The problem is, you and I both go to the grocery store to get essentials and we cross paths there. Then I am exposed. I’ve now gone to grocery delivery because of that issue.

I don't think it's true that the one side (the mask advocates/stay at home people) are more caring than the people saying that it's time to return to normal and limit the economic devastation, massive job losses, despair and loneliness brought on by extended self isolation. Businesses are not going to stay afloat unless they can operate at capacity again. Young people need to be in the physical schools around their friends. We need fun things like concerts, football games, 4th of July parades, family gatherings, church services, weddings, parties, etc for our quality of life.

We ALL have done our part to slow the spread while the medical community figured out how to treat this virus and got a better understanding of it. We now know that this virus is not nearly as deadly as once feared which is wonderful news. People have grown frustrated with the "mask nazis" or "the maskholes" as I've heard them referred to.

Were you aware that Antifa wore masks over their faces BEFORE this whole pandemic even started? Those are the folks who were setting cop cars on fire, throwing bricks at police officers, looting businesses, making the streets unsafe in many of our cities across the country. Do you think that they wear those masks because they care about you?

As Spock once said..."Live long and prosper"..."May The Force be with you" :pray:

Not true!! The pharmacies have drive through pick up. Some groceries have delivery, some have pickup without contact ala Walmart. Doctors offices check you BEFORE you are admitted and enforce mask discipline. Therefore, the only exposure you would have is if you allowed it to happen, not that is is certain to happen. You are responsible for the degree of risk you take on. If you are indeed one with the comorbidities, then take the max care by staying home and having home delivery options. Be safe for you!

Don't you wear your mask and practice social distancing at the store and gas station? If the stores have the mask sign, most of us will acknowledge that and comply as respect to the store's wishes. Therefore, the only problem you would have is if YOU don't comply with the guidelines. Don't force your views on the rest of us. That will simply not work!

Yes, and the KKK wore masks before anyone ever heard of the word antifa (which is NOT an organized group, for the umpteenth time, sheesh).

That has NOTHING to do with the need to wear masks during a pandemic. Nothing, zilch, nada, zip.

Try to stay on topic.

Yes, people have a need, as social creatures of the human race, to be social creatures and interact with each other. Yes, it is considered "cruel and inhuman punishment" to force anyone into isolation or intimidate them through YOUR actions such that they feel unsafe in your presence.

Yes, people who REFUSE (not merely forget, and not have some life-threatening disease that might exist but I've never actually hard of a real actual bonafide example of) to wear a mask, ARE uncaring dolts. Yes, they are. There is no "fine people on both sides." There are two sides here. The people who - regardless of how they feel about masks - are willing to wear them as a courtesy and consideration to their fellow human being. And there are people who don't care, and won't wear them, period.

People can ABSOLUTELY congregate. They can hang out at each others' houses, they can go to school, they can dance in the squares, they can vote in elections in person, they can shop in the supermarket, they can go to the movies.

They can ALSO be required to wear masks while they're doing it. The thing is - no one should need someone else to "require" it. But sadly - some people are SO myopic, SO selfish, SO aggressively nasty, that they will REFUSE to comply and allow mask-wearing to become a social nicety, and the rest of society is allowing them to change the entire tone of society into one of anger and "my rights are more important than your health." We are no longer a community. There is no spin on this. A community works together. We work against each other. Therefore, we are not a community.

We're just a bunch of neighborhoods where people all live. That's all we are now.

AGREE, agree, and agree more with you. Just because time has passed does not mean we should lower our defences or attention. Now more than ever EVERYONE MUST WEAR MASKS, remain away from ALL crowds, to include all Villages activities and clubs. Sorry, but if we truly want this to go away we need to be vigilant now, more than ever.

Life is good and meant to be lived. For myself I simply take the proper precautions while out, for the sake of myself and others. If I get the virus then so be it. If I die....well shouldn’t we all be looking forward to that at least a little? At least for Christian’s that is. If not then maybe it’s time to rethink the ultimate goal of the Christian life.

Most of my golfing buddies believe that the numbers are only going up because of increased testing. More testing more cases uncovered. (ie: Trump's position).
I disagree.

OrangeBlossomBaby - I know from other posts that you are a sweet lady. But the reality is there is no way to make it safe for a vulnerable person to be in a crowd. Wearing a homemade mask does not make it safe for you to do any of the things that you say. If you are susceptible to infection and severe complications from what amounts to a cold virus then you really do need to take added precautions to keep yourself safe - staying at home, ordering delivery, teledoc, pharmacy drive thrus, grocery pickups, etc. You can't live in a car dependent, active adult community like The Villages and expect to stay perfectly free from the risk of catching a cold or other virus. That is simply not the lifestyle of the community that you live in.

FWIW, I see nearly 100% compliance with mask requirements at the stores and I currently live in a regular Florida suburb. People are wearing masks but this virus is still going around because the masks offer only so much protection. "Global Pandemic" only means widespread around the world. It doesn't mean that a virus is particularly deadly even though the media would love for you to believe otherwise.

