I see I’m like 150 posts behind but I’ll go ahead and grunch answer this one on zoonotic or species jumping viruses.
You are 100% right on the general point but completely missing the point on the specifics of Covid-19. The answer must be in context of the actual data and behavior.
If you as a virus spread poorly because you make your host too sick or dead too fast then you will have a strong pressure to evolve to a less lethal version.
But Covid-19 does not spread poorly because of this reason. One could imagine that a variant that causes more coughing could gain an advantage at least for a period of time.
We are not smart enough to understand all the evolutionary pressures but given what we know Id rate it pretty neutral in terms of getting better or worse in terms of causing human disease.
There is a reason that CDCs and WHOs of the world have been surprised multiple times so far, this has a very different infectivity profile than what has been observed previously, including the other serious coronaviruses.
Please take the time to think this through and take an overnight to think it through. Reflective disagreement isn’t working.
Florida, Texas, and Arizona are the well publicized apocalyptic states.
Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana not far behind, but not quite apocalyptic.
Now it’s time to start watching another tier of states:
Everyone else wears masks and stayed the fuck home until they got to very low density. Not here. We had so many states open at their peak.
These other countries are losing their shit at any little outbreak and are locking back down locally by test and trace as needed. They aren’t letting anyone in from that shithole country ‘merica.
If takeout is legal, then what stops them from selling takeout to people who mill around in the parking lot and drink there? Where does “in” end? Can you come in and buy a mixed drink for “takeout” then come back and do it again in 45 minutes?
I’m already seeing bars near here posting that they are “going back to restaurant regulations,” meaning they’re staying open only you will just have to buy food when you go now and will have to sit at a table
Sure, but there are tradeoffs involved. On one hand, more coughing gets lots of virus in the air. On the other hand, if the host responds by socially isolating people who are coughing, that’s pressure in the other direction. That a big reason why SARS was an evolutionary dead end.
All things being equal, a less lethal virus is less likely to trigger lockdowns and social distancing and other responses that slow it down. Now I’m not at all saying this is good news because we can’t wait on an evolutionary timescale. But it did become endemic for millennia, it’s probably going to become less lethal rather than more lethal. I get that I’ve been annoyingly nitty, but this is an important point since it partly explains why these zoonotic viruses are so lethal.
It’s going to vary state by state, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, area by area.
In CA you can’t legally drink in the parking lot of any place that sells alcohol (bar or liquor store). Legality of drinking on the streets vary by jurisdiction and possibly by the area therein. Example: no alcohol on the streets in several areas of San Diego, including near the beaches… but AFAIK not generally outlawed. These laws are all enforced.
During the pandemic, there are also laws/rules/etc regarding size of gatherings in public, and closed areas. Of course, drunks are always going to find a way to get together and drink. ~shudder~
