[ctmurray]

Originally Posted by dougjb

Since I am a snowbird and have limited insight into what is happening in The Villages now and for the rest of the fall,

I was wondering what is open in The Villages?

Are people taking precautions?

In that I mean, are people wearing masks regularly?

Are people distancing themselves?

Has there been much of an outbreak over the summer?

Any word as to future plans for the rec centers?

Any word as to club meetings and such?

Any rules regarding the pools?

Any rules regarding exercise classes?

I guess I have a lot of questions. But, I am really debating whether it is wise to come to The Villages this season. Rentals are expensive and I can only watch so many reruns of "Leave it to Beaver" as I did last spring.

Thanks for any insights!

With FL going to Phase 3 I expect nearly everything to be open eventually, some with extra Covid precautions. The announcement only suggests avoiding crowds, not applying any hard limits. Groups, restaurants and even the Villages are digesting the announcement, so I expect updates. You can get on the Villages email list and they send out a weekly bulletin. The Daily Sun also reports on any changes. Before this announcement the squares were planning on reopening, but you had to get a ticket so they could control the crowd size. Not sure if they will drop this requirement.

Not everyone taking precautions or wearing a mask. Many retailers require masks, so people will don them as they enter. Even then I think not everyone is following the rules and retailers are reluctant to confront you about a mask. Not enough compliance for my tastes, so I am not going into any stores unless there is no other options. We get groceries delivered. Any retail purchase I use the drive up delivery option, nearly all big stores have something like this set up. Ace Hardware, Office Max and the like. But this is a personal choice, your personal level of paranoia. In my opinion this is sad that people won't due their duty to help stop this virus, but I have the ability to hide out.

Stores will have spots marked on the floor to space you out at the checkout. When I have been inside somewhere everyone was using them to distance. Restaurants now can operate at full capacity, before there was good spacing I hear. Some restaurants have said they will still operate at lower capacity for the short term. Another one had a few tables set aside for people wanting spacing but the rest of the restaurant is at capacity. You would have to call or stop by and ask since each restaurant can do what they want.

Sumter County has reported a low number of cases, relative to other surrounding counties. Still it appears there were about 1000 cases in the Villages according to **************. The state does not single out who are Villagers or not. I think us old people are wary as we fit the category of people likely to die from this disease.

The Rec centers are allowing groups to come back and have meetings (even before Phase 3 announcement). There are capacity limits (again Phase 3 re-opening just announced might change this) but some smaller groups are meeting again, since their entire attendance is below capacity limits for the room. The rooms are being cleaned after use. You can't move around furniture yourself, staff has to set up the room for you and move it after you are done. No entertainment or having a play in the rec center rooms. The Sharon is reopening with social distancing (again have not seen any announcements due to Phase 3).

The pools have been open for quite a bit. They removed furniture around the pool to help limit crowd, so they had capacity limits. You walk around the pool in a one-way direction so you don't cross paths with others. When done with your pool lounge chair you fold the top over to signal to staff for it to be cleaned. If the pool is full you have to wait in a line (markings on the ground for social distancing) and a staff member will tell you when the chair has been cleaned.

The Villages gyms are just reopening, and they were going to have social distancing. Gyms were not specifically mentioned in the phase 3 announcement. I don't know much about this topic.

Hope this helps.