malem
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Posts posted by malem
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23 minutes ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said:
Kind of hard to compare a country like the US with any of those European countries. Our population is so massive compared to any of them that we are bound to have a significantly sharper increase on a chart measuring the number of cases.
China is included on that chart as well, so there's more to it than population size. We're still at a relatively low number compared to our population, but that will quickly change if our trajectory does not.
That graph is on a logarithmic scale, so a constant slope represents an exponential rise. If we see strict social distancing, the line should start to level off as it has with other countries, as each person who is infected has fewer interactions to spread it.
Since our response has been slower than other countries, time really is of the essence to make this happen.
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Our trajectory thus far doesn't look good. Let's all hope the curve gets flattened soon.
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Here's a very interesting look at infection models with different mitigation strategies, looking specifically at how long the strictest lockdown measures might need to last:
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56
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A manufacturer of smart thermometers is publishing aggregated data of recorded fevers by region. A heat map is available, and the current data (as of March 19) is interesting: https://healthweather.us/
To be clear, the hot spots on the map are not necessarily caused by COVID-19. Still, the last place I'd want to be right now is a beach in Florida.
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Gov. DeWine said that the National Guard is currently involved with helping with tasks like construct temporary triage tents at emergency rooms and delivering supplies. He said that Ohioans would know before he deployed the National Guard, if that were to happen. His press briefings are scheduled for 2:00pm each day, and they are available live or for replay here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCporaXCeaOJgZKz7y3C0zbg/feed
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When you buy any pass or ticket in advance, you are essentially providing an unsecured loan to the park. Cedar Fair generally makes up for the risk by offering healthy discounts and bonus perks for renewing early. In exchange, they get revenue to pay expenses over the off-season. Refunding everyone's pass would not be possible; that money has already been spent.
Even if all my 2020 season pass products end up being completely worthless, I would have saved a lot more over the years between discounts and perks (eg. Fast Lane Plus wristbands, ERT nights, bring-a-friend) than I would lose this year.
That said, to promote good customer service and communicate the great value offered by season passes, I expect most seasonal parks to "make it right" to the extent possible.
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4 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:
A little off topic, but Fox19 posted on Facebook about a rumor that there were military people at Kings Island. They did say they couldn't see it, but I don't know how much truth there is to this.
Chad called that out as false on Twitter.
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Gov. Mike DeWine is currently giving his daily press briefing. Earlier, they showed an updated chart with an approximation of when cases will spike with and without various types of physical intervention, assuming no pharmaceutical intervention is available.
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If the hotel is closed or if you have good reason to believe they won't honor your reservation, a chargeback may be appropriate. At this point, though, many hotels are still open and would win a credit card dispute.
Most hotels are independently owned and operated, even if they carry a national brand. Whether refunds are offered in extenuating circumstances often depends on the property owner. With all the cancellations due to COVID-19, hotels might not have enough cash on hand to offer refunds no matter how much they would like to.
In these trying times, it's hard to put blame on most businesses in the midst of a 100-year pandemic.
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^ They're still shown on the site, but they aren't currently available to apply for. If you click to start the application process, you get an error.
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I would not expect refunds of passes to be possible anywhere in the industry except maybe Disney, as most of the money earned on prepaid season pass products has likely been spent. Depending on how long this goes on, we might see amusement parks lengthening the validity of passes or offering special discounts on renewals.
Looking at the Cedar Fair job site, it appears that Kings Island positions are no longer available to apply for as of this afternoon. This is a change from last night. This would be expected, since it's impossible to offer a job without a known start date, and the CDC recommendations covering mass gatherings stretch beyond the scheduled Opening Day.
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^ It appears to be on at the moment, but I would expect further legal action with respect to the primary. The news moves fast these days.
With all the confusion amid the current crises, I think it's highly likely that in-person voting, mail-in voting, or both are somehow extended beyond tomorrow.
In the good news department, the first clinical trials of a candidate vaccine have begun, though the estimate is still 12-18 months for availability assuming they are successful. Other candidate vaccines are in development around the world.
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The order in San Fransisco and surrounding areas is that all residents stay at home except for essential work or for other essential needs (including food). Failure to comply will be a misdemeanor, and the order is currently set to last 3 weeks, from midnight tonight until April 7. Homeless individuals are exempt from the order to stay home.
