# Austin's ridiculous, non-standardized, cv19 rules and regulations.....



## treeguy64 (Apr 26, 2020)

Janet and I have taken to cruising around town, checking out how businesses are obeying the latest rules and regulations that Austin flip-flops around on, every few days.

It's really bizarre how every bigger business, like Walmart, the major grocery chains, and hardware stores, each have their own take on the rules as they do, and don't, exist:

We stopped at Home Depot. A line wrapped around the store, with about a half-hour wait to get in. We drove over to Lowe's. No line, the store was filled with folks. I got in and out in under ten minutes.

We went to Joann's Fabrics. Long line to get into this very large store. I asked the line tender how many people they were letting in: Ten at a time! WHAT!!?? For a 160,000 sq. ft. store? Let's do some simple math: Assume half the store is displays and counters. 80,000 sq. ft. / 36x3.14 (circle area with radius of 6')   = about 700 people in the store, at once, maintaining 6' of separation. What's with the ten,  at once? Gimme a break. We were told there'd be a wait up to three hours to get in!  We drove to a different, comparable, crafts shop. No line, we went right in.

Really goofy, kind of frustrating.

How are things going in your town, along the above lines, no pun intended?


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## win231 (Apr 26, 2020)

When a business gets too stupid, I do what you did - drive away & go to another store.  I usually find a better deal.
Amazing what people will put up with.


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## chic (Apr 27, 2020)

I do the same when I see long lines outside a store. I drive away to another city. Last Thurs. I spent three hours on the road and never did get inside a store.


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 27, 2020)

The two chain stores that I frequent are operating at 20% or 5 people for every 1,000 square feet of space.

I go early during the week and so far have managed to get in the first wave of shoppers.

When I leave I have not noticed any people waiting to get in.

The little mom and pop liquor store near my home allow one customer in the store at a time again no lines when I've stopped by early in the morning.

Masks are required everywhere, the stores are disinfecting after each customer and observing the 6-foot social distancing.

The one-way aisles at Walmart are a bit odd and as far as I can see no one appears to be paying any attention to them.

_and the beat goes on..._


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## IrisSenior (Apr 27, 2020)

I stay out of the stores and order online.


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## treeguy64 (Apr 27, 2020)

Aunt Bea said:


> The two chain stores that I frequent are operating at 20% or 5 people for every 1,000 square feet of space.
> 
> I go early during the week and so far have managed to get in the first wave of shoppers.
> 
> ...


One-way aisles?  I guess that's yet another manager trying something nobody else has thought of, and no municipality has actually mandated. Our Walmarts are different, rule-wise, depending on which one you go to: Some crowded ones require you to queue up, some don't. Yeah, strange.


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## CarolfromTX (Apr 27, 2020)

Well, Treeguy, it's Austin. They're just keeping it weird.   Dave is the designated shopper, and he says most people are wearing masks now, including store employees. I go for a daily walk, and I don't wear a mask. But I see very few other folks, and when I do, one of us crosses the street, so I'm sure that's ok. I wanted some new summer clothes, but I bought them on line. Our Home Depot has a full parking lot. I did go to a Randall's (our high end grocery) with Dave and they had one way in, one out, and disinfected carts in-between each use.


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## Gary O' (Apr 27, 2020)

treeguy64 said:


> We stopped at Home Depot. A line wrapped around the store, with about a half-hour wait to get in



Home Dopey here is the same.
Made a note to go early next time.
Across town, Diamond, no line, no nothing...but HD has better prices and better stuff
We don't have a Lowes


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## Ken N Tx (Apr 27, 2020)

CarolfromTX said:


> Well, Treeguy, it's Austin. They're just keeping it weird.   Dave is the designated shopper, and he says most people are wearing masks now, including store employees. I go for a daily walk, and I don't wear a mask. But I see very few other folks, and when I do, one of us crosses the street, so I'm sure that's ok. I wanted some new summer clothes, but I bought them on line. Our Home Depot has a full parking lot. I did go to a Randall's (our high end grocery) with Dave and they had one way in, one out, and disinfected carts in-between each use.


Same up here North of Dallas/Ft Worth..WE are proud of the Texas stats 29 million population and only 648 deaths..


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## AprilSun (Apr 27, 2020)

IrisSenior said:


> I stay out of the stores and order online.



