Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Everett, Northampton, Reading: swim, restaurants, dangerous)

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Anyone who goes to an indoor movie theater now is a fool.

I think Phase 3 step 1 is 25 people max in a room. I don’t know how a movie theater could possibly open with that restriction. The movie theater stuff also calls for 6’ of separation. I don’t know if movie theaters can somehow be more than 25 people.

I’d consider a large, well ventilated theater with 25 people. No way I’d want to do every other row empty and ~1/3 capacity.

[Bridge781]

I’m on the cape now. It does seem crowded. Weather is not great. Cloudy now and supposed to be tomorrow also.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I’m on the cape now. It does seem crowded. Weather is not great. Cloudy now and supposed to be tomorrow also.

We’re planning to wander down to the beach around 6:00 when it empties out for cocktails and a picnic dinner. Small craft warnings so we opted out of the boat. Tomorrow doesn’t call for 25 knot gusts. I can’t imagine crossing a bridge this weekend.

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

We’re planning to wander down to the beach around 6:00 when it empties out for cocktails and a picnic dinner. Small craft warnings so we opted out of the boat. Tomorrow doesn’t call for 25 knot gusts. I can’t imagine crossing a bridge this weekend.

Since Thursday I will have done it 8 times by the time Monday AM rolls around, I'm only really worried about Sunday evening.

[bizcuit]

I drove through the downtown of my town (Northampton) on Thursday and was pleasantly surprised to see how alive it was. I was expecting a ghost town. Most parking spaces on Main Street were taken, people were strolling on the sidewalks, sitting in outdoor cafes, etc. They've blocked out sides of some of the streets to allow for outdoor seating. I'm not ready for it myself, but it sure was nice to see signs of life here.

[yesmaybe]

So the relative that was going to go in but got delayed is now going in (for real this time?) on Monday. Worth watching to see if other companies are going to do the same thing and traffic starts to get bad again.

[NewfieMama]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

So the relative that was going to go in but got delayed is now going in (for real this time?) on Monday. Worth watching to see if other companies are going to do the same thing and traffic starts to get bad again.

I'm on the south shore and had to take Route 3 North to drop my kids off at camp today. Usually it would be completely gridlocked, so I was expecting at least some heavy traffic. There was traffic, but no slowdowns. All weekend things were quieter than I expected--restaurants, beaches, parks, stores, etc. are usually all packed over a holiday weekend, but everything near me seemed pretty low-key. I really enjoyed it (though I mostly just worked on projects at home).

[BostonMike7]

I must say, very interesting perspective to spend time in another state and then come back to MA. I was up in NH, and it was an interesting mix of back to normal, vs MA-style restrictions still in place. Depending on where you were, optional mask compliance was high. Dunks was still shut down and doing drivethru only, but local sub shops were open like normal without any masks on any of the employees.

However, the area I was in has had 60 total cases, and 0 deaths. So despite the lack of restrictions, I still felt comfortable interacting with people with my own precautions in place

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

I must say, very interesting perspective to spend time in another state and then come back to MA. I was up in NH, and it was an interesting mix of back to normal, vs MA-style restrictions still in place. Depending on where you were, optional mask compliance was high. Dunks was still shut down and doing drivethru only, but local sub shops were open like normal without any masks on any of the employees.

However, the area I was in has had 60 total cases, and 0 deaths. So despite the lack of restrictions, I still felt comfortable interacting with people with my own precautions in place

We were up there too (Moultonborough) and found the mix to be pretty interesting, especially coming from urban Boston area where compliance is pretty high. I pulled into a Mobil station just off of 93 which had a big "Masks Required" sign on the door. So we wore ours (which we would have done regardless out of habit at this point). The cashier had no mask anywhere in sight, and another employee had one pulled down under her chin. Another customer came up to the door with a mask in hand, read the sign, shrugged, and walked in without putting it on. That was our first stop and the least compliant. We went to a restaurant and a brewery and everyone was great about wearing them to and from the table, and staff wore them religiously.

Driving through Meredith, it seemed as if 1/3 of people walking around the town center were wearing masks. Honestly higher than I expected. We felt pretty comfortable as well.

[charolastra00]

We went to Bone Up Brewery in Everett this weekend as our first outdoor dining (or rather, drinking) experience. Everyone was compliant, the tables were well-spaced, and I felt comfortable.



But then the next day, we swang by Belle Isle in Winthrop to pick up lobster rolls before going to sit by the beach. The hostess kept pulling her mask down to talk to people - including us - from less than 2 feet away and I had to ask the people in line behind us to back off because they would have felt close even if everything was normal. Lots of people walking around the restaurant with no masks and no attempt at social distancing. We were there at a weird time of day and I can't imagine how bad it would be during a rush. It's put me off even getting takeout for awhile.