This doc is a great overview of that pandemic.
Probably going to be a good long while before I’m eager to leap back into the petri dish which is my gym and its pool/showers/locker room…
I’m having the same thought. The last day before my gym closed, after having announced reduced hours and social distancing in classes, there were still jackasses not wiping down the equipment after use.
My legs will no longer tolerate running, so I’ve switched to biking and swimming. And at my age and given my goals, I can do cals/weights at home, rather than at a gym. We have an Airdyne that we got for free. Tho I’ve always preferred outside activity, I may start thinking about using that…
Thinking about my personal perception of risks/benefits. For example, I’d be fine w/ my dentist wearing protective masks/gowns, cleaning equipment in between. And there is no clear substitute for the dentist. Not as eager to rely upon gym yahoos, and I can take my dog for more long brisk walks…
Really nice to be having better weather here around Chicago right now. If this happened in late fall/early winter, it would be MUCH rougher!
By the mid 1920s, social dancing in crowded nightclubs was a common form of entertainment.
You were agreeing with DSeid. Seriously? Please explain.
My take is that two months ago, being in a crowd was not particularly dangerous, but now it is potentially quite dangerous, and in two months it still will be dangerous.
But you’re saying that in a couple of months y’all will feel comfortable and safe moving around in public as you did before all this shit hit the fan? Because staying isolated is not our nature and it’s too hard? Am I understanding? Help me out here.
The virus isn’t going to disappear but surely you see that this isn’t obviously endless. Yes, the models suggest there will be another wave but we really are still figuring out how contagious and widespread this disease really is.
And I want to get back to work. I’m fine with this for now but if any politician says “this is the new normal til we get a vaccine”, I’m not voting for them.
I never did like shaking hands, always avoided hugging casual acquaintances, and always had the hebejebes getting my haircut. I needed a haircut before quarantine happened and right now I cannot imagine having someone touch my hair/beard.
My current thinking is to never handshake/hug in the time I have left. For my hair, I’ll probably shave my head soon (hair and beard) then immediate allow regrowth to occur, rinse and repeat. Anyone do this? It seems extremely practical.
Before quarantine I loved going to bars and breweries, yet I always preferred an empty seat next to me unless I was with my gf. I’ll continue practicing some social distancing, though not because of concern for disease.
No other pandemic/epidemic has killed off human nature. So no, we won’t socially isolate forever. I’ll go back to behaving like normal once things begin to die down.
Bolding added. Pun intended? 
I was watching CNN (yes, I know it sucks, but so does every other mainstream media channel), and I saw a headline before going to break
“Harvard Scientists Say We Will Have To Social Distance until at least 2022”
I am not seeing where the two statements are misaligned. We are both saying it will be too difficult to remain in our bubbles indefinitely. Yes, there will be changes such as less handshakes, less hugs, and more facemasks and more screening and testing. But eventually restaurants will reopen and manufacturing will restart and people will be going back to work.
The key to moving forward is going to be data - we need data that does not exist yet - primarily how much the virus has spread in the community in total. We are mainly seeing cases reported where someone was sickened or died, but we lack data on people who were asymptomatic or who had mild symptoms. We are missing part of the equation at the moment (antibodies testing), but that will change as more testing is done, and when we know how extensively a community has already been exposed then we can start reducing restrictions, and things will start moving again. When that is no one knows.
Okay. I absolutely see and agree with what you’re saying about data and groups. Permit me to clarify.
I’m not asking about what “we” need to know or what “we” are missing… I’m asking when will YOU the individual feel comfortable going out in public?
Are you saying that you are waiting on data before you make that decision for yourself? That makes sense up to a point. Data can be used to predict what happens in and to groups. And it’s good to factor data in when making decisions like these. But data cannot predict with assurance what will happen to any individual. Maybe you’re young and healthy enough that you’re willing to feel “safe enough” and take your chances? Alas, I’m not in that position, and anyway, I’ve always been one to err on the side of caution. Never been a risk taker (not physical risks anyway… more likely to take emotional risks…) :rolleyes:
So how soon will you personally feel comfortable sitting next to someone in a movie theater or on a bus? Or standing close to someone in the grocery check-out line when neither of you is wearing a mask? Or shaking hands? And what will determine for you when that turns out to be.
Understood. For me, the trigger will be when I have the antibodies test confirming I already had the virus, as well as looking at antibodies data for my community showing the virus has already been widespread in my region, and hospitalizations and deaths due to it are in decline. At that point, for me, the risk will be low and I will feel comfortable and confident resuming normal activities, with the above mentioned cautions (more masks, less handshakes, etc.). However, no one is going to be able to tell me specifically what my individual risks are, and no one will be able to do that for you, either.
I know it’s irrational & perhaps fatalistic, but I’m comfortable doing all those things now.
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
When I’m watching old movies, old shows, etc., I always notice when someone is NOT social distancing.
Will people and other Americans 
keep distance forever? Of course not. But while distancing orders are in place, people will NOT approach within two meters of me. I have canes with pointy tips. Stand back.
Answering for me personally I have no anxiety being at work now and I engage in distance behaviors not out of any personal fear but out of being a good citizen of the community and following best practices for the sake of following best practices.
The op is, I think, asking if fear will drive a continuation of major distancing behaviors after death rates hypothetically have dropped to solid low baseline, say lower weekly than influenza during peak season, or daily from commuting by car, both real and significant numbers be they smaller on a current weekly basis than are COVID-19 deaths right now.
My position is that most are willing to take those levels of risks in return for the advantages of things like socializing and commuting and work and activities that they enjoy, inclusive of actual contact with friends who also feel more connected with casual closer, even physical touch contact. The evidence I have for that is that people have accepted that risk/return for, well, ever, generally much higher risks than we do now, and many intentionally choosing to take on higher risks yet in return for marginal increases in fun, be it riding a road bike in traffic, or skiing, or going home with someone they just met on Tinder or in a bar, or even eating food from a food cart on the corner …
Well over 99.9% of New York residents have not died of COVID and of those who have not died the odds are likely much higher than that they won’t die of it over the next months as New York gradually emerges from its controls with persistent low rates observed. Even higher in the rest of the country. Like they do for other similar levels of risk most will accept that much risk in return for the value they receive from human contact and being part of live groups doing things in real life together. And those who do accept those levels of risk will likely have LESS overall morbidity and mortality in the bargain, as having social connections, inclusive of touch, saves lives.
Thanks. That’s exactly the kind of specific answer I was looking for.
Not *fear *so much as prudence, unless you think those are the same thing.
My bold.
I don’t believe in using odds when it comes to myself. For example, the odds are that a woman will not become pregnant from one act of unprotected sex. Well, the consequences of a miscalculation in my world were too great ever to risk that, so I never did. I never took a chance. (And having hit young adulthood in the 60s, I did get around.) Whatever the “odds,” when the consequences of being wrong are IMHO too great to risk, I will be prudent.
I know I’m probably not going to stay shut up in the house until there’s a vaccine or until I’m sure I’ve had the virus and recovered, so I don’t really know what will make me decide to get out. As I’ve said somewhere, being at home by myself 90% of the time is my normal lifestyle, for good or ill (as it were). I don’t really know how I’m going to handle this in a month or two or three. That’s why I’m asking others for their thoughts.
I appreciate the discussion. 
For me, the key event for myself and my family will be when they reopen the schools. Which I hope they do as soon as possible because my 4th grader son is not handling this isolation well.