That's exactly what I'm doing too.


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## StarSong (Apr 27, 2020)

AprilSun said:


> That's exactly what I'm doing too.


I ordered some stuff online from JCPenney last night.  

With So Cal's heatwave I decided that parts of my summer wardrobe could use a little refreshing, and hubby's cargo shorts are getting tired, too. JCP needs my business more than most.


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## Ken N Tx (Apr 27, 2020)

StarSong said:


> With So Cal's heatwave I decided that parts of my summer wardrobe could use a little refreshing


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## StarSong (Apr 27, 2020)

Ken N Tx said:


>


Not for me, Ken.  I'm a get-up-and-get-fully-dressed-before-starting-the-coffee kinda gal.


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## Ken N Tx (Apr 27, 2020)

StarSong said:


> Not for me, Ken.  I'm a get-up-and-get-fully-dressed-before-starting-the-coffee kinda gal.


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## JustBonee (Apr 27, 2020)

I'm not out that much to give an assessment of local stores. ... their  new rules these days are constantly changing anyway.   
Shopping is like a scavenger hunt most of the time. ...   I usually give up on that game.

Decided to be my most frugal self for 2020,  and think of the current times like my grandmother did a hundred years ago.


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## chic (Apr 27, 2020)

Ken N Tx said:


> Same up here North of Dallas/Ft Worth..WE are proud of the Texas stats 29 million population and only 648 deaths..



So Texas didn't reopen? I thought you had.


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## RadishRose (Apr 27, 2020)

Big difference between want and need.
It's too weird out there.
I want some new plants, but I don't _need_ them.


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## WhatInThe (Apr 27, 2020)

The big thing with any place is ventilation even if they open a few doors with fan blowing or sucking air out. That means cross ventilation with a source of air moving from one point to another. Ceiling fans swish air around they don't move it. Trains and buses are unventilated steel tubes or storage containers. Don't need to make a building like that.


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## Judycat (Apr 27, 2020)

Noticed the stores are coaching their associates to be extra nice.


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## JaniceM (Apr 27, 2020)

In general, nobody's paying attention to anything.  Even when rules are clearly posted, the city bus was crowded with people in nearly every aisle (although each bus is followed by an extra bus so crowding is unnecessary), individuals were going the wrong way in grocery store that had arrows in the aisles, etc.  And while they've been saying during the last couple of days that the state will be reopened, it was never shut down in the first place.  All I've actually noticed:  schools are closed, and students are doing their work online.  And businesses that were supposed to be closed weren't closed. 
And as for the meat-packing plants-  local news stories have provided the info that employees are going to work sick, and they're not being tested.


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## Ken N Tx (Apr 27, 2020)

chic said:


> So Texas didn't reopen? I thought you had.


As far as I know, some stores can re-open. Click below..
.
Texas Re-open


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## C'est Moi (Apr 27, 2020)

I got notification from my doctor's office that they are opening and taking appointments.   I'm in Harris County (Houston).


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## Don M. (Apr 27, 2020)

Locally, our rural area has seen little impact....other than some shortages at the grocery stores....and there has been only 1 case of this virus reported in our county.  However, most people are taking it seriously, staying home, and wearing masks when going to the stores, etc.  Nearly all stores have put up plexiglass barriers at the check out, and the gas stations are requesting that everyone use a credit/debit card at the pump instead of paying inside.  The restaurants are closed, but offering take out, or drive through.  

I had a doctor appointment this morning, to start my annual Medicare exams, tests, etc.  The local clinic is taking people with no symptoms for the first 2 hours, then sick people the rest of the day.  There was a nurse at the entry who sanitized my hands, and she had some paper masks for anyone who didn't have one.  Once inside, the chairs in the waiting room were 6 ft apart, and the drinking fountain was turned off.  There were no reading materials to browse while waiting.  I met with the doctor for the usual question/answer session, gave a blood sample, and they will be setting up the annual lung and heart screenings appointments for sometime in May.  

At this point, Missouri is set to begin opening most places on May 4th.  I don't see any real problems doing so in these less populated areas, but I would still be a bit reluctant to go to Kansas City, or St. Louis.  Most of the illnesses in this state have been at nursing homes, or crowded workplaces like the meat processing plants.  

If the casinos reopen, I will be curious to see how they maintain the "social distancing" in those venues.


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