I ventured over to SF for a visit for really the first time since the beginning of March - the ninth to be exact. I remember that night as we dined at Zuni Cafe, and already the fear of CV-19 had driven most of the clientele away, on what should have been a busy Saturday night.
But today at the Aquatic Park, the Palace of Fine Arts, and driving by Ocean Beach, I noticed one striking thing: in the middle of the first wave of CV-19, I would estimate that over 80% of people outside, despite being in fairly crowded areas, were not only not wearing a face mask, I did not see them carrying them. Who has made this decision en masse that the epidemic is over, that business is as before, and that precautions are not necessary? Was there just some sort of mass decision - "well, that's it, safe to go out again" ?
Business will never be as before, at least not for a number of years.
Infections are on the upswing precisely because of this non-scientific, irrational attitude. You might have decided its over, but the virus doesn't engage in social discourse. It looks for openings, and spreads effectively and remorselessly. Here's a photo from the Aquatic Park:
But today at the Aquatic Park, the Palace of Fine Arts, and driving by Ocean Beach, I noticed one striking thing: in the middle of the first wave of CV-19, I would estimate that over 80% of people outside, despite being in fairly crowded areas, were not only not wearing a face mask, I did not see them carrying them. Who has made this decision en masse that the epidemic is over, that business is as before, and that precautions are not necessary? Was there just some sort of mass decision - "well, that's it, safe to go out again" ?
Business will never be as before, at least not for a number of years.
Infections are on the upswing precisely because of this non-scientific, irrational attitude. You might have decided its over, but the virus doesn't engage in social discourse. It looks for openings, and spreads effectively and remorselessly. Here's a photo from the Aquatic Park:
How many masks do you see here?
Two - dude on the white bench with the bike, and the woman to his right (I think). But besides them, 24 people without masks.
We are so fucked if this is really how the general population is going to go back out into the world. Beaches - and by the way breaking surf is a fantastic aerosolizer, meaning that it does a great job at spreading particles much farther through the air - will become the new virus hot spots.
It's summer - don't let your guard down. Governor Newsom has mandated that masks be worn at all times outside now. I guess the 24 people in the picture above are too busy posting selfies on Instagram to bother checking in on the news.
Two - dude on the white bench with the bike, and the woman to his right (I think). But besides them, 24 people without masks.
We are so fucked if this is really how the general population is going to go back out into the world. Beaches - and by the way breaking surf is a fantastic aerosolizer, meaning that it does a great job at spreading particles much farther through the air - will become the new virus hot spots.
It's summer - don't let your guard down. Governor Newsom has mandated that masks be worn at all times outside now. I guess the 24 people in the picture above are too busy posting selfies on Instagram to bother checking in on the news.
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