# Well meaning social distancing guidelines that seem to have backfired **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 10, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521 "2020-04-10T19:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GoodOldKJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GoodOldKJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOldKJ)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/21 "2020-04-11T16:24:52Z")
My understanding is that Governor Wolfe closed the state stores here in PA because the warehouses and other infrastructure was located near Philadelphia and Allentown in what was our states first hot spots. That is the same reason they initially stopped online sales. They have since worked out how to reopen online sales but as stated above the website crashes on a daily basis. We can still purchase from distilleries, microbreweries, wineries, beer distributors, and in some grocery/convenience stores. They are deemed necessary. Pennsylvania can be a weird place. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/22 "2020-04-11T16:35:58Z")
Fortunately, the beers DH likes, while not the most common, are common enough to be in most supermarkets. He like a porter, and a wheat beer from a local brewery that is popular enough to be in the big stores, like Kroger and Walmart, and he likes Dos Equis Ambar. He wants a beer when he gets home from the day he has to go into work, but he doesn’t even drink one a day-- and right now it’s Passover. A sixer a week is more than enough to hold him. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/23 "2020-04-11T20:28:02Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Some stores (supermarkets, for instance) have had policies of not allowing more than X number of people inside their stores. Judging from what I’ve seen on TV, this has led to even greater numbers of people standing in long lines outside, and I doubt they’re standing six feet apart. Your doubts are misplaced. I go to two grocery stores and both limit the number of people in the store. And then the people in lines outside DO maintain 6-foot intervals. In fact, one of the stores even marked the sidewalk outside so people would know how far away to stay. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/24 "2020-04-11T22:39:16Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Your doubts are misplaced. I go to two grocery stores and both limit the number of people in the store. And then the people in lines outside DO maintain 6-foot intervals. In fact, one of the stores even marked the sidewalk outside so people would know how far away to stay. Still? My local Ralphs not only dropped lines but opened up another entrance in the back of the store. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/25 "2020-04-12T02:12:39Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Still? My local Ralphs not only dropped lines but opened up another entrance in the back of the store. I went to both stores two days ago. Trader Joe’s still had a line up outside. Winco, the one that has the markings on the sidewalk, did not. But that may have been because it was an off hour; the store was not very crowded. They did have an internal line to get to the checkouts which also had 6-foot markings. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/26 "2020-04-12T17:26:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I find that doubtful. Those laws in PA are very old and they’ve never attempted to crack down on drinking since Prohibition that I know of. Quite the opposite, there’s a well-known quote from Governor Gifford Pinchot that the purpose of the PLCB is to [“discourage the purchase of alcoholic beverages by making it as inconvenient and expensive as possible.”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Liquor_Control_Board#cite_note-2) How much of this attitude persists within the current PLCB is open to interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/27 "2020-04-12T17:29:54Z")
> [@Cleophus](#): > > Quite the opposite, there’s a well-known quote from Governor Gifford Pinchot that the purpose of the PLCB is to [“discourage the purchase of alcoholic beverages by making it as inconvenient and expensive as possible.”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Liquor_Control_Board#cite_note-2) How much of this attitude persists within the current PLCB is open to interpretation. He said that 4 days before the end of Prohibition. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/28 "2020-04-12T17:47:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > He said that 4 days before the end of Prohibition. So? It shows the attitude behind the PLCB, at least initially, was to promote Prohibitionist attitudes as long as possible. The PLCB itself was formed in the waning days of Prohibition as part of the transition. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/29 "2020-04-12T18:29:29Z")
It got so bad that the Monongalia County, WV heard board requires that a person show a WV ID prior to purchasing liquor because the lines were out the door from people in PA crossing the border to buy it. Then the same thing happened in Marion County, the next one over. Same issues in Maryland. Gov. Wolf is causing issues for other states and he seems to be the only Governor that has taken such, IMHO, absurd action. A guy drinking his favorite bottle of booze at home and passing out on the couch is one guy you don’t have worry about being out in public causing problems—that is unless the governor incentivizes driving long distances (maybe while drunk) in order to buy liquor. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/30 "2020-04-12T18:35:56Z")
