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I own a small share of a bar and we closed yesterday. Definitely hurts financially before St. Patrick's Day. We're lucky that our rent is low and we're a pretty small operation with limited food service. I can imagine for places in downtowns where rent is bigger percentage of sales, that's going to be tough.
I can't understand why would somebody think that putting latest data on the left is a good idea.
Siting at a table with your family that is wiped down just before you sit seems to me like an incredibly low risk activity. As in, less risky than picking up food from a grocery store where infected people are shopping and touching things on a daily basis.
At least with a grocery store, you can wash off the produce before you use it. With a restaurant, there's nothing covering the food at all.
And remember, the chefs in the kitchen are paid peanuts, and have no safety net whatsoever, so there's zero incentive for them to get tested or to stay out of work if they get sick. This is also the case during normal times. Eating out is a good way to catch something in a country where we think it's a great idea to fire cooks and other low-wage workers when they call in sick.
Siting at a table with your family that is wiped down just before you sit seems to me like an incredibly low risk activity. As in, less risky than picking up food from a grocery store where infected people are shopping and touching things on a daily basis.
Unless you go to the bathroom and touch the door handle. Or sit in the waiting area next to a sick person. Or one of the chefs is sick and doesn't have perfect cleanliness. There are a lot more places where things can go wrong transmission-wise in a restaurant than a grocery store. Presumably you will not be touching your face during your shopping experience. But to eat in a restaurant sort of dictates putting things…
Wash your hands and use a paper towel on the way out, like you should always do.
> Sit in the waiting area next to a sick person.
No queuing.
> One of the chefs is sick.
But takeout and delivery is allowed. So this isn’t any different.
The point isn’t that it’s “zero risk” (there’s no such thing).
We’re going to have to live with some element of risk in our lives as long as COVID exists without a vaccine. This is totally normal and to be expected.
We lived with Measles for decades and it is much more virulent and about equally as deadly as SARS-CoV-2. In the 1980s there were still about 2 million people a year dying from Measles.
EDIT: You’re right, we’ve been living with Measles for millennia in fact. And as recently as the 1800s there are populations that have been decimated by it. Measles absolutely did consume a massive percentage of hospital resources, although it’s fair to say that hospitals were acclimated to the demand.
The “flatten the curve” graphic is extremely misleading. The axis have no scale and the two curves themselves are not to any scale. The actual ICU capacity is like 4 pixels off the y-axis.
But that’s besides the point. We should absolutely be taking common sense and appropriate actions to reduce the spread of this virus (and several other diseases come to mind which are more deadly). When possible we should do this in a way that doesn’t destroy people’s livelihood.
That means a rational and scientific approach, not the emotional reaction which is so prevalent and actually damaging. Restaurants cannot stay closed indefinitely, particularly when we have reasonable approaches which can make them safe.
Siting at a table with your family that is wiped down just before you sit seems to me like an incredibly low risk activity. As in, less risky than picking up food from a grocery store where infected people are shopping and touching things on a daily basis.
I don't see how it's low-risk to have an infected person preparing your food in the kitchen. At least with a grocery store, you can wash off the produce before you use it. With a restaurant, there's nothing covering the food at all. And remember, the chefs in the kitchen are paid peanuts, and have no safety net whatsoever, so there's zero incentive for them to get tested or to stay out of work if they get sick. This…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you ever actually watched a busboy wipe down your table? Sometimes I swear they just use a wet rag dumped into soapy water that's been reused over and over.
Right, so this is a good time for the health department to provide specific instructions on what is required (e.g. the type of disinfectant spray, how long it sits, and drying with paper towels not rags) EDIT: HN is preventing me from replying to you so I’ll edit it in here... Yes, of course, all of it... - They of course should remove the salt & paper shakers. Single use packets can be provided. - They need disposab…
Are they going to spray down the salt and pepper shakers, the menus, the hot sauce, the napkin dispenser, the chair seat and back? For self-serve places, how often are the trash cans disinfected, or the ketchup and mustard dispensers (or packet piles)?
All that not to mention the other patrons in close proximity while you dine.
We don't realize how many communal surfaces we touch in a normal day.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you ever actually watched a busboy wipe down your table? Sometimes I swear they just use a wet rag dumped into soapy water that's been reused over and over.
Right, so this is a good time for the health department to provide specific instructions on what is required (e.g. the type of disinfectant spray, how long it sits, and drying with paper towels not rags) EDIT: HN is preventing me from replying to you so I’ll edit it in here... Yes, of course, all of it... - They of course should remove the salt & paper shakers. Single use packets can be provided. - They need disposab…
The government has talked about bailouts for various industries from airlines, to cruise ships, to shale companies. But almost every sector of the US economy is going to be hit by this and I have no idea how we are going to react. Will there be a restaurant bailout? What would that even look like? It is much easier to work on bailing out a handful of airlines but how do you handle it for literally thousands of small…