Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston, Worcester, Framingham: nearest, appointed, home)

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

In all fairness no one in this situation had it. They simply decided to go remote because a group of teens had a party and got caught. These same teens were probably partying all summer together.

I don’t think anyone ever thought this couldn’t spread in affluent areas. If anything it was people in
Affluent areas of Boston who had it mostly due to the biogen meeting. No one is immune.

I noticed someone I know through a mutual friend had a bachelorette party down the cape with like 25 people. They also took a bus to bars I guess and were all sitting thigh to thigh in two rows across from each other on the bus. No masks. I don’t know what people are thinking. They obviously don’t care and would rather celebrate than worry about getting sick. It just looked really irresponsible.

I get no one is immune but some here said earlier it would be muiti family housing, urban housing in apt units and public housing. Bugging out to rural areas doesn't make much sense given the lack of ERs, ORs and ICUs.

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by mdovell

I get no one is immune but some here said earlier it would be muiti family housing, urban housing in apt units and public housing. Bugging out to rural areas doesn't make much sense given the lack of ERs, ORs and ICUs.

You are conflating two topics. People in Sudbury or Wayland or whatever probably live single family homes or other living situations less conducive to spread. If given the choice I think most people would rather some space than a high rise or a public housing facility.

That is different from people going out and partying, which based on my Facebook feed and news reports transcends economic status and living situation. People are breaking the "rules" everywhere. Sudbury isn't even close to being a rural area. No suspicion either that they even had it, they're just taking precautions in the event that someone caught it.

[id77]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

I agree with this statement, for me personally it would be a concern, having taken so many precautions for 6+ months now. For the workplaces that have opened in MA...what's the situation? Are office workers allowed to take off their masks while in their cubes?

Our office is mandatory work in the office 2 weeks per month. Need special permission to miss office time and can only take vacation during weeks you’re scheduled to WFH. Masks on everywhere except while at your desk.

It’s been fine so far.

[id77]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

You are conflating two topics. People in Sudbury or Wayland or whatever probably live single family homes or other living situations less conducive to spread. If given the choice I think most people would rather some space than a high rise or a public housing facility.

That is different from people going out and partying, which based on my Facebook feed and news reports transcends economic status and living situation. People are breaking the "rules" everywhere. Sudbury isn't even close to being a rural area. No suspicion either that they even had it, they're just taking precautions in the event that someone caught it.

Sudbury is essentially a rural area. A town like Newton is a suburban area.

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by id77

Sudbury is essentially a rural area. A town like Newton is a suburban area.

Not sure what definition you use for rural... but suppose you are correct. In the context of what mdovell was saying places like Sudbury, Wayland Concord all have quick access to some of the best Healthcare in the country. Not exactly bugging out territory.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

Not sure what definition you use for rural... but suppose you are correct. In the context of what mdovell was saying places like Sudbury, Wayland Concord all have quick access to some of the best Healthcare in the country. Not exactly bugging out territory.

He's not correct, despite great confidence in all of his posts.

Sudbury is not rural ... at least not by North American standards, including the U.S. Census Bureau and USDA. The only areas which might fit rural definition are sections of Pioneer Valley and western Worcester county. Everything else is either suburban or exurban.

Highly curated/zoned 'woodsy' metrowest towns are the the Westworld version of 'rural'.

[Bridge781]

Originally Posted by mdovell

I get no one is immune but some here said earlier it would be muiti family housing, urban housing in apt units and public housing. Bugging out to rural areas doesn't make much sense given the lack of ERs, ORs and ICUs.

Oh yeah I’d say multigenerational homes and public housing are more at risk due to close proximity of each other. They can’t help it but they can wear masks and practice good hygiene. And anyone who lives in an affluent area still need to be careful as well. I just can’t believe people think it’s ok to have weekend long bachelorette parties. Unless people are tested before these fiestas I don’t know how everyone could feel so comfortable. I turned down an invite to an outdoor family party for a baby. My parents did too. Why take the risk just to have a party?

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Oh yeah I’d say multigenerational homes and public housing are more at risk due to close proximity of each other. They can’t help it but they can wear masks and practice good hygiene. And anyone who lives in an affluent area still need to be careful as well. I just can’t believe people think it’s ok to have weekend long bachelorette parties. Unless people are tested before these fiestas I don’t know how everyone could feel so comfortable. I turned down an invite to an outdoor family party for a baby. My parents did too. Why take the risk just to have a party?

Literally everything you do involves some risk. Normally you don’t think about it. With COVID not only are you thinking more about it, there’s strong feelings about risk without having strong evidence. People do stuff that is demonstrably and provable dangerous all the time (eg drunk driving), so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people will take risks for stuff where the risk is unknown.

And when I say the risk is unknown, I mean quantitatively known. I can’t say if a given activity comes with a 1% chance of death or a 0.000001% chance. Until there is some better understanding, the risk/reward calculations people do will seem just totally nuts, both for people who do (possibly) risky things and those who stay shut in their house and never do anything.

[Bridge781]

Right. So maybe the people having parties right now are the same ones who drive drunk.

[id77]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

He's not correct, despite great confidence in all of his posts.

Sudbury is not rural ... at least not by North American standards, including the U.S. Census Bureau and USDA. The only areas which might fit rural definition are sections of Pioneer Valley and western Worcester county. Everything else is either suburban or exurban.

Highly curated/zoned 'woodsy' metrowest towns are the the Westworld version of 'rural'.

Rural is low density and high volume of undeveloped land. Check. Limited services. Check.

I think the hangup here is proximity. People love to lump in towns beyond 128 (and sometimes even 495) as part of the metro, and a few go so far as to include parts of NH. Gets a little ridiculous. I used to myself when I lived way out in Boxboro. Then I realized that I was wrong.

There’s suburbs beyond 128, but they also have suburban density and services. Weymouth? Suburb. Burlington? Suburb. Peabody? Suburb. Places like Sudbury and Dover? Not suburb.

As much as some love to think their curated ‘woodsy’ town means it’s an exclusive suburb of Boston, it still fits the definition of rural. Unless you need your BMW serviced, there’s not a lot of services within Sudbury. Heck, even searching for Sudbury on Google Maps yields a ton of pastoral photographs.

I would accept exurban as a name, as you suggest.