As far as Antifa not being an organized group, I beg to differ. There has very obviously been a coordinated group of anti American agitators inciting mobs across this country to riot and terrorize. The media has been doing nothing but fanning the flames.

Well, they must be doing SOMETHING wrong.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s Biden’s intent to do so. Can you post the source please, for full context?

Wearing masks will NOT make Covid “go away”. At best they may help slow the spread.

CNBC
Shutting down businesses and paying people for lost wages for four to six weeks could help keep the coronavirus pandemic in check and get the economy on track until a vaccine is approved and distributed, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, a coronavirus advisor to President-elect Joe Biden.

Sad but true commentary.

Yet, you would feel safer in those places with curfews, mask mandates, shut downs and schools shuttered.....even though all of those draconian measures are not helping. Does that even make sense?

Thanks Swoop. That’s “advice” TO Biden, which he may or may not follow, right?

Without a doubt....more testing yields higher numbers. BUT.....many people are tested multiple times and each one of those tests are counted as a NEW case. That is just irresponsibly wrong on every level. I'm appalled at how the records are being kept in this country. It seems so antiquated. This is why I pay absolutely no attention to the numbers of any sort. I pay attention to how over whelmed the hospitals and health care workers are. I pay attention to how many satellite hospital beds are being set up in parking lots. I pay attention to the refrigerated trucks being used to store bodies because morges are filled to capacity. Nope.....I don't pay attention to the numbers.

So, it has been REPORTED but they failed to REPORT what the side effects are? Then, it wasn't reported. More fake news.

From boropark24.com:

“Just last month, at a town hall in Philadelphia, Biden said, "I don't think there's a need to lock down...I laid out a plan [on] how you can open businesses. You can open businesses and schools if in fact you provide them the guidance they need as well as the money to be able to do it.”

Here’s Osterholm’s latest take of HIS opinion of a shutdown which weakens the case further that Biden would follow it.

Biden adviser walks back earlier proposal calling for lockdown - ABC News

That is correct. But he named him as a Coronavirus adviser after he came out with his recommendation to shut down the economy.

Herd immunity is what Fauci and other "experts" were pushing for early on. Now it's stupidity? I don't think so. It's REALISTIC as my original post read.

If flu vaccine penetration is any guide, less than 40% will take a vaccine that comes along. I think even less than the flu vaccine participants will accept it because it is new and rushed. Everyone saying they don't know what the future holds in terms of residual effects of getting the virus is not considering the unknown of a vaccine. Sure, they tested it. And those tested have had the vaccine for at most weeks or months. But the non-realists are worrying about months and years after getting the virus.

I prefer to trust my God-given immune system to take care of this much more than I trust Pfizer.

Again - REALISM. No matter what you think is stupid, REALITY will run you over like a truck. If only 30% get the vaccine, we are still going with herd immunity by INFECTION (not necessarily sickness or death). What if 90% get this new-fangled vaccine because it's free and widely available and suddenly MILLIONS are dying. What then? Personally, I will be calling that STUPID.

On the plus side, that will make a lot of water front property available and good prices and simultaneously solve the social security financial mess. I think those relying on a vaccine are the stupid ones.

But, why aren't cars / planes / lawnmowers banned then?

No shirt, no shoes, no mask, NO SERVICE

Well, it seems as though Florida is about a thousand steps ahead of Biden because schools and businesses here are reopened and Desantis has said there will be no more shutdowns or mask mandates in this state. Other states' supreme courts have ruled that the shutdowns are unconstitutional....so, yeah, Biden probably wouldn't have much luck with a national shutdown even if he ordered one.

Wisconsin is lucky to get it that high. We need 90%-100% positivity and this will be over. The weak will die and 99% will survive. What - evolution and survival of the fittest is no longer the religion you profess?

The bottom line is that Florida needs to join 35 other states and save lives by enacting a state-wide mask mandate. However, since DeSantis is living is in an alternate universe regarding the severity of COVID-19, a mask mandate has to be enacted in Sumter County at the county level. Such a county mandate will have to be carefully drafted in light of DeSantis's executive-order suspending fines and penalties "on individuals" violating COVID regulations, but local action is necessary. Action by enough local governments will pressure DeSantis to get real in dealing with the virus.

Eventually, there will probably be a statewide mandate in Florida, but DeSantis will apparently only change his position after thousands of Floridians needlessly die.

Full disclosure, I voted for DeSantis, but he has fumbled the handling of COVID-19.

Make the most of " the life you have worked for for 50 years" It will not last that long with these actions.

I think that Desantis is one of the best governors in this entire country. When this crisis first began, he had the foresight to protect our most vulnerable senior citizens by implementing strict visitation guidelines in assisted living and nursing home communities.

Some of the most abysmal statistics in that regard come from the states like Michigan, NY and NJ who put COVID-19 patients in with medically fragile elderly people while shutting out visits from their (very) concerned family members. The lack of common sense and decency in those so called leaders is beyond appalling and they are not the ones to look to for standards.

