What I think it may end up as (and I imagine this is the OP’s point), the list of “essential” works may wind up being far longer than we thought and much longer than the list of “non-essential” work.
In other words, all the lockdowns will end up not being very locked down at all.
We’ll still need to stand six feet apart waiting at the cash registers.
As odd as it may sound, gyms and fitness centers, but not for their usual clientele. I have had discussions with several over-the-road truck drivers who rely on a gym membership to provide a place to shower. Many gyms have parking lots large enough for semi trucks to park overnight, and are often in strip mall developments with nearby restaurants to get some carryout.
Drivers are absolutely essential to keep critical goods moving. Support services for drivers need to keep operating to keep supply lines open.
But such gyms could also be used to provide shower facilities for other essential workers who are not not returning home to provide isolation from families.
Ahhh, country life. We can hike with our dogs and never leave our property. We can ride our horses and never leave the woods, never see another person. Our dogs and horses are loving this crises so far.
New York State has a website with the official list of categories of essential businesses. All other businesses cannot operate in person as of 8:00 p.m. this Sunday, March 22.
When I read the list, I thought I had better make a quick run to the liquor store this morning to top up what we were low on before they shut down. However, the clerk in the store told me that Governor Cuomo considered them essential, so they would be staying open. I guess liquor falls within food and beverage.
In answer to to some of the questions upthread, at least for New York:
For other situations, the website I linked to has a procedure for businesses to request to be designated as essential on a case-by-case basis.
Bill- What about legal services?
A lot of legal stuff (contracts, closings, etc) can be done remotely. But what about the guy who gets arrested and thrown in Rikers? What about court cases in progress?
I’ve been wondering about dual-use places. For example, in the UK, they just closed the gyms. However, a lot of physical therapists work out of gyms. Some gyms even have treatment rooms set aside for the therapists. They’ve also shut the pubs, but a lot of rural pubs are multi-purpose. Most of their secondary purposes aren’t essential, but some provide catering services to schools or small nursing homes, run local shops, collect deliveries, and provide other community services. It would seem sensible that businesses would be allowed to continue to provide secondary services that don’t involve mass gatherings, but there’s a lot of uncertainty about the details of the government’s shut-down edict.
Thanks to parvo any vet worth going to has isolation and sanitation procedures down pat. The clinic we use has a big sign on the door:
If you even think your puppy might have parvo please take it around back and ring the bell.They bring out a table used just for the purpose, do their testing in the alleyway and afterward, clean everything with some super-duper sanitizer.
Unfortunately, Grandma would probably object to an exam in the alley out back.
The New York State court system has been operating under a series of increasingly restrictive administrative orders (list and links here). Each court has its own protocols, but the general, statewide rules provide (.pdf):
Otherwise, civil litigation is pretty much at a halt, except for things that can be filed electronically. I’m not sure where things are going on the criminal side with respect to incarcerated defendants, but that everything is pretty much stayed for non-incarcerated defendants. Also, New York City has set up facilities for video arraignments.
Federal courts, which are pretty much all electronic filing (except for the self-represented) and have reasonably good facilities for telephonic appearances, are operating remotely to the extent possible.
Interestingly, the Governor has put in place a procedure for remote notarization. In some counties, including in New York City, real estate documents can be filed electronically for recording, so many real estate transactions can proceed remotely. However, some other county clerks are closed, and the industry is working out procedures for that.
I would think private sales of used cars are still OK. And sadly, the increasing unemployment will mean a lot more used cars available for sale.
How about opticians, more more exactly eyeglass shops? When you need glasses, you need glasses.
There’s also a clause that allows for single employee/occupant businesses to continue, like gas stations and, presumably, some residential lawn care.
Locally, at least, construction workers seem to be exempt. There are 2 homes going up in my neighborhood, plus a few remodeling projects, and as of Friday (20 March), the cement trucks are rolling, the drywall & lumber delivery is continuing, and the worker vans/autos haven’t changed their schedules at all. It even seems like they are increasing the work load to meet some kind of deadline.
I’m tempted to nominate the libraries.
Libraries around here are shut down entirely. Not just the programs; not even just the indoors, with pickup available. Shut entirely. They don’t even want you to return your books/materials – due dates have been extended, and you’re not supposed to bring anything back until they re-open.
Yes, I know; and I’ve got a computer, and an iPad, and plenty of stuff on paper in the house that I either haven’t read yet or that bears re-reading. But in this area there are quite a few people who don’t have computers and tablets and ereaders at home; and most of them don’t have a small library’s worth of reading matter in the house, either.
A neighbor told me how the local Department of Motor Vehicles is operating: They are only letting in one (or a few?) person at a time. This is even for people with appointments. You go there and they give you a number at the door, and you give them your mobile phone number. Then you go wait in your car in the parking lot. They will call you when your number is up. He said he only had to wait two hours, as opposed to the more usual four hours.
(So what happens to people who don’t have a mobile phone, or don’t have it with them?)
If it becomes apparent that computers at public libraries are “essential” perhaps they will bring in a skeletal staff to run them like that?
That has been an issue in some locations already. Puerto Rico’s own lockdown + curfew was done with our usual panache for thinking things through in advance, and there have had to be some daily expanded explanations as to how if a business is “essential”, its suppliers need to be allowed to be making deliveries and the people who service their equipment need to be able to make site calls.
As y’all may know, myself posted to NoVA until at least after the election; the place I go to for my haircuts closed up yesterday out of an abundance of caution. (I has already gone shortly before and did choose to get a shorter than usual cut just in case. Even then already down to only two chairs open and the appointments set up to have no more than 2 people waiting.)
I don’t know if it is legal or not, but in my neighborhood the lawn care services are operating. I see plenty on my walks. Makes sense - they don’t exactly work closely to one another or to their clients. Sure they could spread it among the crew, but that would happen anyhow.
They can come home and complain about it here. Then I will point and laugh because they will surely be one of those nimrods who’s always nattering on about how they don’t have a cellphone or have one and never even carry it because what possible use could they have for such a thing?
I’d imagine they’d (even places that only sell glass, but don’t do exams) would be considered medical offices.
You might be surprised. My sister has been working for a salon, and they were still booking customers as late as Thursday for Saturday appointments. My sister was praying for the Illinois shelter in place order to come through so she didn’t have to tell her boss to go fuck herself.
My brother-in-law has diabetes and congestive heart failure and is prone to pneumonia, and my sister and nephew are asthmatic, and she was not about to possibly risk the life of anyone in her household for a $10/hour part-time receptionist job. I don’t blame her one bit.
Order yourself some clippers and do it at home!