Dangerous activities

AJMike · 07-08-2020, 10:42 AM

I have been seeing posts about how risky activities like camping are in this COVID-19 environment so I found this table interesting.

Apparently camping and filling a gas/diesel tank are among the least dangerous things that people can do, given the existence of the virus so I thought I would post it and let people know.

Don't go bar hopping!

Goodspike · 07-08-2020, 10:52 AM

I'm not sure at this point they really know how dangerous different activities are. Camping should be low as long as you don't interact with a lot of people and don't let anyone else inside your RV. Filling with gas would depend on the station layout, whether there's a person on the other side of your pump, whether you pay at the pump, whether it's forced full service, etc.

AJMike · 07-08-2020, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goodspike

I'm not sure at this point they really know how dangerous different activities are. Camping should be low as long as you don't interact with a lot of people and don't let anyone else inside your RV. Filling with gas would depend on the station layout, whether there's a person on the other side of your pump, whether you pay at the pump, whether it's forced full service, etc.

There were a lot of posts early on that claimed that camping was a high risk activity, but that never made any sense to me. We generally boondock and so we are perhaps 100 yards or more from the next camper and there are usually empty trails to hike. Given that how could camping be high risk? I actually thought it was a lower risk than staying home because the next closest camper is generally further away than the house next to us.

Of course nothing is certain and quantifying risk for any given activity requires a lot more information than in this table, but I found it interesting in any case.

Goodspike · 07-08-2020, 11:25 AM

Ironically, the only thing I see dangerous about that type of camping is getting gas!

Seriously, food while actually travelling would also be a risk assuming you cannot carry and prepare it in the RV.

**macnut** · 07-08-2020, 11:46 AM

We went on a three week trip in Northern CA and felt very safe the entire trip. We chose only socially distanced outdoor activities, such as hiking trails and beach walks. We went to one restaurant with a large outdoor patio with lots of free space between tables, and an outdoor service at a small church. We only went into food stores when necessary and filled up for gas once at a Costco. 10 days back and still virus free. Our trip totally refreshed and reinvigorated us, and I’m so grateful we were able to go!

**creativepart** · 07-08-2020, 01:52 PM

Every person has to figure out what their comfort level is - but to us, traveling around in public right now is a risky thing. I'm 70 yrs old that's a extenuating circumstance.

We had a long planned trip to Akron, OH to visit my Mother's grave (she died in April and a funeral wasn't possible). We were to leave today, but we cancelled the whole trip last week. Texas is really skyrocketing right now with 10,000 new cases in the past 24 hours. Being out among groups of strangers - many too [censored] to put on a mask or keep their distance is far too scary.

Then once we got there we would not be able to really visit with family, have dinners out and to top it off the KOA campground was prohibiting any guests at the campground.

So, a 3000 mile round trip through 6 States in this absolutely horrible mess that's going on just wasn't worth the risk to us.

That doesn't mean we will not go camping anywhere. Short trips close to home a couple of hours away seem entirely different and much more controllable. So, we've decided to spend a week in a State Park 100 miles away in a couple of weeks.

Goodspike · 07-08-2020, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creativepart

I'm 70 yrs old that's a extenuating circumstance.

We had a long planned trip to Akron, OH to visit my Mother's grave ([I]she died in April and a funeral wasn't possible). We were to leave today, but we cancelled the whole trip last week.

Sounds like a good decision.

I have a friend who made the inverse decision--not visiting her out of state elderly parents for fear that they would contract Covid-19 from my friend or her husband.

**creativepart** · 07-08-2020, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goodspike

not visiting her out of state elderly parents for fear that they would contract Covid-19 from my friend or her husband.

We, of course, factored that into the decision, too. My sister and her husband are in their mid-70's. And, on top of that, we were worried that we'd be halfway there and have Ohio start requiring visitors from Texas spend 14-days in quarantine.

We live in a small county about 20 miles north of San Antonio. Up until two weeks ago we had a total of 60 Covid-19 cases in our county since this whole thing began in March.

Now, we had 60 new cases yesterday and are topping 700 cases total.

theSane · 07-08-2020, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creativepart

... And, on top of that, we were worried that we'd be halfway there and have Ohio start requiring visitors from Texas spend 14-days in quarantine.
...

I am curious how they intend to enforce that dictate.

We went through New Mexico (they have that order for all out of state visitors) last week and no one tried to lock us in our Motorhome.

Goodspike · 07-08-2020, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creativepart

Now, we had 60 new cases yesterday and are topping 700 cases total.

My county has been having more cases than 60 every day for about a month, over 600 deaths and over 11,000 total cases. So of course the mayor of a nearby large city does nothing to stop social gatherings (a/k/a protests) for over 30 days, meaning those numbers are likely to go up from here. I'm not sure I'd be welcomed travelling anywhere.

AJMike · 07-08-2020, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theSane

We went through New Mexico (they have that order for all out of state visitors) last week and no one tried to lock us in our Motorhome.

Really? I did not know that New Mexico had such a rule. How did you find out?

We camped there about a month ago when the state allowed the private campgrounds to open. We drove there, stayed 2 days and returned to Arizona and no one ever told us about such a rule or stopped us and I never saw any signs indicating that there was any such requirement.

theSane · 07-08-2020, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJMike

Really? I did not know that New Mexico had such a rule. How did you find out?...

It was on all of the digital informational signs along the interstate. That and a threat of fines for not wearing a mask.

We had masks for whenever we entered a business for gas/groceries, and no one bothered us otherwise.

