@JustineE
Great post! Thanks for tagging me.
In my area, eating out has been interesting. For a very long time, the only way you could get restaurant food or coffee was takeout (take away) or UberEats (food delivery apps). One time Chinese Food and the rest has been pizza for my family.
Slowly by mid Summer, you could actually eat outside if the restaurant or cafe had outdoor dining. Pre-Pandemic, I would eat out at least once a week (by myself or with others). Now, it’s been a handful of times and, mostly, now getting coffee, since mid-March. And getting coffee stopped because of the wildfires (almost two months of bad air quality index – not able to be outside).
I miss eating at my favorite Korean BBQ, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Indian restaurants. It’s not the same to order takeout at any of these places. For all of these restaurants, they were closed first and then slowly reopened for takeout only. Most of them did not have outdoor dining before the Pandemic (not set-up for that).
I do follow the local news on restaurant closures, which is sad. I also take photos of coronavirus signage and safety measures and upload them to Google Maps and the Google Crowdsource app. Here, restaurants have set up dining time limits, so there is no linger anymore – eat and leave. It’s mandatory to wear a mask in my county when you are not eating at a restaurant/cafe. And any public place/business, you have to wear a mask:
WHAT IS CURRENTLY OPEN:- Essential businesses like health care, grocery stores, pharmacies, banks
- Restaurants for indoor dining with 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer, plus outdoor dining, pickup and delivery
- Bars, pubs, and breweries that offer outdoor sit-down meals
- Outdoor wineries and tasting rooms
- Indoor retail, including malls, with 50% capacity, plus closed common areas and food courts limited to 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer.
- Indoor and outdoor personal care services, including hair and nail salons, with modifications
- Indoor gyms and fitness studios with a maximum 10% capacity plus outdoor gyms and fitness centers
- Indoor museums, zoos, and aquariums with 25% capacity
- Indoor movie theaters with 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer
- Outdoor recreational activities, including miniature golf, batting cages, driving ranges, shooting ranges, and kart racing.
- Parks, beaches, golf courses, dog parks, skate parks, campgrounds, athletic fields, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pools, and outdoor recreation facilities
- Outdoor playgrounds with modifications, physical distancing and social bubbles
- Indoor places of worship and cultural ceremonies with 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer, plus outdoors
- Outdoor political gatherings or protests with physical distancing
- Distance learning for K-12 schools
- Higher education with 25% capacity indoors or 100 people, whichever if fewer
- Individual schools and districts and can decide if it’s safe to open for in-person instruction without a waiver after two weeks in red tier.
- Low-contact service businesses like appliance or automobile repair, car washes, laundromats and pet grooming
- Indoor cleaning services, such as housekeeping and janitorial services, with limitations
- Outdoor activities like walking and biking with proper social distancing
- Construction, real estate transactions, and other outdoor businesses with physical distancing requirements
- Childcare facilities and day camps
- Manufacturing and warehouse facilities
- Hotels and lodging, including fitness centers at 10% capacity
- Curbside library services
WHAT IS NOT OPEN:- Schools for in-person instruction without waiver approval at least until Oct. 13 (Now: still remote learning only)
- Indoor wineries and tasting rooms
- Bars, breweries, and pubs that don’t offer outdoor sit-down dining
- Hot tubs, spas, saunas, and steam rooms
- Community centers and concert venues
- Indoor playgrounds and recreational team sports
- Indoor cardrooms, casinos, and satellite wagering sites
- Offices for non-critical infrastructure sectors
- Public events and gatherings, including nightclubs, convention centers, theme parks, festivals, concerts, and live audience sports
So, pretty much, my world is a 20-mile radius. I only go grocery shopping. Drop/pick up the kids off to their preschool. For the longest time, the public parks were closed, so no play structure areas. It’s been a month since the play structures are now open, but have not gone there.
My family has gone to get their flu shots. At the end of the month, I will start stocking up for the winter for necessary supplies in case there are shortages. The local and national news has been posting the need to do this because the experts believe there will be supply chain shortages again this winter for necessities (toilet paper, pasta, flour, etc.) and, of all things, outdoor heat lamps. Did you know there were shortages of ergonomic office chairs, office supplies, etc. during the first several months because people worked from home if their job would allow it?
I think I answered your question. I would like to eat out more, but there are so many limitations; it is not worth the hassles of going out now. I miss restaurant food and being served, but I personally don’t take any chances of being out with larger groups of people I do not know. I take coronavirus-related photos and update my reviews for Google Maps because these new precautions have changed the way the place or business appears and, ultimately, does business under these current circumstances. I have limited by Local Guides activities since I do not go or seek out to go to many new places because of the pandemic,
Cheers,
Karen
