Dining Out and The Second Wave

Twice now I have been outdoors sitting on a restaurant patio having my non-alcoholic Heineken Beer. The first time was just my wife, two sons, and myself about the same week they opened the patios in our region. It was a joyous occasion just to be outside on a pleasant day enjoying the sunshine and catching some rays. We walked in with our masks on and as soon as we were given a table the physical distance between our table and the ones beside us was noticeable so we took our masks off.

The waitress came to our table wearing a mask and I have to say we should have all put our masks back on when we spoke with her and gave her our food and drink order. I guess the fact none of us were coughing or feeling unwell and we were outside made us think at least we could not give anything to her but then again being a waiter in her shoes would I have thought the same of strangers I was about to serve? So for that I cannot blame her for staying a safe distance from us.

I notice not one other table were wearing masks either and I bet quite a few did not even bring a mask with them as where we were wearing one was not mandatory. Encouraged but not enforced.

Now the second time we went out we were joined by four others who were like us the Dad, Mom and two sons who were in their 30's and approaching 40. We talked on the phone earlier in the week and we decided to meet up on this patio a few days later on what turned out to be a sweltering day.

I worked with the two sons at the Brampton Keg and had not seen each other pretty much since 2015. We knew the parents and we had a great visit. The funny thing was that their Dad and myself have had health issues that make us high risk when it comes to catching the Covid-19. So although each of us have been doing things with our own family,  other than that seeing others up to then has been pretty much out of the question. We wore our masks going in and going out of the restaurant but while we were eating and talking all the time we did not.

Talking to one of them I said you know I was having second thoughts about seeing you guys because I began to listen to the fear that we hear of everyday about this virus. A virus we do not know when will  end. Even though we hear reports of progress on a vaccine,  they are all in early stages and the hope that each lab talks about is creating I think more angst in the public because now everyone thinks it will not be long before one surfaces. I will believe it when I see it.

In Guelph here where we live today we have 14 active cases with 4 new ones reported yesterday. We have no hospital cases. The chances of getting the virus are slim. So knowing that put me at ease. At what point do we not go out though? Let me ask you if you only had 14 active cases in a population of over 120,000 would you still venture out or let fear over come you and stay in? With still physically distancing, washing your hands, wearing a mask, and being with people you know and trust in a social bubble would you still stay in and self isolate?

If you answered yes to that question then get ready because this pandemic is not going away. If you are waiting for a vaccine before they have any made enough for you to get vaccinated it might be two years away yet.

Here is what I think about it all. First of all my step father died of the coronavirus in a senior's home and despite the fact he was 89 this virus did not have to take him a week before his 90th birthday. I know of 5 others who have had it and badly. One thought he was going in a body bag. So catch this virus and no matter what a certain president says it is not the sniffles. So we all know someone who knows someone else who got this and how it affected them. No joke.

For your sanity though, unless you absolutely cannot risk it and your condition is not good at all we all need to get out while the summer is here because you know what is coming. The second wave.

In September when they attempt to get the kids in school at some point during the week if there is any transmission going on at all this coronavirus is going to spread. It is a known fact from other countries that high school students spread this quite easily. Asymptomatic of course. Then they come home and infect their family members. Watch for vulnerable teachers and other school staff as well. The worst case scenario is if a lot get sick and the schools have to close again. They say the Spanish Flu it affected the young worse than the adults. So the truth is the schools have not reopened since March so our kids have been protected but now we are sending them back in September. We do not know what can happen. Hopefully not much.

But if the schools have to close again and parents work schedules are all messed up again we are back to square one or more appropriately phase 1. Because at that point probably bars and restaurants will close, gyms, gatherings will get smaller again etc. etc. Most importantly day cares will close so at least one parent will have to leave her job or work from home. Economically a second wave could really put the nail on that for a long long time.

Well now with BC showing increasing infections, Alberta the same having the most since May we are already heading in the wrong direction before all this begins in September. Quebec and Ontario are still struggling. Now the curve rather than staying flattened is turning up again.

September and October are the two months to watch right now for me. If we get by those good before the flu season hits we will make it all the while keeping our borders closed too. School starts then two weeks later symptoms appear after incubating.

This is going to be interesting and right now for the time being I have to say I ate out on a patio twice but the likelihood of me eating out again is highly unlikely anytime soon.

Let's hope we are ready if we get hit again. Meanwhile if you can,  go out and order some Nachos while you still can.

