OT: Texas Rangers to allow 100% capacity at home games this season.
https://twitter.com/Evan_P_Grant/status/1369718768516034563?s=19
Masks required except when actively eating and drinking. Social distancing and non social distancing sections most games.
One day when the masks aren't required and Ron Washington is ripping a lung dart in the Rangers dugout, all will be back to normal. This is a start, I guess.
March 11th, 2021 at 11:09 PM ^
Texas state-wide policy does not permit counties and cities in Texas to keep local mask mandates.
True, but with a caveat. If the county experiences a threshold of hospital cases, number escapes now, the County Judge may order business restrictions to no less than 50% occupancy and may reinstate mask mandates but the order is time limited to seven days. Under no circumstances, as you noted shall municipalities have that discretion.
They didnt open up entirely last week. It was announced last Friday and was to be enacted starting today . Still way too soon .
All my Texas family and friends said most personally "inacted" that day last week. And a lot of folks haven't really been doing for about a month or 2. But you are right, a little too early to judge.
Following the "flatten the curve" approach (remember that?), Texas seems to be in a good spot to try out these opening up activities and adjust as needed.
The repeal of the state-issued mask requirement didn't kick in until today, and the effects won't be known for quite a few weeks at a minimum. Most major chains (Target, Kroger, etc) and most restaurants still have the mandate (I hear those freedom-hating bastards also require shoes and shirts).
Edit: GoBlueBill beat me to it.
One key in your analysis is that you've got the starting date wrong: Texas didn't open up & remove the mask mandate until today, March 10.
(Gov Abbott) said starting March 10, “all businesses of any type are allowed to open 100%.”
So looking at how the numbers have gone for the past week tells you nothing about their changes (and that's leaving aside the fact it typically takes 4-7 days for COVID cases to show up after any event). So we won't know much about Texas until around St Patrick's Day and later.
Here in Michigan? Today had the highest cases (2,300) since January 15, unfortunately -- a pretty big jump; cases had stopped dropping a couple weeks ago (we've been bumping along at about 1,100). We've not opened as fast Texas, but things have changed pretty significantly over the last 3-4 weeks and, in particular, restaurant & inside gathering capacities increased on March 5 (not as much as Texas, for whatever that's worth). Hopefully it's a blip; we'll see.
March 10th, 2021 at 11:04 PM ^
"...and that's leaving aside the fact it typically takes 4-7 days for COVID cases to show up after any event..."
Are you sure it is 4-7 days?
Wasn't it 10-14 days?
And before that Quarantine for 21 days just to be sure?
I mean...the Super Bowl was proven to NOT be a giant super spreader...or any spreader whatsoever so I know that sticks in your craw...
And your reference to cases shows again how you consistently shift the narrative. You used to be scared and fear mongering about hospitalizations and deaths yet now all you seem to comment on is how many CASES there are!
Spoiler alert - cases do not equal symptoms do not equal sickness do not equal Dr visits do not equal ER visits do not equal hospitalizations do not equal ICU stays do not equal vents do not equal deaths.
But feel free to hide in your basement as long as you feel necessary.
March 11th, 2021 at 11:01 PM ^
Opened up yesterday, last week was the announcement of opening this week effective 10 March.
Not entirely surprising. Heard on the radio that the Rangers are really hurting financially because they put a ton of money into their new ball park and then weren't able to get any money at the gate last year. That's also why they aren't pursuing any big free agents this off season.
Texas: allows millions of people to freeze and be charged with $16,000 electricity bills
Also Texas: "HEY, LOOK OVER HERE! WE'RE GONNA OPEN EVERYTHING UP SO YOU FORGOT ABOUT THAT OTHER STUFF THAT WE WERE COMPLETELY UNPREPARED FOR AND LET HAPPEN!"
According to my family in Texas, nobody will be paying those crazy bills. FYI.
Their COVID numbers are much better than Illinois, so I'd take it.
How are Texas' COVID numbers "much better" than Illinois?
