There are conflicting data and opinions for much of this, so there's considerable uncertainty, and each person's situation is different with respect to age, comorbidities, and life circumstances, so people will kind of need to decide for themselves what they want to do. If not comfortable with the risks, don't get into a car with someone else, or don't go to the events at all.

I personally am not willing to get in the right seat of a car, but am comfortable going to events where people maintain at least say 3' with masks and 6' without masks. My chance of dying if I get infected seems to be low enough, but there seem to be a significant percentage of people, both young and old, who "recover" but have long-term problems, some of which could be permanent, and this latter risk is a significant concern.

 

Well - you gotta choose your battles. If, for example, you live for instructing drivers on the race track in the passenger seat, and you are willing to get sick to do it. Then I say, you are an adult, and being aware of the risks, you can make your own choice. That being said, there might not be a hospital bed available for you when you need it during certain times of this pandemic. But, that's your choice.
For me - nah - I'll pass on this risk. I have other risks that I do take, and for me, consider to be worth it.

 

3. Any activity preceded by "hold my beer - watch this!


Luigi, your posts usually make me chuckle but this line made me laugh out loud.
Great list.

 

Hi All,

Part of my question involved how you manage this with your family / partner / whatever.

I understand that some folks have a 'Damn the torpedoes' mentality, and that is fine, but what about the risk you may inadvertently pose to others.

The other point is that, nobody really knows what this virus will do. We don't really understand all the transmission mechanisms, and as mentioned symptoms range from nothing to death...

That said, I am not exactly cavalier about this, but I am by no means sitting in a corner whimpering someplace... I am trying to understand the balance that others strike.

Ray

 

All joking aside, I don't think it is a cavalier decision.

I am balancing the risk of one person for all day versus the multiple people you walk right past if you go food shopping or to Home Depot.

If you haven't left your house since March and get everything delivered I understand the reticence to get in a car with a student. But even if you are cautious like me there is a certain amount of risk in going into a store.

Everyone has different health risks and should make their own choices.

 

My apologies, nothing I am writing is meant to be judgemental, when I was implying is that I still have dinner with friends, go for dog walks with folks, but well controlled situations. I am curious about cars and excited people, and what that means for folks...

I was on a dive trip in late February just as this mess was starting up, so I guess my risk tolerance is in general pretty high...

Here in MA, you can't go into a store of any sort without a mask. and stores are pretty diligent about managing separation, but MA (like others) has been hit pretty hard, so HD, grocery stores, etc which I go to fairly often, are somewhat well managed...

Ray

 

Probably a lot of variability in that, due to variability in personal and family situations.

My family is being pretty cautious until this virus is better understood, treatments improve, and hopefully we have vaccines. Most things we need to buy are delivered, and we wear masks when shopping at stores. We haven't dined in at restaurants, but we do a lot of carry-out. My daughter is allowed to have friends come over and visit, but they stay in the garage with 6' min distance, no masks, and garage doors open (we have couches and video in the garage), and her friends are allowed to use the basement bathroom. We got together once outdoors with extended family, but maintained distance and wore masks, otherwise we do a lot of Zoom calls. When hiking and trail running, we don't wear masks, but try to maintain as much distance as the trails allow when passing people. We're also taking a variety of supplements to help fortify our immune systems.

My wife and I both drive on the track, so we're both on the same page as far as understanding the desirability of going to track. Limiting factor right now is not wanting to stay in hotels, rather than risk of virus transmission at the track.

 

Which is why I said "injured" by COVID. :-)
First of all...I race. Much higher incident rate than a Novice day. If that's all you do - Novice days - then yes I would agree you have virtually zero chance of an issue. But I race and DE a 1974 car - there are a myriad of things that can go wrong at 145 mph - brake failure, blown tire, blown engine causing a fire, detachable steering wheel coming off :-).... And to date, I've sadly personally known way more instructors that have died or been seriously injured while instructing a student than people that have died or been injured in some way due to COVID.

As far as in car instructing - I feel I would be statistically way safer in a one-on-one, open window, helmets-on environment than I am at the track as a vendor or in our store interacting with dozens of people all day. Or in Lowes/Home Depot/grocery store/walmart/etc where I can come in contact with dozens of other strange (walmart) people. You can't get COVID from someone that doesn't have it, and studies are showing that asymptomatic people are very unlikely to be able to transmit it. Plus, statistically the chances that the person sitting in the drivers seat has it is extremely low.

No doubt, COVID is serious. But we've chosen to move on with our lives with a level of caution. I respect others decisions and make sure they feel safe and comfortable when interacting with our business. But I am also willing to take the calculated risks involved to continue living life.

 

Hi Bob

I am not sure where you are getting your information, but this was a stand that the WHO was taking that is true for the flu, but many research types are saying is absolutely not true for Covid

from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejme2009758


Ray

 

What if you go food shipping AT the Home depot? Then the chances are much higher, yes?

 

I do buy beef jerky at the checkout all the time.

 

LOL.

When my kids were younger, they used to think Home Depot was the candy store because of the POP displays at the registers.

FYI, your pic above, behind Slapshot and 1 and 2, one of my favorite movies. One of the best endings ever....

 

Massachusetts has one of the best websites for information on Covid in their state: https://www.mass.gov/doc/covid-19-da...-2020/download

On Page 18 they report the 98.2% of people who have died have underlying conditions. That is a huge statistic in terms of knowing the risk.

 

Good data, and generally reassuring, but two questions:

- What counts as an "underlying condition"? I would expect that the vast majority of older people have at least one underlying condition, and a large percentage of middle-aged people too.

- What's the data for people having long-term problems after "recovery"? I haven't been able to find that data anywhere.

 

If you Google "covid-19 comorbidity" you can find lists. Diabetes, obesity, smoking, compromised immune system, etc.