The Coronavirus | Contains 4.5% Alcohol

[Mr EliteL]

Thanks, Moony.
I hate Royal Mail, I get they're one of the main delivery companies but damn why do the postboxes only have one collection time and that's the last collection time of the day yet they might do the final collection 30 minutes BEFORE that time. So I can't do my test until 3pm today when I got it at 4:30pm yesterday (also the last collection time on the nearest priority postbox, so I couldn't do it then and with the 30 mins thing I couldn't try for a 5pm postbox), and it's 3pm because you have to register the time you're doing the test 1 hour before collection. Apparently getting your test done at a site doesn't guarantee a result as the colleague who also went off with symptoms her result came through as nothing (not negative), undetected or whatever! So I sit here and wait for 4 and a half hours...

Yeah that's quite poorly dealt with, should've had schools closed again form he get-go. *facepalm*

[Moonface]

Just saw that Texas is just going to remove any precautions and restrictions for Covid and acting like it just doesn't exist anymore...

[ShiraNoMai]

Luckily private businesses have full rights to keep enacting the policy, but imagine leaving that decision up to the conspiracy-touting idiots running those businesses in the South. I'd be gluing myself to my house until the idiots weed themselves out.

[Mr EliteL]

Yeah people are getting vaccines now, but it doesn't mean just go ahead and return everything back to the norm before covid. Even before people haven't had their second dose too. I'm assuming also it isn't even because of the vaccines, or either way Texas have just said "Fuck it".

[Moonface]

I'd heard that the guy who made the call to remove the mask mandate is already vaccinated. If true, that's a horrific case of "I'm fine so fuck everyone else".

[Karo]

I feel like that a horrible idea especially when we are still in the process of trying to get everyone vaccinated at least wait for the vaccine to be available for everyone and it to be a month or so!

[Moonface]

Luckily some businesses are still going to require masks but I expect most of those will be the ones that can afford to do that like grocery stores. I expect most restaurants will just run at 100% because to do otherwise is lost earnings and even in Florida I see restaurants that are blatantly cramming as many people in as they can.

[Karo]

America is built on the principles that businesses have been given the divine right to make money at no matter what the cost!

God bless America!

[Moonface]

Leaving it up to personal choice is not something that should be applied to a pandemic though. Especially not in a country that puts profit before anything else. Too many people already oppose mask mandates and whatnot; declaring it as now entirely personal choice and not requiring it is going to just empower that thinking. If it would only affect those who partake in it, I wouldn't care, but the instant this move creates more cases and problems it'll be everyone's problem.

[Karo]

Honestly this attitude of independent choice even at the expense of others has really been pushed in America since the Reagan era and I always feel like it such an awful thing and I feel like we as a society should take care of others that are vulnerable and are need of help instead of being like, "your vulnerable to dying of Corona? Then you shouldn't of been vulnerable in the first place"

[Dragon Lord]

Leaving it up to personal choice is not something that should be applied to a pandemic though. Especially not in a country that puts profit before anything else. Too many people already oppose mask mandates and whatnot; declaring it as now entirely personal choice and not requiring it is going to just empower that thinking. If it would only affect those who partake in it, I wouldn't care, but the instant this move creates more cases and problems it'll be everyone's problem.

It's not going to change anything. People who are opposed to wearing a mask are never going to wear one, no matter what (just as there are people who will never get the vaccine no matter what). Having a mask mandate in effect does absolutely nothing to change that. What lifting restrictions will do is allow small businesses to fully open back up so they can actually survive and hopefully not get wiped out by the mega corporations who have been able to stay open with no restrictions for a large majority of the "pandemic". 

Which is a good thing. People who want to wear masks will wear masks, people who don't won't. That will not change no matter what. Let the small businesses get back to trying to keep their doors open.

[Karo]

I honestly would argue that business still should try to enforce the social distance stuff at least until the people that will help with herd immunity will get the vaccine. I mean even small businesses could do that and frankly I think it shows a level of care for your customers. What about the asshole that refuse to wear the mask even if you literally have free mask available to put on?

Ask them to leave they can always order something online and have it delivered.

[Moonface]

Leaving it up to personal choice is not something that should be applied to a pandemic though. Especially not in a country that puts profit before anything else. Too many people already oppose mask mandates and whatnot; declaring it as now entirely personal choice and not requiring it is going to just empower that thinking. If it would only affect those who partake in it, I wouldn't care, but the instant this move creates more cases and problems it'll be everyone's problem.

It's not going to change anything. People who are opposed to wearing a mask are never going to wear one, no matter what (just as there are people who will never get the vaccine no matter what). Having a mask mandate in effect does absolutely nothing to change that. What lifting restrictions will do is allow small businesses to fully open back up so they can actually survive and hopefully not get wiped out by the mega corporations who have been able to stay open with no restrictions for a large majority of the "pandemic". 

Which is a good thing. People who want to wear masks will wear masks, people who don't won't. That will not change no matter what. Let the small businesses get back to trying to keep their doors open.

True, people are going to do what they want. Same that the restrictions only affect some businesses and the ones affected don't get any help. The whole thing is a damned either way situation and it sucks.

[Dragon Lord]

 What about the asshole that refuse to wear the mask even if you literally have free mask available to put on?

Ask them to put one on and if they say no, that's the end of it. There's nothing else to be done. Small businesses can't afford to lose customers no matter what, so the odds of one of them telling a customer to get out and risk losing their business for good isn't something they're going to want to do. 

Some would suggest calling the cops and having the customer removed from the store, but as someone who lives in a small town and works for a small business, I can tell you that's one of the best things you can do if you not only want to lose that customer, but also lose multiple other customers in the process.

[Moonface]

 What about the asshole that refuse to wear the mask even if you literally have free mask available to put on?

Ask them to put one on and if they say no, that's the end of it. There's nothing else to be done. Small businesses can't afford to lose customers no matter what, so the odds of one of them telling a customer to get out and risk losing their business for good isn't something they're going to want to do.

I work for Publix and they won't even make an effort in every store to kick people out who don't wear a mask when offered one. If a large store isn't going to want to lose a customer, small ones doing it is going to be rarer than unicorn poop.