One thing that has struck me --- as time wears on, all the states are basically winding up near the same spot. Look at the 10 states with the most number of absolute COVID cases (I've blinded out the states but all this data can be found on WorldOMeters):
Cases per 1MM pop for those states: 91.3K, 93.4K, 91.1K, 89.8K, 94.9K, 96.7K, 84.0K, 75.0K, 83.7K, 113.8K
Deaths per 1MM pop for those states: 1.4K, 1.6K, 1.5K, 2.5K, 1.8K, 1.7K, 1.5K, 1.9K, 1.1K, 2.3K
Is there really that much difference in those numbers? Given this is a virus and viruses spread, was this convergence in metrics between the states likely inevitable no matter what? If so, was does that inevitability mean in terms of what our strategy should be for the next virus?
I was thinking the same thing-- there's a middle tier of case counts per capita and both Texas and Illinois are pretty squarely inside of them.
By some other metrics, Texas isn't doing great. It's one of only 6 states (Kentucky, Mississippi, Oregon, Maine, Minnesota) where the 14-day rolling average of deaths are increasing, and nationally county-by-county cases per capita, 3 of the 4 hottest hot spots are in Texas:
source: NYT Covid Tracker
Nothing personal, but I don't see a ton of value in the latter analysis. Those 4 "hot spot counties" are all small counties --- they each have a population of under 10K and they have a combined population of under 25K. That's one-third the size of my relatively small Denver suburb.
It wouldn't take many positive tests (which might simply be the result of a batch of tests getting processed on one particular day - remember Texas was shut down for a week with weather so backlogs and mass process days aren't unfathomable) for there to be a "big spike."
There is randomness and noise in the world - I think that latter analysis may be measuring noise instead of signal.
Texas has been overrepresented on the hotspot chart since around December, so it doesn't seem to be an artifact of the recent disaster, but I can't say I've been screenshotting along the way. More likely, it's a by-product of the smaller counties having far less restrictive measures than places with judges imposing more restrictions, such as gigantic Harris County (in Texas, county judges have to power to declare health emergencies and enact corresponding measures that in most places would strictly belong to executives).
I guess its relative. Texas does have better numbers per capita than the Illinois. That's a fact. But is it "much" better? Up for interpretation. However, when the per capita denominator is 1m people than you will get some clumping at the mean.
It doesn't matter what the denominator is --- the "standard deviation divided by average" (e.g., clumping at the mean) will be the same.
Take the numbers 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 23. Divide all of those by whatever X you want. Standard deviation divided by average will still be .365.
From a pure optics stand-point, it does matter. As the denominator increases, while keeping the numerator constant, the per capita number gets smaller and smaller and "looks" like there is more clumping.
I'm not trying to be rude --- but the "coefficient of variation" simply is what it is. In the case of the "cases per capita" data I shared, it's 0.111. That number does not change, whether it's cases per 1MM population or cases per 10 population.
Nearly all statisticians will tell you that 0.111 is objectively a low "coefficient of variation."
There is objectively (mathematically) low variation in per capita case rates among the 10 largest states. That's a fair statement.
March 10th, 2021 at 10:51 PM ^
How is this getting negged when it’s factually correct?
Narrative.
If it were me, I would be focused on improving testing technologies. This would include testing of individuals but also more macro testing including using big data (google searches) shit sampling etc. i think people would have been much more receptive to more geographically targeted measures coupled with data showing an increasing problem.
I also feel like there are relatively low cost measures that could be enacted quickly (widespread telecommuting), that could have slowed the spread early on. If New York City had better data, could they have taken targeted measures early and reduced their early surge?
I must be really slow, but I don’t see your point. Unless you have significant variance in how much testing you are doing, wouldn’t you expect number of cases and number of deaths to correlate quite well? Just eyeballing it, high population density states did badly. Low density states did well. If you are a low density state that did poorly, you probably did something pretty stupid (looking at you North and South Dakota).
They won’t be paying them because the federal government will bail them out.
I just got back from Orlando and, contrary to popular belief, almost everyone in a store or any other public place was wearing a mask. At Disney you had to wear a mask and have your temperature taken before entering.
Disney is not a reflection of Florida. I live in SWFL and masks are few and far between at all social gatherings. The airport is the only place I have seen in the last six months that has mandated a mask, and there they are clear it is a national requirement in airports, not local or state. Masks are generally considered silly/un-American/cowardly/whatever. Yes, I wear a mask in public. The mask and the M on my shirt bring significant eye-rolls at the bar.
