Are we not photographers?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

From today's walk to pick up food.

Lovely spring day, 20C/68F, the time of the year and weather that would have this main pedestrian area of Belgrade packed with people.

We are going to have a 60-hour house arrest this weekend, courtesy of our government and their Chinese advisers. Honestly, I am pretty sure they are just testing how far they can screw with people and get away with it. I fully expect the next order would be, while in the house arrest, that we must stand on one leg. Damn commies.

[Robert Roaldi]

From today's walk to pick up food.

Lovely spring day, 20C/68F, the time of the year and weather that would have this main pedestrian area of Belgrade packed with people.

We are going to have a 60-hour house arrest this weekend, courtesy of our government and their Chinese advisers. Honestly, I am pretty sure they are just testing how far they can screw with people and get away with it. I fully expect the next order would be, while in the house arrest, that we must stand on one leg. Damn commies.

Unless it works.

But it seems needlessly extreme for your location. When Italy and Spain banned cycling, it was at a moment when hospitals were strained. So avoiding activities that might lead to accident/injury might have been a sensible precaution to take. The last thing their emergency wards needed was a cyclist with a broken collar bone. France has high numbers at the moment. so maybe they feel the need to take a similar step. The danger from exhalation argument seems extreme but I guess it depends on how wide the sidewalks are, what happens at intersections when runners run in place with other pedestrians waiting for a light. This is wild-ass guessing on my part. If their emergency services are strained, maybe they want to over-correct. Do joggers twist their ankles a lot, I have no idea.

I used to do crowd control marshalling at motorsports events (rally). Spectators would get angry at restrictions that were imposed and we didn't have the time to explain to each one why a certain request was being made, so they got angry because they didn't like being told what to and where to go. But you know what, they got over it and managed to live full healthy lives despite our onerous imposition to move 20 metres.

Sometimes we don't know why certain requests are made and there is no time to explain everything. And sometimes authorities go too far and get things wrong. Shit happens.

[Robert Roaldi]

Someone reminded me of another consideration. After exertion, a person's immune system may be suppressed for a while. But I don't know how much exertion is required to see the effect, not do I know how long a "while" is. If the end-point of the exercise is back at home, it's not clear how big a risk this represents.

A general level of fitness via walking/running/cycling is a good thing, healthwise, so except for the very exceptional cases where hospitals are swamped, being too doctrinaire about doing nothing has its downside.

A solitary walk taking photos doesn't seem like such a risk to me. Surely it represents less risk than buying groceries or going to a drug store.

[Rob C]

In the beginning of March, I was in a pub concert, with probably around 500 people tightly packed. I shook hands with the musicians, two of which later tested positive and ended up in hospital with pneumonia. Those two people had friends recently returning from Italy.

Oh well, that's all right then: no damned commies from the east, then!

If there's a moral, it's keep your hands to yourself, however attractive the company. And have you noticed, the girls all get prettier at closing time? As the song says, you could go home with a 9 and wake up with a 1.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+girls+all+get+prettier+mickey+gilley&&view=detail&mid=358308E5A8F894BD13F5358308E5A8F894BD13F5&&FORM=VDRVRV

;-)

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

...  If there's a moral, it's keep your hands to yourself, however attractive the company...

There are few things in life more satisfactory than a firm handshake or high five with a friend. I can't wait to be able to do that again.

[Alan Klein]

Someone reminded me of another consideration. After exertion, a person's immune system may be suppressed for a while. But I don't know how much exertion is required to see the effect, not do I know how long a "while" is. If the end-point of the exercise is back at home, it's not clear how big a risk this represents.

A general level of fitness via walking/running/cycling is a good thing, healthwise, so except for the very exceptional cases where hospitals are swamped, being too doctrinaire about doing nothing has its downside.

A solitary walk taking photos doesn't seem like such a risk to me. Surely it represents less risk than buying groceries or going to a drug store.

I agree.  Who will you catch it from if you're alone?  Driving to an area where no one is around, shooting a shot and leaving. 

[Alan Klein]

Oh well, that's all right then: no damned commies from the east, then!

If there's a moral, it's keep your hands to yourself, however attractive the company. And have you noticed, the girls all get prettier at closing time? As the song says, you could go home with a 9 and wake up with a 1.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+girls+all+get+prettier+mickey+gilley&&view=detail&mid=358308E5A8F894BD13F5358308E5A8F894BD13F5&&FORM=VDRVRV

;-)

Which reminds me of a sign I saw while walking along Central Park in NYC.  Check the one on the lower right.


Central Park Stand by Alan Klein, on Flickr

[chez]

Someone reminded me of another consideration. After exertion, a person's immune system may be suppressed for a while. But I don't know how much exertion is required to see the effect, not do I know how long a "while" is. If the end-point of the exercise is back at home, it's not clear how big a risk this represents.

A general level of fitness via walking/running/cycling is a good thing, healthwise, so except for the very exceptional cases where hospitals are swamped, being too doctrinaire about doing nothing has its downside.

A solitary walk taking photos doesn't seem like such a risk to me. Surely it represents less risk than buying groceries or going to a drug store.

But food and drugs are required...taking photos, not so much. Going out for non essential reasons just sets a bad example...even it might be safe.