Statistics are simply not bearing out this idea that shut downs, mask mandates, curfews or other draconian rules are keeping citizens any safer.

States that require mask wearing are not faring any better than states without mandatory mask ordinances.
If fact some are doing considerably worse. Look it up.

Bingo. No greater words of wisdom have been spoken in all these months, in my opinion, as regards the healthy among us, with no co-morbidities.

Not just the immune system, Oneclick, but our mental conviction that we're going to stay healthy (some might call it "faith," I call it the astonishingly powerful mind/body connection, which isn't given nearly enough credit, as I see it.)

7 Ways to Use Your Mind to Strengthen and Heal Your Body | Psychology Today

Mind & Body Connection: Helping Seniors Stay Healthy - California Mobility

You are so right! They are acting like it is gone and it’s never been worse. Guess some people thought it would be gone on Election Day but since this is science, guess they were wrong! When people are out there being super spreaders we can’t even go to the grocery store without being worried. They also discovered the mask protects both people which I thought all along.

You are so right! They are acting like it is gone and it’s never been worse. Guess some people thought it would be gone on Election Day but since this is science, guess they were wrong! When people are out there being super spreaders we can’t even go to the grocery store without being worried. They also discovered the mask protects both people which I thought all along. Herd amenity is not possible and a very bad idea as about 500,000 more people would have to die

Then don't complain when someone does not agree with your view and decides not to wear a mask. You cannot make demands on other people, just because you believe all the hype and wish to panic when you see someone not wearing a mask. It is your choice to jump into the water. Most likely there won't be a 'gator in the water, but there could be. It is only your fault if you wish to enter the "danger" zone.

Nope, you are not responsible for "each other" unless you wish to take on the responsibility. Sorry, but I no longer wish to be responsible for anyone but whom I choose to be responsible for. And that currently is limited to my spouse. If that is being selfish in your eyes, then you are entitled to your opinion. But, in my eyes it is those that demand that are selfish.

That is nothing new. It has long been touted that we must do everything we can to slow the spread of the virus. It was and remains imperative to slow the spread of the virus so we do not overwhelm our health care system and our over worked health care workers who put themselves at risk every time they go to work. Anyone who refuses to do their part is just not listening.

Sadly Fl. Gov. DeSantis has bent to the will of his superiors in Political leadership. And there are not enough free-thinking, empathetic Fl. citizens to complain and throttle back on his 100% opening up Florida edicts. Many more conscientious Governors of either party are dialing back selected activities in their state. They are, also, instituting needed mask mandates - despite mask-wearing having UNNECESSARILY become an extremely polarizing subject, a wedge issue. This should NEVER even become an issue in the US - it was easily accepted by the citizens of New Zealand when their government needed them to respond - no problem, they responded. Many other successful countries have reacted JUST like New Zealand. They TRUST their government because they show them the science of mask-wearing and they believe in science more than citizens do in the US. The US citizens put too much weight on anti-science promoters and obscure conspiracy theories - like Qanon. With US CV cases hitting a record of 184,000 per day, the US and particularly Florida are going to have to have a "come to Jesus" moment when America is cemented back together and wedge issues are "put in the rearview mirror" so that mask-wearing, restaurant limitations, and other limitations of activity are universally WELCOMED and ACCEPTED by citizens. Wedges need to be torn down and replaced with empathy and one single mindset to fight against the CV. The CV problem will become so BAD after Thanksgiving that Florida and the US will be dragged "kicking and screaming" back to science and empathy for each other. Because we are ALL together in one big boat and to survive we MUST cooperate. Failure to do this will cause Florida to become like South Dakota which today has a 60% positive CV rate, meaning that every 2 out of 3 persons is carrying the virus.

I never said I want shut downs, curfews, schools shuttered or any of those economy shattering measures. You must have me mixed up with someone else.

What l I would like to see is universal masking when indoors, strict social distancing and masking outdoors when social distancing can not be maintained. I much prefer the conservative measures, if you will, than the Draconian measures you mentioned.

That is YOUR opinion. My opinion is that it is not the gov's responsibility to regulate your healthy habits. Smoking in businesses is the businesses' business, not those that complain. If I do not wish to wear a mask, that does not make me dangerous. It is ONLY dangerous IF I have a contagious disease. Many of you folks insist that those that do not wear a mask are dangerous, and that is unfounded and you have no evidence that it is dangerous. If a person has been maskless all their lives and suddenly you decide they must wear a mask or be labeled dangerous just because of mass hysteria, then that is all on the one making baseless demands. And I say baseless because there is no evidence that those that do not wear a mask are even infected. The ones that say that demanding others to wear a mask if to protect other folks, do not know if that person that is maskless just came from a testing where he was deemed uninfected. Some folks always have an excuse to infringe on others' liberty.
Some folks need to be responsible for themselves and quit demanding others take care of them.

WHY?
Perhaps I wish to see everyone wear only blue shirts and pants. Does my demand matter any less or more than yours?