Angel Ariel
Well-Known Member
I agree the scouts shouldn’t have been on a hike. But that’s a separate problem. People will never 100% follow rules.
My point is those scouts hiking are not going to make this last longer... in general we’ve closed down the country, that will make a difference.
Orders being put out and people following those orders are different things. I'm sorry, but I live in the DC/VA/MD metro area. Things are not closed down here. Many people are flat out not following the orders. I've posted multiple events here over the last few weeks:
- Masses of people still going to the cherry blossoms at the tidal basin (and not observing social distancing) - resulting in the metro stations closest to the tidal basins being closed first.
- When that wasn't enough, the National Parks Service had to get snowplows parked to block the exit ramps from the highways and close all of the parking lots in the area.
- When that didn't work, they completely shut down the tidal basin and national mall (between the Lincoln and Washington monuments) to all people.
- County Parks have been closed since before the stay at home order was issued last Monday. Initially it was just a closure of playgrounds and structures (like restrooms).
- But that wasn't enough, as people en masse were still driving to the parks and walking the trails in such numbers that social distancing was impossible.
- So they closed the parking lots and have said you can't drive to the county parks to walk trails anymore. The trails are still open, and they've said you need to use the trails you can walk to.
- People are still, even TODAY, driving to the big local parks en masse - even with the parking lots blocked. They are parking on the shoulder of the nearest major roads and walking in - completely ignoring the orders given by the county government.
- An open-air seafood market/wharf area- again, just *yesterday* - had to be shut down entirely because there were so many people swarming the place and ignoring the social distancing required by DC's order, that the DC government shut the market down.
Just like the group hiking today - all of these people think "well, it's just us, we won't affect the curve." But there's SO many people thinking that way and acting that way, that yes - it will. That's the problem with something that increases at exponential rates. It doesn't take many people to cause an impact.