The One Thing That Could End it for Trump

Through all the pandemic woes that is happening to the south of us in the United States the race between Biden and Trump still in my opinion is neck and neck. With all the deaths and infections in the States you would think this would be a slam dunk for Biden in November.

Yet it still appears to me that the Trump voters are still digging in their heels and Wall Street is oblivious to everything and keeps going up despite any dire predictions that come daily through the media about shutting things down again as the rate of infections keep going up. I guess as long as the Fed keeps propping up the economy with more stimulus at least it gives the impression that nothing is wrong at all.

The one thing where the people who support the Republicans might draw the line though is if the Trump team insists on schools reopening and the Red State governors follow through on Trump's wishes. I think that is where the line in the sand will be drawn.

If schools do not open safely and the child is put in any risk at all especially in the highly infected areas such as Arizona, California, Florida, and the list is growing bigger by the day then you will see a backlash like no other directed at Trump.

First of all schools must have an on line learning option available. I doubt the governor of Florida has even thought about that. Just get the schools open! The minister of Education, Betsy Devos sounds like on line education is not even an option. Why because she has no plan. She is quite useless in fact. So should not be a Minister of Anything.  The Center of Disease Control is told their guidelines are too tough by Trump and VP Pence. They had to back track a bit so their message becomes muted.

This is a disaster waiting to happen. If the parent is given the option of sending their kids to school where the rate of infections are rampant or keeping them at home for their own safety the choice is clear. As someone pointed out we closed the schools in March when there was less infections so why send them back now when there are more?  Also the teachers will not want to go ahead with in class learning either. The risk to them will be high as witnessed by three Arizona summer school teachers who all got Covid and one died.

This will shut down Trump's economy again which he so desperately wants to be running a top gear come election time. It will not happen. Day cares will shut down again which are crucial to getting the economy going again so both parents can go out and work. At this rate it will not happen.

Quite simply as noted in the video below physical distancing of 2 meters is not possible in a class full of students. So there has to be some on line learning at home done anyway. Day cares require the same physical distancing so they cannot have the same number of children. Here is a common sense photo of why schools may have to learn from home.

Here is a video outlining the challenges ahead and how this reopening is putting politics ahead of safety. If Trump forces schools to reopen and it is a disaster voters will have had enough to pick Biden especially if some young kids start dying.

Phase 3 in Ontario

For those of you who do not know we live in Ontario. Ontario and the rest of Canada can be quite proud in saying that we have successfully flattened the curve. That being said here in Ontario we are still in phase 2 where we can have restaurant patios open but not as of yet bars, indoor dining, gyms, indoor swimming pools, and gatherings of more than ten. There are probably a few others as well that I may have overlooked.

In Ontario today we had 138 new infections. That out of a total of 14 million people who live in Ontario which if you do the math is not a very high percentage. In fact out of all the reporting centers in the province there are only about eight that report any cases at all. There were about 21,000 tests yesterday which works out to about 0.6% positive test results. So what we have been doing has been working.

Everyone is doing a real good job in this hot dry spell that we are having doing the social distancing and wearing the mask. We ate on a patio the other day and the waitress asked for a phone number in case someone might have had it so they can contact trace everyone who was there around the same time. Where I live in Guelph Ontario masks are mandatory when you enter a place of business or use transportation. Everyone is complying with the rules.

The Ontario Medical Officer has been very slow in getting to phase 3. I know they would all like the case count to go to zero but that is just wishful thinking. They have to soon move on to the next phase. Not to be an alarmist but once we open up some more our cases may spike a bit but sooner rather than later they have to get going and dive into the pool.

The shutdown for some of these businesses has brought in zero income. Some takeout businesses for restaurants without patios but hardly enough. It has been since March 13th when the writ came down to lock it down. Yes some admittedly got help when their landlord signed onto the the Canadian Rent Subsidy Program which lowered the rent to 25% of what they had to cover but that was only for 3 months. In other words April May and June. Now July 1st is gone. What about that rent? There was a survey out the past week saying up to 78% small businesses will not be able to make rent.

We drove through downtown Guelph and there was a lot of small businesses just boarded up. Gone.

Restaurants will disappear soon as well. Nail salons ( forgot to mention those ) , gyms, a lot of retail stores will close with head offices now streamlining the ones worth keeping open and closing the others. Malls will be half full.

