Coronavirus Coronavirus: In-Iowa General Discussion (Not Limited)

[MeowingCows]

So what is your solution? Like I said don’t just say keep current restrictions because it isn’t realistic. People are itching to get back to normal. Our strategy of mitigation now is how can we keep people as distanced as possible. If we don’t start looking for those things than we are just going to basically tear down the dam and flood everyone out.

There's nothing you can do, since a large chunk of our population has little self-control or value of things outside themselves, is obsessed with instant gratification and struggles to live an inconvenienced or generally changed lifestyle. That's not directed at anyone here, it's just a general, cultural observation. It's all going to fall down soon, and the easier path politically is to let people do what they want and just not own up to the consequences of doing so (splay it in the guise of 'freedom' or something). That mentality will trickle down from multiple points of leadership fairly soon, if it hasn't already. That number of "acceptable deaths" people often reference increases by each passing day of being distanced.

The curve may be flattening, but it's nowhere near the downslope. It's gonna be awhile before this goes away.

 

[bawbie]

Is she supposed to travel to every plant across the state every day and check to make sure they are doing things the way she proposed?

Not her personally, but her administration absolutely has a public health responsibility to do just that.

 

[Rabbuk]

For what? There are no laws on the books saying workers must be spaced and always wearing masks. These are recommendations and the only avenue to protect the workers was through liability and the courts.

failure to provide safety equipment is 100% something you are able to fine for.

 

[cycloneG]

There’s no way in hell FSIS is going to agree to have oversight in regards to this. Believe me.

Not voluntarily but it needs to happen.

 

[dmclone]

The goal was to flatten the curve. She has done her job.

 

[BCClone]

She should really go visit these places and check on the safety measures so she can confirm that trust that they'll do the right thing.

How many times does a public official, or even say inspector, go to a facility, and the workers are informed that: this, this, and this WILL BE DONE? Even though it isn't fully followed all the time by the employees. How many times does a manager follow an employee into the restroom to assure they wash their hands? Are there boot checks every day to ensure steel toes, are glasses checked to make sure they adhere to full safety requirements?

The governor visiting would be more of a farce than anything else in checking this stuff out.

 

[BCClone]

To get back away from the yelling at each other what solutions do people propose for the next couple of weeks. Let’s start by all agreeing it isn’t ok to just open everything up now and it isn’t possible to keep our current restrictions indefinitely. How would people propose we ease the restrictions.

I think you go step by step. See if any of the 22 counties are improving and they can take the first step that the first 77 have. In the other 77, if they have held well; then open up barbers and salons and maybe allow restaurants to move to 75% (other states have already have this lined up) if they can keep the 6 foot rule. Have stair steps for the counties.

 

[CyJack13]

How many times does a public official, or even say inspector, go to a facility, and the workers are informed that: this, this, and this WILL BE DONE? Even though it isn't fully followed all the time by the employees. How many times does a manager follow an employee into the restroom to assure they wash their hands? Are there boot checks every day to ensure steel toes, are glasses checked to make sure they adhere to full safety requirements?

The governor visiting would be more of a farce than anything else in checking this stuff out.

You can tell the people in this thread who have no clue how any type of large industrial facility works. Anyone who thinks a one time audit will solve this issue is kidding themselves.

 

[bawbie]

I don't think she could prevent those plants from opening based on the EO from Trump.

it is absolutely her responsibility to ensure they are reopening safely, even with the EO.

 

[cycloneG]

You can tell the people in this thread who have no clue how any type of large industrial facility works. Anyone who thinks a one time audit will solve this issue is kidding themselves.

No one has said "one time audit". Lots of references to constant oversight which exists already in large industry.

 

[BCClone]

Would have been nice if states actually followed the guidelines of a 14 day decrease in cases before opening large gathering businesses back up.

Just to make sure we are on the same page, when you say decrease in cases, you are going off the guidelines that say decrease in raw numbers or in the percentage of tests taken, correct? That is the guidelines the last I checked.

 

[Acylum]

Not voluntarily but it needs to happen.

You don’t just change job descriptions of federal employees, and if you tried the AFGE would fight it tooth and nail. And they’d be right to do so. Either way it’d have to be bargained and before it could be implemented there would have to be training involved since you’re adding job responsibilities. It’s a non starter.

 

[jkbuff98]

Barely any of the employees got tested at the meat plants.

https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-officials-reveal-hundreds-of-covid-19-cases-at-plants/32378929

Not sure where you are getting that in Waterloo to have 444 test positive which was 17 percent of those tested they had to test over 2500 workers-

 

[Clonehomer]

failure to provide safety equipment is 100% something you are able to fine for.

For companies without protection against liability, I agree.

 

[MartyFine]

There's definitely an adversarial 'gotcha' nature coming from some reporters in that room. I'm guessing that seeing each other every day and having to have more or less the same conversation only exascerbates the situation for everybody.

At a state level, at least for me, its really hard to pass too much blame onto the leadership because they're getting next to no help and guidance from above and simply don't have the resources that the federal government seems unwilling to share. We've got 50 poor souls flying by the seats of their pants while the message from above, that they have no control over, seems to change every 2 hours.

A free press has an adversarial relationship with the government by definition.

 

[bawbie]

The goal was to flatten the curve. She has done her job.

by what metrics?

 

[cycloneG]

You don’t just change job descriptions of federal employees, and if you tried the AFGE would fight it tooth and nail. And they’d be right to do so. Either way it’d have to be bargained and before it could be implemented there would have to be training involved since you’re adding job responsibilities. It’s a non starter.

The FSIS isn't even the proper person that should be doing this oversight. It should be someone connected with the CDC. Do these plants even have USDA FSIS anymore or are they now plant employees?

https://www.govexec.com/management/...usdas-plan-give-industry-more-control/163527/

 

[Trice]

The posts in this thread are just amazing. People are astonished, just beside themselves, at the idea that the government might be wise not to simply take the word of large companies who have repeatedly been proven to be hiding the truth, if not outright lying about it.

"What are they supposed to do, inspect them?" The horror!

 

[Urbandale2013]

There's nothing you can do, since a large chunk of our population has little self-control or value of things outside themselves, is obsessed with instant gratification and struggles to live an inconvenienced or generally changed lifestyle. That's not directed at anyone here, it's just a general, cultural observation. It's all going to fall down soon, and the easier path politically is to let people do what they want and just not own up to the consequences of doing so (splay it in the guise of 'freedom' or something). That mentality will trickle down from multiple points of leadership fairly soon, if it hasn't already. That number of "acceptable deaths" people often reference increases by each passing day of being distanced.

The curve may be flattening, but it's nowhere near the downslope. It's gonna be awhile before this goes away.

That’s what I’m trying to get at though. We all know people are selfish and won’t tolerate restrictions as long as they should. There are to many people who are taking the defeatist attitude that unless they follow what I think should happen I don’t care.

That was my problem with the Iowa paper on this. Ok your recommendation may be to stay like this for 4 months but that is not a remotely realistic solution. What is your revised recommendation that is possible then. That revised recommendation just isn’t happening IMO and that’s how we got the reopening plan that we have.

 

[CycloneErik]

Is she supposed to travel to every plant across the state every day and check to make sure they are doing things the way she proposed?

Wow, that's absolutely stupid.
No, she's not. She's supposed to make sure that the regulatory agencies in the executive branch she was elected to run do that.

 

[NorthCyd]

You can tell the people in this thread who have no clue how any type of large industrial facility works. Anyone who thinks a one time audit will solve this issue is kidding themselves.

Not to mention the extremely limited resources the state is working with.