Rt does not get talked about a lot. It is the measure of a virus’s ability to reproduce. If Rt is above 1, the virus will spread. If it is below 1, the virus will stop spreading. Healthcare experts have been telling us since March that people needed to shelter-in-place to get Rt below 1. Once it was below one, we could start slowly reopening.
Rt isn't the only thing that doesn't get talked about much. The reporters mostly just assume it is all safe and secure when we are sheltering in place. But, it's not that way for everyone. I believe Gov. Kemp has kept in mind the negative side of putting a family together with both parents out of work, money running short, children running everywhere, and stress overwhelming people. Alcohol sales has gone way up. I'm fairly certain that personal safety has gone down for some people. I believe that is a major reason he kept outdoor exercise open throughout the shelter-in-place period. For many spouses and children, opening up work is more than just bringing in a paycheck. It's bringing back some safety.
As one of the thousands of self-employed who were shut down by the emergency orders, but promised assistance, I’m just frustrated by this and feel completely abandoned. The one-person operators were turned away for the SBA program because we don’t have formal payroll records. The state Dept of Labor never put a system into place to process applications for unemployment benefits for us. And now that we can legally re-open as of April 24, we no longer qualify for the federally-funded assistance programs. Meanwhile, our potential clients are being told to continue sheltering in place.
Those of us in salon-type businesses (I’m a massage therapist) cannot maintain distance from our clients, so, no surprise, clients are not yet comfortable with the idea of returning.
To add to the insult, in the Governor’s guidelines we are told we must wear masks - but it’s only suggested for our clients. The mask protects those around the wearer, not the wearer.
Governor Kemp didn’t help us, he kicked us to the curb.
This isn't about Governor Kemp. His decision to act without the knowledge or agreement of the greater leadership community is an epic fail and one he will not escape in 2022. The real story is about those thousands of folks who are now forced to return to jobs despite serious health threats. If they don't, business owners will no longer qualify for rent/lease assistance or small business loans. Employees no longer qualify for unemployment benefits. So, they MUST return to jobs with few to no patrons because Georgia's coffers are empty and Kemp isn't willing to explain the need to increase taxes to his "taxation is theft" base. This won't end well.
Yes, that is the case. Employees will be left with the task of "proving" they have a valid reason for not returning to work (whatever that means). Fear is not a valid reason according to the GA Department of Labor. And, for those who do manage to prove they deserve to continue receiving unemployment, who will pay - the state or the employer? And, what about those businesses that must bring their employees back but don't have enough business to meet payroll. Will they continue to receive assistance? Kemp needs to address these concerns in clear, concise terms and it should have been done WELL in advance of a return-to-work directive.
It is difficult to get the public's understanding of complex data patterns and issues. Charts sometimes work, but don't contribute to widespread understanding and acceptance of the message (remember Ross Perot). And now, several weeks/months into this event, and the leaders are not clearly communicating the basis of decisions being made, or the fuzzy data trends caused by delayed critical results, and are creating additional anxiety for the general public's understanding. This provides an opportunity for their opposition to distort and take advantage of a gullible public opinion at a crucial time, when their patience and frustration have been worn thin by an overload of details regarding very complex issues, that quite frankly are extremely boring at times. The opposition has an opportunity to create 'click-bait' of all decisions made, and that can be very bad for the future of anyone who depends on votes to be employed. Unless, of course, there are no mistakes made and the results prove the decision process was accurate. Hopefully, time and results prove which of our leaders deserve to continue as our leaders. I like Kemp....even my 90 year old mother-in-law, a staunch lifelong liberal, has declared that his leadership has been sound and she would vote for him. Only time will tell.
We need to continue to pray for our leaders!
Thanks Erick for your continuous clarification, honesty, and faith!
I support the governor And respect him and respect him in his actions and what he is trying to do with the knowledge that he has been given but at the same point in time Me and my family are going to continue shelter in place for at least one or two more weeks
I would think that Mayors city Council and County commissions could keep businesses close in there cities, community, and county’s if they wanted to but I believe that most of them don’t want to lead they want some body else to make the decision so they can’t be blame on anything going wrong and for the Democrat they like to use this time to scare people and try to undermine the governor and president to push there agenda
Erick: Thanks for the info on GA. Do you know if other states are posting new cases/day? I know PA now has a map of cases by zip-code, which is also helpful, but it doesn't seem to have data about when new cases are appearing or even better where they are appearing. I know South Korea has an online website that shows where Corona patients are located to the street address as well as how long each patient has been in quarantine. I also know Germany eased up on their shelter-at-home restrictions on Monday in order to reopen many businesses on Monday, and they had 1388 new cases yesterday, compared to Georgia's 23 new cases, so per capita Georgia with 10 million residents is a much lower Corona risk than Germany with 83 million residents. It is not a question of whether it would be safer from a Corona perspective to shelter-in-home indefinitely, as that is certainly true. But rather whether the economic consequences of shutting down supply lines and leaving massive amounts of people unemployed for an indefinite period is even more risky.
Thanks for mentioning the zip code data! I hadn't seen it, and rumors are rife here about our case numbers. Now I can point people to the map, even if it doesn't include the missing data. Much appreciated.
I guess I am going to trust that the Governor has made the right decision. Maybe he should have gotten buy-in from local officials and the public. However, because of the bias you mention, many of them are going to disagree with any decision he makes.
In the end, I believe that God is in control and he put Governor Kemp in place at this time for a purpose.
There is still a lot of resentment that Kemp denied a bunch of Atlanta United fans their moment of virtue signaling. (not being a soccer fan what is this comment about)
Inside joke -- lots of upper income white people in Atlanta who suddenly became soccer fans when they decided the NFL was too brutal. They lean left, but claim to be conservative. They've just never actually voted that way.
