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At the risk.of feeding the trolls, the problem with that quote is that it appears to be fundamentally irrelevant to a response to a global health disaster. I dont prefer wealth than liberty. I prefer not to be responsible for spreading a highly infectious and lethal disease and therefore I exercise my personal responsibility to follow the advice of medical experts.

What local gaming scene? Dead in the water since Covid hit.

Well, our local scene here is dead.
Our local retailer where we used to play has opened since last week but only 1 customer at a time can enter the shop.
No playing there. I think this will last until summer.

One store here has gotten lots of traffic since it still has games. The other three locally are open but no games because muh paranoia. With luck people will come to their senses about this and if the choose to take extra precautions that's on them and not push it on everybody (similar to how you already had people wear masks outside long before covid if they were sick). High infection is a concern only for certain demographics and professions, who absolutely should take necessary precautions if they interact with lots of randos daily or are/live with people at risk. A 99.7% survival rate doesn't warrant mass paranoia or suiciding your economy "for your safety" and certainly doesn't warrant the "sky is falling were all going to die" response you've seen.

I'm sorry to say it but the wargaming demographic is potentially one of those that has to be most careful. A friend of mine made the comment "This virus kills fat dudes", which wasn't meant to be humerous the data does back that up. Add to that that so many gaming venues are in poorly ventilated areas and that you can potentially be within one environment for hours - this isn't even the food shop where you are getting in and out in 10 minutes, you are literally stood or sat opposite someone for a period of time, masks or not the % goes up the longer you are in proximity - especially when the one guy's mask is a skull and crossbones flag that is just wrapped around his face. Plus the guys that always stand at your table pointing out what you should have done or if you have read a rule incorrectly? If I were a Covid virus, I honestly don't think I could ask for a better environment to be in.

Wayniac wrote:
One store here has gotten lots of traffic since it still has games. The other three locally are open but no games because muh paranoia. With luck people will come to their senses about this and if the choose to take extra precautions that's on them and not push it on everybody (similar to how you already had people wear masks outside long before covid if they were sick). High infection is a concern only for certain demographics and professions, who absolutely should take necessary precautions if they interact with lots of randos daily or are/live with people at risk. A 99.7% survival rate doesn't warrant mass paranoia or suiciding your economy "for your safety" and certainly doesn't warrant the "sky is falling were all going to die" response you've seen.

Wayniac wrote:
One store here has gotten lots of traffic since it still has games. The other three locally are open but no games because muh paranoia. With luck people will come to their senses about this and if the choose to take extra precautions that's on them and not push it on everybody (similar to how you already had people wear masks outside long before covid if they were sick). High infection is a concern only for certain demographics and professions, who absolutely should take necessary precautions if they interact with lots of randos daily or are/live with people at risk. A 99.7% survival rate doesn't warrant mass paranoia or suiciding your economy "for your safety" and certainly doesn't warrant the "sky is falling were all going to die" response you've seen.

Careful, they don't like it here when you actually know the science and point out the facts if it goes against the manufactured fear narrative. especially since you are in Florida where things are so "bad".....

Also apparently a fact dated 13th Jan 2021.

"COVID pushes Orlando area ICU beds to near capacity"

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.orlandosentinel.com/coronavirus/os-ne-coronavirus-orlando-hospital-cases-20210113-h7eu5zydqngxbfprt5go3gtaoa-story.html%3foutputType=amp


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And 32,000 deaths in florida, some of which could potentially have been avoided by people staying apart for.just a bit longer.

"actually know the science" my ass.

If you actually knew the science you would understand that "taking extra precautions" on an individual basis is insufficient to guard against the spread of the virus, and you could take every individual precaution in the book (short of becoming a complete shut-in recluse) and *still* end up infected by illness. That includes those certain demographics and professions who interact with lots of randos daily or are/live with people who are at risk - they can wear all the masks, face shields, and rubber gloves they want, but if you walk by them maskless they are at a higher risk of infection from you then you are from them. Think about that for a bit. If I wear a mask and you don't I am still several times more likely to be infected by COVID than I would be if we both wore masks. Science tells us that if at least 80% of the population wore masks at all times and observed 6 foot separation in a public settings there would be no need for lockdowns as that alone would effectively reduce commuinty transmission to near zero. The science is pretty clear that this is not a "solve it on an individual basis" type problem.

If you actually knew the science you would understand that infection rates are fairly consistent across all age groups and demographics, and what actually varies is largely the development of symptomatic infections - which increases the risks to others further as its hard for individuals in an at-risk category to take necessary precautions in certain circumstances, such as when they co-habitate with people (like their children or grandchildren) who are asymptomatic spreaders.

If you actually understood the science you would understand that a 99.7% survival rate is still 984 thousand dead Americans, and mortality has a cost. The value of a statistical life is estimated between $7 million, and $10 million per life, that almost 1 million preventable/premature deaths comes with an economic burden of $7.5 - $9.8 trillion which needs to be absorbed within a relatively short timeframe on top of the typical losses resulting from old age and background levels of injury. That doesn't even begin to account for the economic burden that will result from the estimated 2-4% of all infections that will suffer long-term complications and consequences, nor does it account for the nth order cost burden resulting from the healthcare system, alongside various other industries, being forced into shutdown as a result of large numbers of people no longer being productive citizens for some period within a very small window of time. Numerous economists, including leading conservative think tanks, have all pretty much come to the mathematical conclusion that doing nothing about the virus would be more economically disastrous than a prolonged total lockdown of the country (the likes of which the US has not seen).

While I'm at it, funny how the line is "wish people would come to their senses and choose to take extra precautions if they want to instead of forcing others to do so" but anyone who does take such precautions, such as the proprietors of the three local game stores who aren't allowing gaming, are accused of paranoia. Sounds a lot like trying to force people into not taking precautions to me. Theres a word for that - hypocrisy.

The statistics are truly sobering. More American deaths from covid, despite cover ups, than American combat deaths in ww ii. A true humanitarian crisis.

This being said I will play the devils advocate. Increasingly human life is devalued. More and more people are out of work and are not viewed as an asset to the economy. The deaths occur more frequently in older age groups that are viewed as a drain on the economy (they no longer work.) The mega corporations are making a killing with the pandemic. Even insurance companies think it is great. When people do not go out there is lower risk of accidents, not seeing doctors, etc. Not to get too deep into politics, but covid makes it easy for officials to shift money to their buddies. Thus, as far as big business and government is concerned covid is great. Hence in the USA we are allowed to run around fairly freely.