So does the rest of MLB have to play in Texas? We ain't coming is a valid response.
Yes, they do. Sorry (not sorry) but this nightmare has to end and hiding away forever is NOT the answer.
If this doesn't scream "distraction to get everyone talking about something besides our horrificly failed power grid and one of our senators running off to Cancun in the midst of one of the worst winter storms to hit the state that left thousands without power, homeless or worse," then I don't know what does.
What exactly did you expect the senator to do? The job of the Governor of the state?
We haven't had any sporting events in this country with capacity crowds since the pandemic started, so it's easy to react with disbelief.
But we will soon. The number of Americans who have either had Covid or have been vaccinated for it is quite substantial at this point, which probably explains why the number of new daily cases has plummeted - from 200-300K per day in December to 40-60K per day recently.
Per worldometers, Texas has had over 2.7 confirmed cases of Covid. That's just under 10% of the population. Of course, lots of people with this virus have never gotten tested. The total proportion of Texans who have had Covid is probably 2-4 times that number, so we could be talking about a third of the state's population that have antibodies.
Now to that you add the people that have been vaccinated. Per this article, as of March 3, there had been 5.7 million doses administered in Texas, and just under 2 million people were fully vaccinated. Presumably, by April, all of those 5.7M will have received both doses, and a few million more will have received their first dose (or only dose, if it's the J+J version). So by April you are probably talking about another third of the population that is vaccinated.
There may be some overlap between these two groups, but it's likely that over half of the state's population will be in one of these categories by the start of the MLB season.
To that you add that 1) this is an outdoor activity and 2) will occur during warm, likely sunny weather and 3) fans will be wearing masks for at least part of the time they're out there.
It's probably doable.
Day games only to avoid turning on those electricity-consuming lights?
No offense to you OP, but practically speaking I am certain every fall sport is preparing for 100% capacity. With the way vaccinations are heading, it looks like we'll be mostly back to normal later this year. And even if we aren't, it's easier to quickly increase restrictions rather than quickly ramp up to full capacity. I'm sure Warde is tentatively planning for a full Yost, Crisler, and Michigan Stadium this fall
I have my reservations, but one can only hope.
Agree and think the J&J shot is a game changer. We’re inoculating a lot of folks right now, and in Florida we are waiting for our shithead Governor to open the shots up to everyone except 65+ and first responders. I understand our pop is heavily weighted to the senior citizens, but thousands here want the shot and can’t get it.
This is a preview to the SEC allowing 100% fan capacity at it's football stadiums. The SEC will take a close look at how the Rangers' 100% attendance goes this summer and perhaps make some adjustments if need be.
We all heard at Gainsville, FL (The Swamp) wanted 100% capacity last fall so I'm pretty sure it will be allowed all season down there.
Besides, the SEC is comprised of all Red States so don't be surprised if we hear they will allow full capacity at their games this fall. (TN,KY & MO might reduce fan capacity)
Why would we not be at 100% this fall? We will have the vaccination campaign wrapped up by June. Its likely that the vulnerable populations will be done by the end of April and anyone who want it will have it by the end of May.
I think you are being a bit optimistic but I think we will be in the clear by the all star break. To me, having all vulnerable (and that doesn’t mean over 75, it actually means people with comorbities down to 16), should be the milestone we are looking for (and that very well could be in the late April to May timeframe) is the milestone we should be shooting for.
There is a big difference between 100% capacity in early April and 100% capacity in September.
Well, they have to pay for their new stadium somehow......
Thank you everyone for confirming my hypothesis that the readers of MgoBlog are just as cucked as the writers of MgoBlog.
March 11th, 2021 at 12:08 AM ^
Mgoblog is a combo of normies:
2 types of normies:
Here is my opinion on the main 2 groups of normies:
Most normies have busy lives and aren't really that dialed in to politics in general. They get their information either second hand or through MSM. Most people I know don't even really watch the news or pay attention. I have to admit I used to be one of these lucky people. Ignorance truly is bliss in a way. They hear big stuff through word of mouth. This is why so many people hate Trump, but when pressed can't give you any actual reasons why. They don't know anything, they are just repeating what they have been told. These people may be a little easier to red pill because they aren't as brainwashed as Group 2, BUT they don't really care. This will be the group that don't really talk about politics or world events much. So attempts at redpilling will be hard because they'll be more likely to just change the subject.