Rt isn't the only thing that doesn't get talked about much. The reporters mostly just assume it is all safe and secure when we are sheltering in place. But, it's not that way for everyone. I believe Gov. Kemp has kept in mind the negative side of putting a family together with both parents out of work, money running short, children running everywhere, and stress overwhelming people. Alcohol sales has gone way up. I'm fairly certain that personal safety has gone down for some people. I believe that is a major reason he kept outdoor exercise open throughout the shelter-in-place period. For many spouses and children, opening up work is more than just bringing in a paycheck. It's bringing back some safety.
As one of the thousands of self-employed who were shut down by the emergency orders, but promised assistance, I’m just frustrated by this and feel completely abandoned. The one-person operators were turned away for the SBA program because we don’t have formal payroll records. The state Dept of Labor never put a system into place to process applications for unemployment benefits for us. And now that we can legally re-open as of April 24, we no longer qualify for the federally-funded assistance programs. Meanwhile, our potential clients are being told to continue sheltering in place.
Those of us in salon-type businesses (I’m a massage therapist) cannot maintain distance from our clients, so, no surprise, clients are not yet comfortable with the idea of returning.
To add to the insult, in the Governor’s guidelines we are told we must wear masks - but it’s only suggested for our clients. The mask protects those around the wearer, not the wearer.
Governor Kemp didn’t help us, he kicked us to the curb.
Nice job, Erick. You look both ways when informing your readers. Much appreciated.
This isn't about Governor Kemp. His decision to act without the knowledge or agreement of the greater leadership community is an epic fail and one he will not escape in 2022. The real story is about those thousands of folks who are now forced to return to jobs despite serious health threats. If they don't, business owners will no longer qualify for rent/lease assistance or small business loans. Employees no longer qualify for unemployment benefits. So, they MUST return to jobs with few to no patrons because Georgia's coffers are empty and Kemp isn't willing to explain the need to increase taxes to his "taxation is theft" base. This won't end well.
No, actually that's not the case. The Governor's office is making sure to structure the order so that unemployment will not be affected.
Yes, that is the case. Employees will be left with the task of "proving" they have a valid reason for not returning to work (whatever that means). Fear is not a valid reason according to the GA Department of Labor. And, for those who do manage to prove they deserve to continue receiving unemployment, who will pay - the state or the employer? And, what about those businesses that must bring their employees back but don't have enough business to meet payroll. Will they continue to receive assistance? Kemp needs to address these concerns in clear, concise terms and it should have been done WELL in advance of a return-to-work directive.
It is difficult to get the public's understanding of complex data patterns and issues. Charts sometimes work, but don't contribute to widespread understanding and acceptance of the message (remember Ross Perot). And now, several weeks/months into this event, and the leaders are not clearly communicating the basis of decisions being made, or the fuzzy data trends caused by delayed critical results, and are creating additional anxiety for the general public's understanding. This provides an opportunity for their opposition to distort and take advantage of a gullible public opinion at a crucial time, when their patience and frustration have been worn thin by an overload of details regarding very complex issues, that quite frankly are extremely boring at times. The opposition has an opportunity to create 'click-bait' of all decisions made, and that can be very bad for the future of anyone who depends on votes to be employed. Unless, of course, there are no mistakes made and the results prove the decision process was accurate. Hopefully, time and results prove which of our leaders deserve to continue as our leaders. I like Kemp....even my 90 year old mother-in-law, a staunch lifelong liberal, has declared that his leadership has been sound and she would vote for him. Only time will tell.
We need to continue to pray for our leaders!
Thanks Erick for your continuous clarification, honesty, and faith!
I support the governor And respect him and respect him in his actions and what he is trying to do with the knowledge that he has been given but at the same point in time Me and my family are going to continue shelter in place for at least one or two more weeks
I would think that Mayors city Council and County commissions could keep businesses close in there cities, community, and county’s if they wanted to but I believe that most of them don’t want to lead they want some body else to make the decision so they can’t be blame on anything going wrong and for the Democrat they like to use this time to scare people and try to undermine the governor and president to push there agenda
Erick: Thanks for the info on GA. Do you know if other states are posting new cases/day? I know PA now has a map of cases by zip-code, which is also helpful, but it doesn't seem to have data about when new cases are appearing or even better where they are appearing. I know South Korea has an online website that shows where Corona patients are located to the street address as well as how long each patient has been in quarantine. I also know Germany eased up on their shelter-at-home restrictions on Monday in order to reopen many businesses on Monday, and they had 1388 new cases yesterday, compared to Georgia's 23 new cases, so per capita Georgia with 10 million residents is a much lower Corona risk than Germany with 83 million residents. It is not a question of whether it would be safer from a Corona perspective to shelter-in-home indefinitely, as that is certainly true. But rather whether the economic consequences of shutting down supply lines and leaving massive amounts of people unemployed for an indefinite period is even more risky.
Thanks for mentioning the zip code data! I hadn't seen it, and rumors are rife here about our case numbers. Now I can point people to the map, even if it doesn't include the missing data. Much appreciated.
I guess I am going to trust that the Governor has made the right decision. Maybe he should have gotten buy-in from local officials and the public. However, because of the bias you mention, many of them are going to disagree with any decision he makes.
In the end, I believe that God is in control and he put Governor Kemp in place at this time for a purpose.
There is still a lot of resentment that Kemp denied a bunch of Atlanta United fans their moment of virtue signaling. (not being a soccer fan what is this comment about)
Inside joke -- lots of upper income white people in Atlanta who suddenly became soccer fans when they decided the NFL was too brutal. They lean left, but claim to be conservative. They've just never actually voted that way.
We’ll see. Hard to be confident in the data with so few tests.