COVID stupidity in MA

And that’s why RI is off the exempt list.

But seriously, I don’t mind ordering food at ONE place, but most of the time when I go out I like to go to a few places. I’m not going to do that if I have to order food everywhere I go.

And some breweries you just want to go to for their beer....because like, they’re a brewery. If I have my heart set on Chinese that night I’m not going to go to a brewery for dinner.

Well I’m not advocating for a broader opening right now. I just think indoor dining MIGHT be ok with the current restrictions they have.

We saw it start creeping up (but nothing terrible) so they backed off a bit on a few things. But indoor dining remains open. Been fairly stable since.

I can’t speak to how many people overall in MA are dining indoors. But in Somerville it never looks like it’s packed inside, and most people are seated right by the windows if they’re inside. Meanwhile outside is very busy.

The bigger shock to me is gyms. Those have been open for awhile to, I figured there was no way those could stay open.

 

I'm with you, but I think this the exact reason there IS the food requirement - the state wants to deter people from barhopping, even if from outdoor patio to outdoor patio. It sucks (and is definitely unfairly punishing some places), but it's not totally illogical.

 

I said the same thing earlier in this thread. It’s probably A factor, but not the driving force. But who knows. MA has done a great job, but there’s definitely some rules that are inconsistent and head scratchers.

 

Restaurants = set layout of tables with planned locations for each person.
Bar = standing, mingling, walking around.

I won't be eating inside anytime soon, I think it's unreasonable and unnecessary for people to be eating inside right now, but it kind of makes sense in abstract terms.

 

So - anecdotally at least - perhaps there’s no spike associated with indoor dining because it’s not being used to the fullest vs it being legitimately low risk?

 

Well NH has had indoor dining/gyms opened more aggressively and longer and they’re still ok. And from what I’ve heard it’s like the Wild West up there regarding following Covid rules.

But that could simply be offset by the vast difference in population density between the two states.

I recall a poll on Boston.com which indicated people in MA largely weren’t comfortable with movie theaters, gyms, indoor dining...etc. So there’s that.

 

NH allows full capacity in restaurants

 

Yeah saw that. Jumped from 50% to 100% capacity.

 

But if you can't space tables at least 6' apart then you really cannot do 100%.... Doh!!!

 

I sat inside at the bar at Schilling last month. They originally put me in the highest traffic spot in the place right by the door but I moved to the actual bar. I was the only one at the bar and there was plexiglass between me and the bartender. Wouldn’t say I felt totally safe but all servers were masked so wasn’t bad. For a solo diner, it was the only option offered.

 

The biggest issue with indoor dining/drinking is breathing recycled air without masks on. Their HVAC systems need the proper filtration (which isn’t cheap) and you can’t just install these either, you also need to factor in how that then affects air flow.

Where I work they’re also working on getting UV light in the air system.

I highly doubt any of these places have this set up. With limited capacity I think this is less of an issue...at full capacity? Yeah I dunno...

 

I have a membership at the dank, basement, WOW gym in Medford. I'm personally not stepping foot in that place for now, but if that windowless swamp doesn't become a hot spot I suppose it will say something about gym safety.

 

Ha, me too!

"Windowless swamp" is the perfect description of that place. I've been tempted just to stroll through to see what they've done with it since opening, but I'm honestly having better workouts at home than I got there.

I'll still go back at some point, but I'm in absolutely no rush.

 

I was a member there back in 2001-2002ish. sounds like it hasn't changed much.

 

No kidding! I would have thought that was far too humble of a place for a man of your means

 

Sometimes I slum it with the heathens...

...aka, it's a short walk from my apartment.

I also like grittier gyms, I don't need a ton of fancy crap. Just some treadmills so I can run indoors if the weather sucks, and some heavy weights.