Most of the NYC covid-19 update texts are a bit useless

[conuly]

But I'm interested at the angle they're taking with this one.

"Show your support for NYC's grocery workers: Only shop when you need to, wear a face covering, and keep at least 6 feet from others."

It's clumsy, but it's a change from "Do those things to save generic lives", which is what their previous messages sounded like. Now it's not generic people whose lives I'm saving, it's grocery workers whom I support.

The stores are a bit surreal - sneeze guards at the supermarket, makeshift sneeze guard at the corner store (a shower curtain, plus milk crates around the counter to keep you at a distance). I approve of the sneeze guards for the psychological benefit, though I bet even the shower curtain actually does more good - they don't have much coverage. I wonder if they'll take them down once this is all over.

Comments

[dewline]

I'm still wondering how long before tellers' cages get revived at bank branches across the planet.

[kengr]

Some banks have had them for years. In the case of "my" branch of my bank, they've got inch or more thick bulletproof plastic (clear) from the top of the divider to the second floor.

There are "pass throughs" at each teller. basically a wide semi-cylindrical groove across the counter under the plastic (which comes to a couple inches above it.

You could pass through a thick paperback, but not a hardback. And due to the "trough", there's no possibility of a straight shot at a teller. Add a short reach around barrier on the teller side and it'd be better than the sneeze guards at stores.

Even so, you have to use ATMs or the drive throughs for transactions. If you need something else you make an appointment to see somebody with proper social distancing involved.

[dewline]

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to name one example has moved away from tellers' cages towards a more "open office" setup for their newer branches over the last decade. Even the idea of a traditional service counter has been set aside in favour of freestanding teller workstations.

Post-COVID, I don't see that continuing.

[monanotlisa]

Maybe that is required, after all -- people like the wife and me, and I know you too, have strong opinions of protecting the herd of damn idiots out there, despite themselves; for too many the only reason to be a good person is, well, a PERSON.

[dine]

I've also been wondering if the plexiglass barriers will remain - I have half a hunch they'll be around for a long while yet to come. and by the time it's safe to remove them, folks will be habituated to them, and they may end up being permanent fixtures

[shadowkat]

On the local neighborhood FB page - various people were upset with the Foodtown store management for not limiting the number of people entering the store and insisting on face masks. One woman even confronted the manager on it. And he responded that was up to the Governor to impose - this was last week. I kind of curious to see what they've done about it now. Each week the page complains about the store, and soon after the store adopts yet another safety measure for their employees. I'm trying to limit my store runs to once every two weeks, or every other week. Which has kind of been working at the moment.

[conuly]

Fucking A, Foodtown, take some responsibility.

[shadowkat]

That was pretty much everyone's sentiment on the FB thread. Wallgreens has a line to get in the store and limits it to ten people. But Food Town is being a dunce. So too does the Flatbush Coop apparently and all the other grocery stores.

Foodtown does however provide senior hours - but I've noticed that the seniors seem to shop whenever they want.

[silveradept]

It's different, certainly. But it's also one of those things where the people sending the messages know that a person probably has to make a personal connection to someone before they'll change their behavior.

[mordorbot]

Sneeze guards?

[conuly]

Protective plexiglass (or shower curtain) barriers between the cashier and the customer. They don't cover that much.