Open Thread Follow Up: When Already?
The votes are in, and everyone but everyone is good and tired of this lockdown. Although some commented that they’d be careful before removing their masks….mask-free living got the nod with 37 percent naming it the Back To Normal indicator. Almost as many (29 percent) are waiting for the end of social distancing (Grandchildren!! Family visits! Friends!). It was almost a three way tie between inside dining and drinking (12 percent), cultural activities (10 percent) and the gym (10 percent). Major League Baseball and the AFL/NFL might have some cause to worry, because only about 2 percent looked forward to seeing live sporting events.
We’ll keep the survey up for a while longer to see if there is any change in the numbers, and we welcome your comments as we go through this lockdown together.
Photo by Lucrezia Carnelos on Unsplash
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City each week. Send your suggestions for Open Threads to her at editor@seniorplanet.org.
Interested in personalized content? Sign up for free
Create an account and join our vibrant community to get reminders on classes and unlock a more personalized experience.
Comments
Waiting on a vaccine and then some, have a partner under COPD umbrella but also don’t think my own immune system would get me through COVID-19… ?!
New normal it is, how to accept it and live with it? ~Especially not having seen my parents in almost 4 months (a first), i can only hope the new normal will bring us together again but do try to stay in the moment ~SP exercise/yoga/Tai Chi really does help and thank you for it!
I won’t feel like things are back to normal until we have flattened the curve everywhere. I don’t understand the resistance to wearing masks and social distancing and science. It is obvious that it works. Where it has been implemented the numbers have gone down and seem to be staying there.
I agree with Jerry Bates’ answer above. The survey misses the point: the “new normal” will only be possible when the curves in all states and across the country are forced down and flattened out. Until then, masks, testing, and contact tracing are going to be absolutely necessary, despite the opinions of some of the country’s leaders. Until we get the virus under control (which will require the cooperation of all of us), very few will feel safe going shopping or going out to dinner, very few will feel safe sending their children to school, very few will feel safe going back to work.
I wonder how we know how many feel safe without these safeguards. I feel perfectly safe going everywhere without a mask, but I respect and honor the concerns of those who want me to wear a mask.
I miss all my activities one of which was going to the fit fusion class. I know a lot of these programs are on line… It is not the same… I miss the camaderie of people….thankfully things are slowly opening….
All of the above represent normal life to me and now unattainable. I feel if we could get testing with immediate results, then we could test daily and have more assurance until we get a vaccine. Until then my husband, who has cancer, and myself are isolating. It is dispiriting to hear the numbers go up elsewhere. I’m very grateful for Governor Cuomo. We would love to hug our grandchildren but not now.