AJMike · 07-08-2020, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theSane

It was on all of the digital informational signs along the interstate. That and a threat of fines for not wearing a mask.

That would explain it. We traveled the secondary roads to get to where we were going and never touched an Interstate. And we never saw a single sign about the virus on the roads we were on.

LuvWildlife · 07-10-2020, 02:17 AM

Just wear a mask and wash hands. That cuts down on the risks. Fresh air and no humans are the safe route

i keep a small spray bottle of alcohol up front, and nothing is touched in the rv until I use the spray. We try to lessen the outside germs brought into our rv. I think alot of borders will be closed as the Covid19 gets worse. People are spreading it thoughtlessly. Im glad we went to Yellowstone and Tetons a few weeks ago. We stayed away from crowds, ate our own food, and used no public restrooms. I felt as safe there as at home.
But again, it depends on which state you are going to.

AJMike · 07-10-2020, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuvWildlife

I think alot of borders will be closed as the Covid19 gets worse. People are spreading it thoughtlessly. Im glad we went to Yellowstone and Tetons a few weeks ago. We stayed away from crowds, ate our own food, and used no public restrooms. I felt as safe there as at home.
But again, it depends on which state you are going to.

I am pretty sure no State can legally close its borders to citizens from another State. As I understand it US citizens are guaranteed the freedom to travel within the US and the most States can do is require a quarantine for those traveling. I seem to remember one State Governor trying to close its borders and being told that that action was not legal and I have seen the legal analyst on one of the TV networks specifically saying that States can not close their borders to other citizens.

As for us, we are still traveling but, like you, we keep our distance from others, eat food we carry, use the facilities in the RV rather than those at campgrounds and wear masks and gloves when shopping. Personally I think of careful camping as being as safe than being at home.

Goodspike · 07-10-2020, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJMike

I am pretty sure no State can legally close its borders to citizens from another State.

I think the federal government might be able to do that, but I wouldn't expect that to happen no matter what the results of the election. Interstate commerce is a federal area.

Morich · 07-10-2020, 08:16 AM

While it seems so simple to look at the laws, we have to keep in mind that there are almost always other laws to overrule the simple ones we often hear about. So looking at what really happens can help.
Some examples? Texas set up roadblocks to control people coming from East after the Mardi Gra. Hawaii simply traces folks on vacation and they get a huge fine ($5000?) for violations of QT. Florida Keys set roadblocks for visitors from further North. All traffic into and out of Gallup, NM was shut off at one point.
It is logical that there in a Nato agreement about access of US citizens to Europe but we see how that is working!
When a situation reaches this level of bad behavior the law is prone to change and when it gets down to somebody like the sheriff of Tyler, Texas making the decisions, you can see lots of room for a mess!
And that is pretty well where we are now. Nobody in charge, just do whatever you think you can get away with doing!

AJMike · 07-10-2020, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

While it seems so simple to look at the laws, we have to keep in mind that there are almost always other laws to overrule the simple ones we often hear about. So looking at what really happens can help.
Some examples? Texas set up roadblocks to control people coming from East after the Mardi Gra. Hawaii simply traces folks on vacation and they get a huge fine ($5000?) for violations of QT. Florida Keys set roadblocks for visitors from further North. All traffic into and out of Gallup, NM was shut off at one point.
It is logical that there in a Nato agreement about access of US citizens to Europe but we see how that is working!
When a situation reaches this level of bad behavior the law is prone to change and when it gets down to somebody like the sheriff of Tyler, Texas making the decisions, you can see lots of room for a mess!
And that is pretty well where we are now. Nobody in charge, just do whatever you think you can get away with doing!

Sure. But roadblocks are not closing the border unless everyone is turned back, and I am pretty sure that did not happen in Texas.

As for Hawaii, a State can require someone to quarantine, but that is not the same as closing the borders.

As for Gallup, that was the State Governor closing the city, and she was well within her legal rights to do so since it was internal to the State, but she could not and did not try to close the Interstate that runs through Gallup. That would have required the Federal Government's permission.

I don't know about what NATO requirement there may be concerning the movement of people through Europe, but if the legal analyst I saw on TV (a retired State Supreme Court judge) was right it is a constitutional right for people to travel and no State Governor can close the state borders. In fact his comment at the time one of the Governors said she was thinking about closing the borders was that she was a Yale Law School graduate and knew she could not legally do so.

I am not a lawyer so all of this is repeating what I have seen, heard and read, but I have not seen any State border close since this started and I suspect they can not legally be closed. Suspect is the key word here.

jbrattain · 07-19-2020, 04:41 PM

We spent a week in Florida, which is a hot spot, about a month ago to visit my brother. The campground had phone or on-line check in. The clubhouse was closed, but the pool was open. We didn't use the bath house facilities and didn't mingle closely with neighboring campers. We felt confident that we were as safe, or more so, than going to our local grocery store or convenience store at home.

golden13 · 07-19-2020, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJMike

I have been seeing posts about how risky activities like camping are in this COVID-19 environment so I found this table interesting.

Apparently camping and filling a gas/diesel tank are among the least dangerous things that people can do, given the existence of the virus so I thought I would post it and let people know.

Don't go bar hopping!

We just got back from a week at a local KOA. It's our traditional de-winterizing shakedown cruise. A couple of covidiots approached us and wanted to chat, but we asked them to stay back a bit. They did, but I was stunned at how many people did NOT wear masks or do social distancing. The park required masks in the office. We mostly just stayed inside our Voyage 5th wheel and watched TV.