> [@GoodOldKJ](#): > > My understanding is that Governor Wolfe closed the state stores here in PA because the warehouses and other infrastructure was located near Philadelphia and Allentown in what was our states first hot spots. That is the same reason they initially stopped online sales. They have since worked out how to reopen online sales but as stated above the website crashes on a daily basis. > We can still purchase from distilleries, microbreweries, wineries, beer distributors, and in some grocery/convenience stores. They are deemed necessary. Pennsylvania can be a weird place. If that was the reason and not just an excuse, it shows the archaic system that PA has to alcohol. Allentown and Philadelphia are not the only two places in the country which warehouse liquor. Relax the rules during the crisis and allow grocery stores to sell liquor. It is done in other states without causing mayhem, and he can go back to the good ole boy system when it is over. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/31 "2020-04-12T23:57:59Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Tobacco shops aren’t essential, at least in Illinois, so that’s a strike against the tax-revenue theory. And as to lottery tickets, I don’t know anyplace where they’re sold stand-alone. I see them sold in groceries, gasoline stations, and convenience stores, all of which are on the essential list. If Walgreens can sell me a tshirt or ballcap because they’re open to sell food and medicine, IMHO it would be strange to not let 7-Eleven sell lottery tickets. I don’t think it’s forbidden, but my local supermarkets have said that they will no longer sell lottery tickets. I think the issue wasn’t that lottery tickets are bad or non-essential as much as it was that that’s a slower transaction at the cash register, and they are trying to limit contact between the customers and the cashiers, as well as keep people moving. The supermarket is still selling wine and kitchen gadgets and whatever else is there. > [@asahi](#): > > Some stores (supermarkets, for instance) have had policies of not allowing more than X number of people inside their stores. Judging from what I’ve seen on TV, this has led to even greater numbers of people standing in long lines outside, and I doubt they’re standing six feet apart. > > That’s probably a well-meaning social distancing guideline that seems to have backfired. The local place has market the sidewalk to help people stand 6 feet apart. Also, you are less likely to get infected outdoors, where there is just more air (and more movement of air) to dilute the virus. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/32 "2020-04-13T21:45:04Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Some stores (supermarkets, for instance) have had policies of not allowing more than X number of people inside their stores. Judging from what I’ve seen on TV, this has led to even greater numbers of people standing in long lines outside, and I doubt they’re standing six feet apart. > > That’s probably a well-meaning social distancing guideline that seems to have backfired. Costco, 3 weeks ago, and for the most part people were doing a good job of standing some distance apart, which was why the line was most of the way around the building. The one person who tried to crowd us backed off in a hurry when my friend coughed! Local garden-and-produce store: people were similarly doing a good job of standing 6 feet apart, though the family waiting for their turn to into the small grocery section (though the family ahead of me kept finding reasons for one or the other to go back among the plant shelves to get something, pushing right past me :mad:). ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/33 "2020-04-13T22:03:17Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > My local Costco: > You get your shopping cart from a corral in the parking lot and return it to the same corral when done. > Before you enter, a Costco employee wipes the handle down for you. > However, no one is wiping the carts down before they go back into the corral. > So anyone can wander all over Costco covering the cart in viruses and then put it back fully infected. But don’t worry, someone will wipe the virus particles off of it after you’ve already touched it! I guess I’m a little confused here. At my costco there is a cart storage area between the two sets of doors and they’ve had someone there wiping carts that they then hand off to people as they go in. Does your store not have that and just stores carts in the parking lot? Because yeah, if you’re dragging in a cart from the parking lot you should probably just wipe it down yourself, or, you know, not bring one in from the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521/34 "2020-04-15T20:08:35Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > I guess I’m a little confused here. At my costco there is a cart storage area between the two sets of doors and they’ve had someone there wiping carts that they then hand off to people as they go in. Does your store not have that and just stores carts in the parking lot? Because yeah, if you’re dragging in a cart from the parking lot you should probably just wipe it down yourself, or, you know, not bring one in from the parking lot. I went to Costco on the 6th of March. Most people grabbed carts either from the parking lot, or from a storage area just inside the main door. Then before you went into the store itself, someone wiped down the handle. I thought this was absurd at the time. The next time I went was the 16th or so. That time, they had distancing in place, limited people allowed in, long line outside… barricades consisting of carts and pallets to enforce waiting in line - and you didn’t get a cart until you got to the door, where it was freshly wiped down before you touched it. MUCH more sensible option. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-meaning-social-distancing-guidelines-that-seem-to-have-backfired/851521.md?page=1)