Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[Virtual Toad]

I would seriously like to know what could have been done to stop this trend, say...4 weeks ago..5 weeks ago. Because from what I have seen, once you have to react to spread (which is what every state has done since the beginning), it is already too late.

Agreed. But there were things that could have been done several weeks ago in anticipation of what’s happening now. You have to be proactive and forward thinking. For example, widespread vaccination drives and public awareness at the start of summer would have upped the numbers of vaccinated eligible schoolchildren. Mask and vaccine mandates, social distancing and remote learning options for school put into place statewide in FL several weeks ago would have been great proactive ways to get ahead of the unfolding rise of COVID cases in our schools. And it’s not as if no one saw this coming. School districts are just now (this week, after schools started and cases are on the rise) reconsidering their previous lack of action. Great that they’re reacting now but why not muster the courage to try to get ahead of the game instead of constantly playing catch up?

 

[Lilofan]

The next time anyone asks why it’s a good idea for employers to mandate vaccination, I present you with exhibit A….the only exhibit needed. The defense rests their case. Now imagine every employer does that and the country exceeds 90% vaccinated. Covid = measles. It’s a wrap.

Also maybe 30 years ago if Covid was around there would be more resident cooperation , social media 24/7 non existent, the idiots of the anti vax not as prevalent as today , misleading " experts " far less , the rallying cry of getting vaccinated could have hit 90%. Who knows...

 

[Andrew C]

I'm not claiming that any one jurisdiction played this perfectly. Mistakes were made all around. But only Florida and Texas' (well, maybe South Dakota, but geography provides them some level of mitigation) political leaderships seem dead-set on obstinately doubling down on their errors.

What errors? Are we really going to state that slapping on a mask mandate in June/July like some other states did would have prevented the spread we see in Florida? Masks are fine, but if we think that was going to put a halt to the spread once it gets going, or allowing mask mandates in CA stopped the spread there, then we are kidding ourselves. The UK was completely opened and they still peaked and dropped. CA and NY are still increasing? Why? Well, it seems once delta gets hold, it doesn't really matter what you do, short of a complete lockdown. It will fall, eventually...

Vaccination rate is really all we have. But that hasn't stopped delta from burning through the unvaccinated.

 

[DCBaker]

Do we know the department size?

"Right now, the Tax Collector’s Office said about 45 percent of its workforce of 316 employees is fully vaccinated. But as of Aug. 31, workers will have to be fully vaccinated if they want to remain employed there."

Orange County Tax Collector requires COVID-19 vaccination for employees

Workers have till Aug. 31 to get fully vaccinated

www.mynews13.com

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Only way to achieve true social distancing on an aircraft is to issue each passenger a bubble suit w individual air tank so each passenger has his / her own personal atmosphere during the duration of the flight. Social distancing on an aircraft! the absolute pinnacle of a joke.

Umm.. no. You block of seats. Just like they did social distancing at Disney parks.

 

[GoofGoof]

"Right now, the Tax Collector’s Office said about 45 percent of its workforce of 316 employees is fully vaccinated. But as of Aug. 31, workers will have to be fully vaccinated if they want to remain employed there."

Orange County Tax Collector requires COVID-19 vaccination for employees

Workers have till Aug. 31 to get fully vaccinated

www.mynews13.com

So roughly 2% applied for the exemption and 4% quit and it looks like about 18 holdouts who may be in the process of getting vaccinated or maybe they will test the requirement. Pretty solid end result for them.

 

[mmascari]

To me, it seems less about what places did or didn't do...and more about delta being delta.

I think it's more about people being people.

We frequently pretend in posts that a mandate means something is being done. But, that's not true. We frequently also assume people will only do something if there's a punishment for not doing it. That's also not true.

The mandates, lack of mandates, or recommendations without enforcement mechanism supporting them all have an impact on human behavior. It's cumulative too. Places that socially normalized more mitigations earlier, those people kept doing them longer and started doing them again in larger groups as recommendations and case counts changed. Places that fought against them more and normalized that behavior, those people dropped mitigations faster and have been slower to bring any back.

Peer pressure is strong. People react based on it frequently. No matter the rules one way or the other. What became normal for an area probably has a larger impact than the current mandates. Leadership can help set this tone, even when there isn't an enforcement mechanism, but it's hard to shift it rapidly.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Let’s go you other 31 teams. Can someone tell me why it’s not mandated in all sports? Good for Atlanta.. let’s hope the rest follow.

Falcons say they're first NFL team to reach 100% COVID-19 vaccination rate among players

The NFL's COVID-19 vaccine incentives and disincentives appear to be working in Atlanta and around the league.

www.google.com

 

[GoofGoof]

Umm.. no. You block of seats. Just like they did social distancing at Disney parks.

They would have to double ticket prices or more. I actually might be happy to pay more to have more room but I know a lot of people wouldn’t. The airlines are barely staying above water and that is with the federal money which has dried up now. The only way they could do this without a substantial price increase would be with huge federal bail out money.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

They would have to double ticket prices or more. I actually might be happy to pay more to have more room but I know a lot of people wouldn’t. The airlines are barely staying above water and that is with the federal money which has dried up now. The only way they could do this without a substantial price increase would be with huge federal bail out money.

And? Is it the safer way? Does social distancing matter or not?

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

And? Is it the safer way? Does social distancing matter or not?

There was an article on CNN a while back (pre Delta variant) that said the odds of catching COVID on a plane are 1 in 4000, but improves to 1 in 7000 if middle seats are empty. Chance of dying due to air travel was quite low, 1 in a million.

If memory serves.