Now studies show if people are in a closed area like indoor dining the two meter rule will not really matter because studies show airborne droplets can be sent further than the rule because the air circulation can spread the droplets far. Now if diners are sitting for a minimum of an hour they have a more than likely chance of contracting the virus. Bars will be worse. The young crowd will risk it then catch it unknowingly in a lot of cases and spread it to their close contacts. All we can hope for is for every person in Ontario to be careful and just keep doing what we are doing. In South Korea they killed it then the bars opened and voila! Infections spread up again even outside the main city center of Seoul.

But we have to get on with it sooner or later or there will not be many of your favorite restaurants, nail salons, and gyms kicking around. But then my prediction is these places will have started so far behind and now with the added headache , albeit necessary, of enforcing social distancing and buying PPE equipment and sanitizers what is the profit remaining? Will it be worth it?

Look for a lot of small  businesses that have not yet closed because of the government handout keeping them alive like a ventilator to be extinguishing their dreams this summer. It may just not be worth it. Then you have the jobless but that is for another post.

Oh yes and the movie theatres too!

Covid 19 and Sports Leagues - Shut Them Down!

On March 13th when Covid_19 made it's appearance in the NBA and Rudy Gobert tested positive a  torrent of players in every professional sports league followed suit and immediately all the leagues shut down. Well if I remember correctly it took a few days before major league baseball camps packed it in but they had to shut it down as well.

I must say the Toronto Maple Leafs were in a battle and had a game that night against Nashville and a couple of days later in Boston against those pesky Bruins. Without a doubt I was looking forward to it.

So I thought we got this and will contain the spread of this virus quickly then  we should all be back shortly watching hockey or any other sport we choose. After all we had other countries to learn from that already had the spread contained. Some simple rules to follow. Stay two meters distance away from everyone and self isolate as much as you can at home. Schools emptied so everyone was home.

This should end in a couple of weeks, right?

Now we are nearly into July and the same thing is happening again. The leagues are all saying now they are coming back because the fans demand it. They want to see sports again. I have not heard anyone I know mention sports since five days after all the leagues shut down. You'd think by the sport talk shows and reporters that everyone is dying to see a game on television.

Now if this shutdown lasted 2 weeks to a month maximum I think no problem we could have lived through this without facing too much hardship and we would be salivating to pick up where we left off. The truth is this has gone too long. They all should have just cancelled the season and playoffs right there and then and I know I am not the only one who feels this.

Proof in point is everyday since around April all the commissioners have talked about resuming play. They think as do the players, although I am not so sure about that because all they care about is their safety, is the public is waiting on their bended knees for them to resume play.

Let me make this perfectly care, NO ONE CARES!! That is right no one cares. In case these leagues do not know their main fan base is crippled by this pandemic. Jobs lost, income gone, mortgage in arrears, credit card debt piling up, school next year in doubt as to how it will all work out. Relatives and people getting sick or dying. Let me repeat what I said, NO ONE CARES!

What really sickened me was watching Gary Bettman the NHL commissioner come on television to make this grand announcement about phase 1,2 and 3 on how they plan on finishing the playoffs in two hub cities. Not saying it was for money, television rights, or just plain greed but because the fans demanded it. What a crock of you know what! Since this shutdown I have not met or talked to anyone who misses sports. Nobody!

Why you ask is because we are all wondering what next week is going to look like never mind watching some millionaires play in front of empty arenas and stadiums. Hockey in July forget about it.

Now all the hub cities for hockey can stay in the States for all I care. Choose Las Vegas and whoever else probably a Republican senator state where the cases are out of control. The NBA choosing Disney World in Florida. Well good luck with that although they have an idiot for a governor. Disneyland today delayed their opening in California. There will be cases with the NBA players for sure in Florida. The baseball and their plan for restarting is a disaster and they have so many cases already they should just say it and shut down. The NFL just cancelled their Hall of Fame game scheduled August 6th.

Today all I have heard from American doctors is, We are the greatest country in the world and I cannot believe we have screwed this up. Here is a heads up, if you were the greatest country in the world you would not have screwed up!

I have had enough. Keep the border closed and do not let  any of these leagues play one game here.

Better yet shut it down and plan to start training camps maybe in September. Give it a rest and do not think you are resuming play for the fans. It is totally non-sensical.

My prediction is if any of these leagues start up there will be infections and teams will probably win unfairly. If any one of these athletes get sick or worse dies it will not be Covid that killed them it will just be the greed and ego of the owners and leadership.

Free us from your babble and stay safe and shut it down. It is ridiculous!