It's impossible to avoid mentioning the protests because it's still the single most reported on event in our country right now. I can barely find covid articles anymore. Protests are relevant to this dialogue because they validate arguments in favor of opening Disney safely. As someone who supports everyone's right to protest, I was hoping we'd use this protest data to help apply standards across tbe board for everyone. Think of how many protests occured across the country and the consensus is still that there were no spikes associated with them. This should serve as good evidence that outdoor transmission even without social distancing is extremely rare. It's hard to take anyone seriously when they say prolonged standing outside side by side with thousands of people for hours in one place is better than spreading out at a giant capacity limited theme park that transformed itself to be safe.
We can argue the virtues of protests all day long but we have been asked to stop doing other things that are arguably more vital to a lot of people. Weddings, funerals, births, family reunions with loved ones they never see.
Some of us never will get that lost time back. We tell ourselves it was worth it to protect each other but my husband's grandmother takes medication for depression because she is extremely isolated. We are paying a lot of prices for this new normal. Taking a vacation at the one tourist destination that is taking this beyond seriously doesn't feel dangerous to me otherwise I would understand the arguments of how it's not necessary right now. There willl be untold consequences of closing again. People will be out of work again and the idea of backsliding into unemployment and all that comes with it is a crisis of its own. We need to make sure that shut downs are based on proven unacceptable risk versus a knee jerk reaction. Many businesses won't survive a second closure. I can't see how.