to even minimally intrusive (and marginally effective) measures such as cloth face coverings in businesses or asking people to refrain from large social gatherings like parties and ceremonies, much less repeated actual stay-at-home isolation measures. Expecting enough people to ramp up and down their interactions not to mention the effect on businesses that cannot maintain consistent procedures is just probably not going to happen in most of the United States because the infectiousness of this virus and the often asymptomatic spread means that even a minority of violators will rapidly achieve epidemic levels of contagion. > > There are a lot of people pinning their hopes on a vaccine being ready for deployment by the end of the year, and one of the significant failings of the public health system from the top down has been a failure to discourage that kind of magical thinking. The “controlled burn” model combined with a heavy emphasis on developing pharmaceutical and procedural interventions to keep patients from getting to the point of having to be put on mechanical ventilation is the best, most realistic path to returning to something like a normal economy and social interactions, and even that is going to be on the timeframe of another two years. However, from what I’m seeing currently, the “Fall Peak Nightmare” seems all too likely (Haven’t seen **Stranger** post in a while and hope they are okay.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/255 "2020-07-06T12:23:40Z")
Huh, I see the CDC now recommends “all people 2 years of age and older wear a cloth face covering in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household” Does everyone here agree that 2 yr olds should be wearing a mask in “public settings”? ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/256 "2020-07-06T13:50:52Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > There are a lot of people pinning their hopes on a vaccine being ready for deployment by the end of the year, and one of the significant failings of the public health system from the top down has been a failure to discourage that kind of magical thinking That Stranger was definitely correct about this. From the BBC: > [@](#): > > We may be able to at least know whether we are dealing with a safe and effective vaccine by the early winter, late winter, beginning of 2021," said Dr Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Don’t worry boss, I’ll have that report on your desk by Wednesday, Friday or next Monday. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/257 "2020-07-06T18:27:51Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > The problem is, and I know I’ll get grief for it, is that masks haven’t really been shown to be a game changer. So making a new law about it is a little on the “safety theater” side. And even if the hints that it is somewhat useful are true, it’s against best practices for legislating this sort of thing. You want general acceptance in the population before you make this sort of thing mandatory. I never see more than 30% of grocery shoppers masked. Are you going to issue tickets to 70% of the population? I have never seen a maskless person in my grocery store. When they imposed the requirement, the store posted someone turning away shoppers without masks. They no longer do that, but everyone still wears one. Because people around here are mostly not morons, and the morons bow to the social pressure of the majority. We also had state and local government not sending mixed messages. That helped. And here in Silicon Valley a lot of our economy is based on science. That helped also. So, you don’t need to give out tickets - all you have to do is give a shit about other people. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/258 "2020-07-06T20:12:44Z")
In my area, there was never a requirement so I’m not talking about people actively flouting a rule. It is rather obvious around here that the richer neighborhoods have higher mask counts. Less morons, I suppose? How rich is your 100% compliance neighborhood? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/259 "2020-07-07T22:51:27Z")
Probably rich compared to the rest of the country, but you can’t get a shack around here for less than $700K. On the other hand my daughter lives in a rich suburb outside of Indianapolis, and they don’t seem to give a shit about masks. Pence country, right? ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/260 "2020-07-08T00:05:01Z")
So we just had our second day of no new cases w single digits for over a week and no deaths in 11 days. So of course, yesterday the city health department put out a mandatory mask law for all indoor spaces. Perfectly logical, evidence based decision. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805/261 "2020-07-08T00:05:43Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I have never seen a maskless person in my grocery store I’ve seen exactly one here, a city employee. His colleague was wearing a mask, but he himself was not. I actually find it opposite around here in terms of income. The more working class wear masks, and one you get to the more affluent suburbs, mask usage declines precipitously. I live in the 60632 zip code in Chicago; it’s one of the hardest hit in Illinois. It is predominantly Hispanic. Median household income here is around $40K; median home value is around $175K. Mask usage at my local groceries is – minus that one city worker not wearing his mask – 100%. I’ve also looked at how well people wear their masks – at least 90% wear them correclty. That still means one in ten wear it under their nose, but that’s a hell of a lot better than I see when I go out to the more well-to-do areas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-people-react-if-covid-19-flares-up-when-the-lockdown-ends/852805.md?page=14)