The more everyone can comply with existing restrictions, the less severe future restrictions will need to be to keep the curve "flattened".
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4 hours ago, disco2000 said:
For the time being, that is a yes but he said that could change...
For reference, here's the full text of the ODH order on restaurants/bars, pulled from the Ohio Restaurant Association website:
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The CDC now recommends that for the next 8 weeks, in-person events of 50+ people be cancelled or postponed throughout the US. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/mass-gatherings-ready-for-covid-19.html
8 weeks from now would be Sunday, May 10.
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Carry-out and delivery will still be allowed, for now, as long as there is no congregation.
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Governor DeWine said this morning that it will not surprise him if schools are closed for the rest of the school year.
Meanwhile, Italy reported 3.497 new cases yesterday, citing irresponsible behavior by citizens who continue to congregate despite the national lockdown.
Seeing South Korea and China (hopefully) nearing the tail end of this is very good news - but it's looking like we'll all need to adjust to a new normal for awhile if we are to beat this.
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Please avoid politics and keep the conversation civil.
This type of situation is unprecedented in most of our lifetimes, so apprehension and confusion are to be expected. The fact is that this is a novel (new) virus that has overwhelmed the hospital systems of many countries. Models indicate exponential spread much greater than that of the cold or flu, making early action critical. We don't yet know what impact the US decisions to pause many aspects of daily life will have on the virus. These measures are designed to buy time to roll out testing infrastructure and measure the impact on health systems.
We all have different opinions on how leaders around the country and world have reacted, but let's stay focused on the facts and what impact COVID-19 is having on the amusement park industry.
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It's true that many coronaviruses cause common colds, but others were responsible for SARS (9.6% fatality rate) and MERS (34% fatality rate).
It's unfortunate that COVID-19, a coronavirus, was coined "Coronavirus".
Comic: XKCD https://xkcd.com/2275/
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27 minutes ago, ThrillKingsFitzy said:
They should put in a new system where you are tested for the virus before entering the park.
Testing for the virus itself wouldn't be possible, as the test takes hours and capacity for testing is limited. The amusement park industry could theoretically follow the cruise industry in adopting health screenings for symptoms like cough and fever, but the risk is a lot lower in an open air park versus sharing a boat for a week with thousands of crew and guests.
According to the CDC, people are most likely to spread the virus after they're showing symptoms, at which point most are hopefully heeding the advice of public health officials and staying home.
Just now, flightoffear1996 said:Guys this isn't much more than a cold. I am sure there is a lot of people that have it or had that didn't even know. Wash your hands and move on with your day. We can't shelter from everything.
Personally, I'm a lot more worried about potentially spreading it to others than about getting seriously ill from the virus myself. It's quite dangerous to vulnerable populations, and it does have the capability of making even otherwise healthy people very ill.
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14 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:
I wonder how long it will take the local k-12 districts to follow. I can’t think of any significant environmental differences between the two settings. Dorms but they are not closing those.
The Avon Schools district near Indianapolis is closed for the next four weeks after two positive cases. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2020/03/09/coronavirus-closes-avons-hickory-elementary/4998572002/
I could see amusement parks cutting back on spring weekdays if schools start cancelling field trips.
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Ohio State has moved in-person classes online through at least March 30. They have yet to announce what will happen with labs that can't take place online. https://www.thelantern.com/2020/03/ohio-state-suspends-classes-until-march-30-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak/
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Kennywood announced at yesterday's ACE CoasterBash event that the Garfield's Nightmare overlay on the Old Mill ride is being removed. The new theme for the ride has yet to be announced.
Here's a video of the announcement from a Reddit user:
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Seasonal employees at seasonal establishments are generally exempt from FLSA overtime rules. If this wasn't the case, staffing long hours at amusement parks would be a lot harder.
I can't find any information about what this employee's classification was or what the specific claims in the lawsuit are.
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Coronavirus Impacting Theme Parks
in Kings Island
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Here's an interesting account from a medical worker in New Orleans, which is currently experiencing a surge of cases. Some even relatively young patients there experiencing respiratory failure. Follow guidelines from your health officials and stay safe, everyone!
https://www.propublica.org/article/a-medical-worker-describes--terrifying-lung-failure-from-covid19-even-in-his-young-patients