23 thoughts on “GOVERNOR CUOMO LIFTS THE ORANGE AND YELLOW ZONE RESTRICTIONS!

  1. Jeff Meyerson

    Good. Numbers are definitely improving again in NYS after the Thanksgiving and Christmas increases. The thing we don’t get, and have never had a rational explanation for, is this: why have New York City restaurants been shut down for indoor dining when Long Island and other areas of the state with higher positivity rates have remained open? Restaurants (not bars where people stand around drinking for hours) are not (according to statistics) the ones pushing up the Covid numbers, any more than schools are, yet more and more have been driven out of business by banning indoor dining. It is finally reopening two weeks from now, on Valentines Day, but you have to wonder how many restaurants will have closed for good when this is all over.

    I hasten to add that we wouldn’t feel comfortable eating inside a restaurant until things get a lot better and until we get our vaccines.

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    1. george Post author

      Jeff, Diane and I agree that we won’t eat inside a restaurant until we get our second Covid-19 shot and it takes effect. And, even then, we might not feel comfortable about eating in a restaurant. The new State guidelines allow Western NY restaurants to have 50% occupancy and 10 patrons at a table. But, this might be too little, too late. Many of our local restaurants have gone out of business. Buffalo Public Schools are supposed to open to in-class teaching tomorrow. The Buffalo Teachers Union is fighting it saying the schools are not safe.

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  2. Deb

    Even after I’ve gotten the vaccine (which might be 2022 at the current rate), I won’t be voluntarily going to big events where (I anticipate) large swathes of the population will not be masked. Covid is showing itself to be unpredictable—and I’m trying hard not to be a statistic.

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    1. george Post author

      Deb, the Covid-19 variants are scary. But, there’s a push by politicians for “Normalcy.” There’s even talk of opening the International Bridges to Canada soon. They’ve been closed to regular traffic since March 2020.

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  3. Jerry House

    How will this impact the Covid rate, George?

    Off subject, I see in the yellow zone that it’s Colden, New York. It certainly is.

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    1. george Post author

      Jerry, our current temperature is 20 degrees, wind chill -7. Yes, it’s cold in Western NY!! Basically the Orange Zone and Yellow Zone restrictions on restaurants, schools, hair salons, and group events are relaxed. Our current infection rate is 5.2%. I’m guessing the Covid-19 vaccinations–8% of the area’s population have been vaccinated–is making a difference and causing the infection numbers to drop. How are things where you are?

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      1. Jerry House

        George, we are smack dab in the middle of the state’s highest Covid rate. I blame most of the state’s politicians and a certain resident of M**-a-L****.

  4. maggie mason

    Newsome here in Calif. apparently caved to demands to open up (there’s a recall petition going).

    I’m still not wanting to go back to normal, but I do wonder how outdoor dining is banned, when hair and nail salons are now able to open. I’ll be getting an appt for a haircut soon, as it’s a 1 person shop. I won’t be going back to my nail place as the woman who did my nails just wore a flimsy scarf last time I was there.

    What gets me is there are churches who are open and have been proved to be spreaders. Some are holding “events” in parks with few masks and no social distancing. Even strip clubs were allowed to open due to a lawsuit (socially distanced lap dancing needs to be explained) but an appeals court overruled that.

    If there had been real action taken in March, with consequences for not following guidelines, we might not be in this mess. Anyone should be required to wear a mask outside their home. (now they’re suggesting wearing 2 masks)

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    1. george Post author

      Maggie, Diane is wearing two masks when she goes out (which isn’t often). She wears a surgical mask and then covers it with a cloth mask. Like you, Diane and I are reluctant to go anywhere where me might get exposed. When we shop, we always go during Senior Citizen Hours where the stores are basically empty.

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  5. Michael Padgett

    I’m on a vaccine list run by Emory Healthcare and have been assured by people who should know that this will eventually lead to getting the shot, but I’m beginning to believe the actual date of the first shot will be somewhere around the 12th of Never.

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      1. Rick Robinson

        Sure, 65% effective shots. I want Pfizer. Of Modena. By the time they get to seniors in OR, who knows what they’ll be giving, but I don’t expect to be given a choice.

    1. george Post author

      Dan, two more weeks until we get our second Moderna shot. The only way we’re going to get out of this pandemic is to get as many people vaccinated as possible!

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  6. Patti Abbott

    If they can give two doses of the J & J, that would really speed things up. I have only heard that idea mentioned once (Fauci). Probably it was never tested out.

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  7. Jeff Meyerson

    My brother got his second Moderna shot this morning. Don’t know when we’ll get our first, and which one it will be.

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  8. Rick Robinson

    Glad things are so rosy in NY. Portland, OR, which is in Multnomah County, is in screaming Red, 1A and not likely to move out. They are doing the teachers, and health workers, and apparently anyone even remotely connected thereto, but otherwise not even 80 year-olds can get a vaccination shot. B A H ! !

    I’m fed up TO HERE with the whole effing thing, and the GOP As**oles in Congress aren’t helping. I’m so pissed it’s making me sick, and have had to stop watching any news.

    BTW, George, I have been listening to the CDs you sent along and they are soothing. Thanks so much!

    Reply

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