Now we have the news-watching fully brainwashed normies. These people DO pay attention, but they are only paying attention to the MSM propaganda and brainwashing. Very difficult to deal with these people because they believe they are informed. They are the ones that will ask why YOUR sources are better than THEIR sources. Their sources are the respected ones. Yadda Yadda Yadda. They won't believe you because it's as if we are living in two different realities. Very difficult. But, this is the group that may actually debate and listen to you because they actually do care and pay attention. But it's harder because the brainwashing is SO deep.
It would be nice if we could stop being dumb about this right when we are so close to it being over. All they need to do is change this to we will allow 100% capacity on June 1st and it would be fine.
Who is going back to sporting events? I'm sure many people, but with the increase in home-theater quality televisions and kids being less interested in spending three hours paying attention to anything other than a device and, well, many of us turning into germaphobes, masks or no masks... 100% seems optimistic.
I think we're going to look back at 2020 as the tipping point for a major change in how we interact with the world. People will still want to go to sporting events, but probably not in the same numbers. Prices will come down, stadiums will have more premium seating to try and capture those who don't need prices to come down.
Things like dining out will return quickly (I think they have already), maybe even to more crowds as a lot of restaurants have gone out of business. We need to eat, after all, and a nicely prepared meal with no clean-up is still a draw, not to mention many families are really tired of cooking every day. I just don't see sports, movie theaters, that kind of thing, being anywhere near the same.
SEC says "hold my beer" and enacts 200% capacity limits
None of our hospitals are overwhelmed. We have pretty good knowledge of what we are dealing with and the risks.
Isn’t it time to get back to living life and those who are concerned can take their precautions?
Baseball to me is nowhere near as problematic as masks in indoor venues. Many people don’t have the choice to get another job and have to be working in a retail outlet. They should not be put at risk just so someone else can exercise their right to go to a baseball game. In two to three months when everyone who wants to be vaccinated has had a chance to be, it is a very different situation.
Fuck ya!
It’s your personal choice. If you don’t feel comfortable being in a crowd or wearing a mask then stay home. The rest of us who aren’t conditioned by the current administration will be eating hot dogs and guzzling beer.
March 10th, 2021 at 10:55 PM ^
Problem is when you give away things to the govt, they traditionally don’t give it back
March 11th, 2021 at 12:02 AM ^
Too many liberal and RINO brainwashed normies, mostly liberal, on here that won't agree with you. How dumb are these people?
March 10th, 2021 at 11:51 PM ^
The mature way to react to this is, we are learning to live with it. That’s why we have to reopen. We cannot continue to keep massive American cities responsible for so much of our economy shut down. We cannot run away from this. We cannot keep the schools shut down.
None of this is dealing with it! Further shutdowns, further lockdowns don’t advance anything. They just delay the inevitable, and what’s the inevitable? Dealing with it! What’s the inevitable? Living with it! We live with the flu. We live with cancer. We live with all kinds of terminal diseases. We do not run and cower in the corners.
Why do we want to run and cower in the corner from COVID-19? Because it’s a political issue where people like Joe Biden and the media think they can destroy Donald Trump over it. Think of all the things in our daily lives that harm us. How many of them do we fail to live our lives because of? How many of us never leave home? How many of us never go do this or do that because of potential deadly dangers outside?
But yet COVID-19, why, we need to hunker down! We need to — we need to lock down! We need to shut down. We need to — we need to — we need to come to grips with dying with it, and I hate this pessimism. I hate this negativism these people want to force on us. I hate this can’t-do-itism that they are trying to permeate our culture with. They are not who we are as Americans.
The left’s way of dealing with this stuff is not the American way of dealing with it. Biden’s running around talking about, “We’re learning to die with the virus.” No. We’re learning to live with it! We’re learning what we have to do to live with it. We’re learning what the options are if we want to actually live instead of hunkering down in a basement.