 

[Virtual Toad]

"The number of students in Hillsborough County quarantined or in isolation for COVID-19 exposure has risen to 8,400.

The news comes one day after nearly 400 students tested positive for the virus, according to the Hillsborough County School’s COVID-19 dashboard.

According to the district’s Tuesday update, 8,400 students are currently quarantined or in isolation out of 213,491 total. With 307 school employees quarantined or in isolation out of 23,596 total.

The district is now tracking 1,485 cases dating back to Aug. 2 For comparison, the district reported 8,711 confirmed cases from March 2020 through Aug. 1."

8K+ Hillsborough Co. students in quarantine/isolation due to COVID-19

TAMPA (WFLA) – The number of students in Hillsborough County quarantined or in isolation for COVID-19 exposure has risen to 8,400. The news comes one day after nearly 400 students tested posi…

www.wfla.com

Here's the update for Orange County Public Schools -

"A day after setting a new record for COVID-19 cases, the Orange County school district recorded more than double that number, with 238 new student cases documented Monday.

The region’s largest school district had reported 259 cases last week, including 97 on Friday, surpassing the one-day total of 88 hit in mid-January. Monday’s total smashed Friday’s record.

Orange County Public Schools also reported 159 more student quarantines Monday, along with 53 new COVID-19 cases in staff members. Since Aug. 2, when teachers reported to work and some sports teams began practices, the school district has recorded 903 cases among its students and staff, requiring 552 people to quarantine."

Orange schools set another COVID-19 record as some Florida districts consider mask mandates

A day after setting a new record for COVID-19 cases, the Orange County school district recorded more than double that number, with 238 new student cases documented Monday. The region’s larges…

www.orlandosentinel.com

With kids in school (and another case at my younger son’s school today) I look at these numbers and ask how anyone can think the peak in Florida is near?

And a side note to those who like crowding in to watch the fireworks at the MK: pretty sure a lot of local school kids are there with you, especially on the weekends.

 

[GoofGoof]

And? Is it the safer way? Does social distancing matter or not?

The safest way is if they don’t have flights at all. If we are talking about a practical solution to actual allow flights to happen then the only way for the airlines to continue operating with distancing onboard is if the government subsidizes them. That’s not a viable long term solution.

 

[mmascari]

And? Is it the safer way? Does social distancing matter or not?

It's comparative, not an absolute.

Does social distancing matter or not compared to doing nothing? Yes absolutely.
Does social distancing matter or not compared to one of the two people being vaccinated? Some.
Does social distancing matter or not compared to both the two people being vaccinated? Probably not much.
Does social distancing matter or not compared to wearing a mask and being closer? Some.
Does social distancing matter or not compared to being closer when outside? Some.
Does social distancing matter or not compared to being closer when inside? Some.
Does social distancing matter or not compared to being closer when inside for a long time with questionable ventilation? Probably not much, the air gets too stagnate.

Remember, social distancing is based on physics that your exhale will settle out of the air prior to someone else breathing it in because they are far enough away from you. Everything you do to make that less likely means the distance is less effective. Everything you do to avoid creating an infectious cloud around you makes the distance less important.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The safest way is if they don’t have flights at all. If we are talking about a practical solution to actual allow flights to happen then the only way for the airlines to continue operating with distancing onboard is if the government subsidizes them. That’s not a viable long term solution.

Well... hopefully covid is not a long term problem.

If the above post is correct that blocking middle seats doubles your chances of not catching covid I’d say that’s reason enough to continue blocking middle seats.

 

[GoofGoof]

Well... hopefully covid is not a long term problem.

If the above post is correct that blocking middle seats doubles your chances of not catching covid I’d say that’s reason enough to continue blocking middle seats.

From a combined safety and economic solution the best plan of action is required vaccination plus a mask for flying. Then the airline can sell all of the seats at normal prices. Wearing a mask has no economic impact.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

From a combined safety and economic solution the best plan of action is required vaccination plus a mask for flying. Then the airline can sell all of the seats at normal prices. Wearing a mask has no economic impact.

There will be significant economic impact until this whole thing is over. Now is not the time to worry about the economy. The government should be propping it up where needed.

The focus is - stopping the spread of the virus! Period.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Exactly. That’s how it was advertised at first and then suddenly the CDC did a total 180 and said Hakuna Matatta have fun.

Big mistake…trying to build up political/street credit when they didn’t actually need it. 4 months into an administration. It’s like interviewing babysitters on your honeymoon (traditional scenario): you’re missing the point and WASTING your time!!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Well... hopefully covid is not a long term problem.

If the above post is correct that blocking middle seats doubles your chances of not catching covid I’d say that’s reason enough to continue blocking middle seats.

If common sense was common

From a combined safety and economic solution the best plan of action is required vaccination plus a mask for flying. Then the airline can sell all of the seats at normal prices. Wearing a mask has no economic impact.

Are these the airlines who took bailout cash upfront…in 4/20…laid off everyone and then cried for more money this spring when people
Wanted to fly???

…yeah…I weep not for them

 

[Chi84]

There was an article on CNN a while back (pre Delta variant) that said the odds of catching COVID on a plane are 1 in 4000, but improves to 1 in 7000 if middle seats are empty. Chance of dying due to air travel was quite low, 1 in a million.

If memory serves.

Was it from blocking middle seats or from the fact that blocking middle seats results in far fewer people on the flight who may be infected with COVID? It just seems the seats are so close - even the seat across the aisle is less than what the CDC was calling an acceptable distance. I guess I should trust the studies that say airplanes are not a significant factor in spreading the virus because of the ventilation system, but I can't get past the fact that another person is sitting so close, whether in the middle seat, behind me or across the aisle.