@loveorangecats I will not be too concerned if you are only there one night. If you have a choice, stay in chains like Hilton or Marriott where you can do keyless check-in and out. We stayed in Hampton Inn or Hilton whenever we could and never saw anyone. They do takeaway breakfast boxes and coffee instead of their usual breakfasts. I notice most travellers are very good at mask compliance except for one gentleman, when reminded to put on a mask at the front desk, told the clerk he was from Florida where nobody wore masks!
My observation of Idaho was based only on a lunch stop near Idaho Falls. We chose to do take out, ate in the park, and wore masks to navigate around the groups taking pictures. God helps those who help themselves, as the saying goes.
Thank you for your response. This really makes me feel much better. I would avoid the travel if possible, but I need to get my D19 up to her summer research position.
We reserved a Fairfield Inn (Marriott) in Pocatello for one night and the keyless check in and check out is something I hadnāt even thought of. Thatās a relief. I admit that I saw your post and was ready to find an alternate route through Utah. I think Iāll stick with the shorter route and just avoid as many people as possible!
You donāt have to wear a mask outside unless youāre in a big crowd. I donāt know what the definition of a crowd is since Iām still avoiding that situation.
Outside of visiting family in LA, we mostly visited national parks so perhaps these areas have higher mask compliance due to federal laws and tourism reliance? Even the independent small inns follow strict covid guidance. Bodega Bay up to the Redwoods coastline has the strictest. I think the towns are remote, the closest hospitals at least an hour or two away, so maybe they impose more restrictions.
We could not visit Monument Valley since Navajo Nation closed all their parks. We stopped at a grocery store on tribal land and were impressed that we got our temperature checked and requested to use hand sanitizer upon entry.
You need to download the app, then you can check in and choose your room (this is for the Hilton but we have stayed in Marriott and I think itās a similar process). If you are concerned, choose a room on the end, near the stairway, so you donāt have to walk thru the corridor.
People forget this and use comparisons to attempt to show that preventative measures in NY did not work. But the huge differences between states in demographics and timeline mean that comparisons are largely meaningless.
For example, about 40-50% of those early deaths in NY were people who lived in nursing homes (LTC). Our governor obscured the real number by not counting LTC residents as LTC deaths if they died in the hospital. Prevention measures, such as shut-downs, distancing rules and mask ordinances do not apply to those deaths.
You canāt have shut-downs and distancing in facilities where people need high levels of hands-on care. Masks and Covid testing were simply not available in the first months. They didnāt even have enough PPE in the hospitals.
Another thing to keep in mind is that 55% of NY Stateās Covid deaths occurred in the five boroughs of NYC, the most densely populated city in the US. (About 1 in every 38 people living in America lives in NYC.) Imagine how much worse the death toll would have been if NY had not instituted mask ordinances, shut-downs and distancing.
I am so very grateful for the vaccine. The seven day death averages in January were around 200, and now, it is 39. Looking forward to making a vaccine appointment for my 15 year old on Tuesday!
And FYI my 30,000 did not include the previously obscured LTC numbers. I just wrote down what was on the site on the day. It really is staggering just how bad it was. And how bad it could have been nationwide.
Perhaps we can cut NY a break since it was the first major outbreak, but comparisons of say, California and Florida seem relevant. If anything, Florida surely has an older population, but seemed to do better this winter. Of course, Florida also rolled out the vaccine very quickly, which likely kept deaths down as early as January.
Florida is at or near the top (1-3) recently for both most daily new cases and new deaths though. Iāve been checking daily on Worldometer since the emergency was considered āoverā in the state. Itās been a bit frustrating knowing many go to that state, then return home, some of those likely taking the virus with them.
Checking on a weekend is pretty pointless since many states donāt do much data collection, but I can look at yesterdayās numbers (Friday) and Florida (4165) again topped the list with 2000 more new cases than CA (2166) - #7 for most, but CA also has the largest population and this isnāt per capita. CAās population is almost twice FLās.
Michigan gets second for new cases. Texas gets it for deaths, but again, they have a large population.
Unfortunately my own state of PA is often in the Top 5 for both which doesnāt surprise me with the views of many around me and oodles of our state political folks.
PA has our own too. I have it on my phone. I like that I can get county and zip code current numbers (7 days) where I live.
The problem with FL and its sheer numbers of cases still being quite high (now) is that folks vacation there, then head home. It doesnāt really matter per capita when the actual numbers are high in a tourist state.
Iāve walked into multiple CVS stores here in MA recently. In every case, the vaccine check in person is sitting around, checking their phone, waiting for appointments to show up. To me, at this point, vaccinations should be walk-ins, appointments not required. It seems that there is plenty of vaccine for anybody who wants one. Too bad those who are left have to be convinced that immunity is a good thing.
I think I read our CVSs have transitioned to walk ins. I havenāt looked lately, but we have had plenty of open appointments for over 2 months now. They closed our mass clinic last week. But one thing I wondered: Moderna and Pfizer have to be thawed. How many do you thaw if you are doing walk-ins? Or are they just doing J&J that way?
Just scheduled my D24 for her appointment this Saturday! In NJ, the mega sites are allowing scheduling for the 12-15 age group, but the pharmacies have not yet changed their eligibility requirements. Appointment is about an hour away. Iām hopeful that CVS or Walgreens will open up for scheduling in the next day or so and I can get her an appointment much closer. I wanted to have one on the books, though.
Our local high school, middle school and a consortium of local pediatric practices are all hosting vaccine clinics for 12-15 year olds starting Thursday. The young man who started the Chicago vaccine angels group and who just turned 15 is planning on being one of the first in his age group to get the vaccine.
Here in NY, no one is taking appointments for 12-15. The state sites have hundreds of appointments this weekend, but as soon as you put in a birthday under 16, the system tells you youāre not eligible.
Walgreens and CVS also block anyone under 16 from making an appointment. None of our local pharmacies have Pfizer. I hope we only have to wait a couple more days before we can schedule!