D&D and the rising pandemic

[Zardnaar]

Nah, he had his mask & gloves on. And he mentioned then ocular transmission was a known transmission path. And if you look, there’s lots of articles mentioning it as a possible but rare way to catch C19

Masks are to stop you infecting other yes?

And they're not 100% effective either afaik they just help was what I thought.

If delta gets out here there goes the game night and dining out. Mmmnnn pasta.

 

[CapnZapp]

More on Delta, breakthrough infections and why shots & masks matter:

COVID: Breakthrough Cases Surge Among San Francisco Hospital Staff

San Francisco could be the next Bay Area city to issue an indoor mask mandate amid a COVID case surge that has included over 200 vaccinated health care professionals at hospitals.

sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

This many breakthrough infections in 2 hospitals is going to have a domino effect on the level of care available for EVERY patient going into those facilities.

Simply put: reduce the number of vectors, reduce the number of infections. Reduce the number of infections, reduce the strain on the healthcare system.

Not sure what the takeaway is here...?

If you merely wanted to say "wear your mask and take the shot" then sure. That's entirely fine.

But in the longer run?

I wonder when the "freedom" that is being able to not choose to take the vaccine will be shut down. Allowing people to remain unvaccinated is a luxury we just might realize we can't afford.

 

[Zardnaar]

Not sure what the takeaway is here...?

If you merely wanted to say "wear your mask and take the shot" then sure. That's entirely fine.

But in the longer run?

I wonder when the "freedom" that is being able to not choose to take the vaccine will be shut down. Allowing people to remain unvaccinated is a luxury we just might realize we can't afford.

They can't really enforce that in the states and its against the law here. Good luck changing the US constitution.

They can indirectly pressure you eg no vaccine no job.

They can theoretically change the law here a lot easier than the USA but to do so is unprecedented.

 

[CleverNickName]

Good luck changing the US constitution.

It's happened before. Twenty-seven times, in fact.

Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Zardnaar]

It's happened before. Twenty-seven times, in fact.

Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yes and last time was 1970's iirc.

Can anyone get 75% consensus these days to do so?

Good luck with that.

 

[Thomas Shey]

That's impressive. People in Germany just seem to not care. Admittely I never got mine until it was offered at work. Just once a year knock on a door I pass by daily anyway. If I had to make an extra appointment at my doctor and go there in my free time, I wouldn't bother to get it too

I usually either get it done when I've got a doctor's appointment anyway, or make one at the local pharmacy.

 

[CapnZapp]

They can't really enforce that in the states and its against the law here. Good luck changing the US constitution.

They can indirectly pressure you eg no vaccine no job.

They can theoretically change the law here a lot easier than the USA but to do so is unprecedented.

Laws are words on paper.

That only works until civilization breaks down.

 

[Zardnaar]

Laws are words on paper.

That only works until civilization breaks down.

If that happens getting vaccinated won't be much of a concern.

 

[DNDElise]

This is a little off topic, but I think considering recent events, very pertinent to D&D and the current situation in the world.

I was looking for something dealing with COVID 19 and couldn't find a forum to put it in, but considering the subject, this may be the best forum to think about this.

Currently in many cities there are fears of a rising virus. Viruses normally spread exponentially, meaning that one sick individual infects several others and so forth. With the rising numbers of ill, at what point do you consider cancelling your weekly (or bi-weekly) group?

Would you cancel it over illness fears? If so, at what point do you decide to cancel? Do you wait for the government to cancel schools and non-essentials? Do you wait for longer...do you cancel before that?

If you are in one of the hotspots, what are you doing now? If you are under quarantine, how do you get your gaming fix on?

Is it ethical to continue gaming if they say avoid non-essential contact with other people, for example if you are in Northern Italy in one of the hotspots currently?

Microsoft has instituted that many should work from home at this point. There are many gamers there. Should we be gaming more online rather than in person? I'm not a big fan of gaming online and rather face to face over a table.

When should we start avoiding the game stores...and won't that hurt the FLGS if they lose business for a week?

The bigger question we had recently is that there has been the flu bug going around in the community. We are lucky we have no COVID reported currently in our area (though with how it's been handled I'm pretty sure it's in the wild in my country and there are probably dozens of unconfirmed cases if not more). I had a person panic out today because another person was coughing right beside them. Most likely it is the flu (and we are all rather healthy...I think...so even if we get it I think we are okay) rather than the COVID 19 because, as I said, no confirmed cases in the area, but it sparked an interesting discussion on the Corona virus and what should be done.

With one of my groups I am a co-DM and basically the Co-Leader if we go by that. I'm not quite as hardcore as the other co-leader of the group. I'm leaning that if schools cancel, we should cancel...maybe before. I'm not sure at what point to call the game and say...hey people...we aren't meeting anymore until this entire thing blows over. I'm somewhat concerned. For some reason (remember, no confirmed cases in our area) the stores are now out of toilet paper and sanitizer (Luckily I bought some recently). People are panicking already and I'm thinking perhaps we should stop meeting for a while until this blows over. The other co-leader is pretty hardcore though. I'm not sure if they would cancel regardless of any situation (I'm thinking they had the flu and gave it to at least one other player).

Does anyone have thoughts or plans on this. What happens if they put your area under quarantine or restricted mobility (don't go out unless one has to, distance between people, etc). Anyone already enacting a plan regarding this situation in their home city?

How do you balance between running your game and the fears currently out there of a rising pandemic? I suppose that's the core question. Statistically, currently, the risk still seems low to me, but with how viruses spread that could change very quickly. I don't want to shut down gaming prematurely, but at the same time I don't want our group to become the plague bearers of the area (I think our area is currently very low risk, but I'm not sure of the future).

I would keep an eye on your community's numbers and hospitals. Our city has a dashboard which gives us the numbers and level of threat. Our hospitals are at capacity now and our threat level has gone up, so we have been staying in until the numbers go back down. Before the big surge we were going to the flgs about once a week.

If the numbers get too high, virtual gaming is an option. Zoom voice and video for D&D and TTRPGs and Table Top Simulator on Steam and using another platform for voice is also a solution. Hope all is well and stay safe!

 

[Thomas Shey]

Yeah, we moved to gaming via Maptool and Skype/Discord more than a year ago and haven't shifted back yet. It isn't problem free, but its workable.