Thursday, March 19, 2020

Picking the businesses to damage:

So here in Indiana, Restaurants are closed to eat-in traffic (take out only). Bars are supposed to be closed (not all are complying) Movie theaters are closed.

Now this seems like a good idea to prevent the spread of Covid-19 (even though it appears that the death rate is MUCH lower than promised...lower, in fact than the Swine Flu/H1N1 of 2009) by limiting the amount of time people spend in public. Limiting the number of contacts that they have with other people...

However:

Lots of other businesses are unaffected by closure orders, however. All also could be vectors for the transmissions of disease.

Home Depot stores are open. Also Lowes. Also Best Buy. Also the Cell phone stores. Staples office supplies. All are high traffic stores where LOTS of people interact, pass close to each other, and touch things with their (often grimy and infected) hands.

Why are these places still allowed to be open? The risk of contact with someone in a Lowes store, or a Best Buy is just as high as in a restaurant...probably as high as in a bar. Less of an issue than in a crowded bus or subway car...which services are still operating.

So, I ask. Why are SOME places closed and not others. One could make the argument that the grocery stores are a necessity...one could stretch it to include the rest of the Walmart SuperCenters and the like (Target, Meier, etc).  One could argue that the pharmacies need to be open. Gas stations, yes. But the Convenience store part of most gas stations is NOT a needful, emergency, essential part of commerce. Nor is the rest of the drugstore.....Nor the rest of the WalMart or Target that sells shoes, clothes, pillowcases, sporting goods and makeup.

Liquor stores are open. Yes, for some, a ready supply of wine or hard liquor is a lifestyle requirement, but not a necessity for life.

What criteria are the government using to decide what businesses are damaged by closure and what businesses are not? 

1 comment:

joetote said...

Here in Nevada, all non-essential businesses are closed now. What's essential? The effin stadium construction for the Raiders. GEEZ