My brother lives in Maine, as does my sister by another mother, and a fellow quilter friend. The forecast for Maine this weekend raises the possibility of 12 inches of snow. A foot of snow on May 9-10 with May 10 being Mother's Day. That actually doesn't sound all too bad given our Virginia winter of next to no snow. We never used the fireplace either. We're supposed to have near-freezing nighttime temperatures here, but it's not the same as the white stuff.
Weather aside, the governor says he anticipates and hopes that we will move into Phase One a week from today. Non-essential retailers that up to now have been limited to 10 customers at a time will be able to admit a number equal to 50 percent of their capacity. I understand how a restaurant would determine capacity, but I'm not sure what that means to, say, a department store. Eating establishments that have outdoor seating can serve 50 percent of the capacity of that seating. They can continue to offer take-out and/or delivery, but there will be no inside service. Restaurant staff have to wear masks, and diners must order from disposable menus.
Church services must be limited to 50 percent of capacity. I guess they can fill every other pew? Or do a sort of checkerboard arrangement of groups using all the pews? Gyms must stay closed though outdoor exercise classes can meet if the maximum size is 10 people and they exercise 10 feet apart. Beaches remain open for exercise or fishing, but no basking or swimming. Outdoor pools can open for lap swimming with one person per lane maximum.
Movie theaters, bowling areas, and other entertainment centers must stay closed. If you want your hair done, you will have to have an appointment, the salon must operate at 50 percent capacity (aside: My stylist works in a small salon with one other person. Does this mean only one of them can be working at a time?), and both stylist and client must wear masks. No services that would require mask removal can be done.
The above is all part of what they're calling Phase One. Phase One will last at least two weeks, possibly longer. The governor reserves the right next week to keep everything closed should the numbers head in the wrong direction over the weekend. He also said that he had no problems with ordering everything to close if the numbers went up after things reopened. I hope he keeps his word. The fact that he cannot run for re-election does, I'm sure, relieve some of the pressure about doing what people want rather than what is best according to the metrics. That said, do I think reopening is the right thing? Not really. I think the numbers will head back up, and a second closing will be harder for people to take than the first one was. But they don't pay me the big bucks to make big decisions.
2 comments:
Here non-essential retailers are still closed, no fishing because that's not exercise unless it's for sale in which case it's food and essential. We have to wait until Sunday for the roadmap out of quarentine. I'm pretty sure that there will be nothing that affects me at all unless it's masks for shopping.
I thought capacity was based on floor area but I don't know how stores usually estimate how many shoppers are inside at any one time. It matters in normal times because here all public buildings have a fire capacity which limits how many people are allowed inside. For that they look at the number of exits as well as floor area.
At the moment we are counted into Aldi and then it's one in, one out with a socially distanced line around the car park. It's a limit of two in the post office, two in mum's chemist and zero in mine, you have to state your business from the pavement through the hole in the new perspex window.
Pop over on Sunday for details of our phase one, the hot tip is that we'll be allowed public sunbathing and picnics. I am certain that whatever is announced it will simultaneously be judged to be "too much too soon" and also "not fast enough". I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing.
Grocery stores in PA make you wear a mask, wait for a cleaned cart, and count the number leaving to maintain enough distancing within the store. Don't get me started in people blocking the entire aisle while they read labels.
For the first time today at my store I had to wait almost 25 minutes for a belt checkout...too many things to use self-checkout with their tiny shelf space. Typical wait has been about 5-10 minutes. And here I thought I'd gone early enough.
My long hair maintains itself pretty well without being cut so I'll go for awhile, but husband will start looking shaggy soon (shades of college hair?).
Caroline--do you think Jean reads these comments or are we just talking to each other? :-D
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