You download the PDF form online from the government website, print it out, fill with the available options including food shopping, physical exercises / dog walking, medical urgence, family reason (taking care of aged members or young children for divorced couples), you need to have the form signed with time and date each time you go out and bring it with you. For work reason you need a justification from your employer and another form. On the street there are control by the police to see the filled form to see if your action is justified with what is filled. A new form is requested each time. A fine will be given if you forget to bring the form. There are people living in the outskirt of Paris, but go to Paris to shop food, they are given a fine as they aren’t seen justified to so far away for shopping. Of course if you walk your dog five a times a day will be fined as well.
On the first day, one could fill the form on the phone and showed the screen to the police. But it was changed as to discourage people from going out. A boost in the online sales of printers. I’ve heard that some rich citizens have no trouble to continuously paying fine, so a new proposition of throwing them in jail is discussed now.
Interesting. I don’t mean this as veiled criticism of the process, but do you know what people are supposed to do if they don’t have Internet access and/or a printer? I’m think mostly in terms of elderly and/or lower-income people, a disproportionately large number of whom in the US don’t have Internet access from home, and are even less likely to own printers if they do have some sort of Internet access…
I’ve heard some associations have helped to distribute the forms in paper or better they proposed to shop food for the elderly. I guess it depends on the police, maybe a verbal warning towards the elderly? But if you are young and without printer, you are in trouble. I guess one can still try to call some associations, city hall or neighbour in the same building for help.
Husband said, in a legal point of view, you can write the attestation on a plain piece of paper and have it signed, should be accepted too.
Ah, yes, the French love for paperwork. But it does make sense even if it’s a formality. Just having to write down your “plan” and carry it with you helps bring home the seriousness of moving around outside, and means you can’t just “make something up” on the spur of the moment if the police stop you. All of which suggests it’s aimed primarilyat younger people who, at least from what I’ve seen in various news reports, have often not been taking things as seriously as they should, or paying it lip service - “well, I know I shouldn’t be, but I’ll stop going out after this one last time…” sorta thing.
I heard on the radio today that French police noticed the same dog being walked for 7 hours, but by different people. Everyone in the building was taking turns. It’s humorous at first blush, but unfair to the dog. Even if it enjoys walks, that’s more of a marathon. It could have been placed at risk of muscle pain, dehydration, and paw pad abrasions, for starters.
Perhaps you desensitized. Consider the chokepoints such as street corners, doorways, elevators, and even open sidewalks when someone just stops (like people in the aisles of groceries). The concentration of people may be brief but the risk is real. “Going for a walk” raises the curve of probability.
In my mind this applies from Manhattan to my town of Annapolis MD to San Fransisco to any urban area. “I’m bored and going for a walk” is simply undisciplined. Stay put. Reducing the number of people out and about makes the risk higher for people shopping for groceries and other essentials.
The math ramps up quickly with population density. Not nearly an issue in rural areas or even villages like Yatling UK or Delft NL or Oriental NC. It’s never too late to behave safely.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
598
Yes. But I don’t think the government has yet announced how much it will be. I don’t think there is going to be any problem with a couple going for a walk. What the new measures are intended to do is prevent groups gathering - hence the closure of places where that might happen. The police already have powers to disperse groups - it’s generally used against groups of teenagers engaged in anti-social behaviour.
Here it’s forbidden, as slowly you can see many couples with young kids crowding on the street. Walk has to be done solo for an adult. Or one parent with one kid.
Yeah, I was talking to a friend the other day who owns a dog, that he can rent his dog out to make some money.
Too bad, I have a cat, although he has a leash, the cat refuses to walk correctly…usually underneath some bushes or cars etc, and he prefers to walk on his own and freely.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
601
Well, the first supermarket home delivery arrived on time. Everything seemed fine - except I cocked up the order, accidentally ticking the “no substitutes” box. So, there are a few items undelivered. None of which were an issue, except milk.
We decided to drive to the one of the two village shops which sell food and, so, are open. The rest of the village centre is pretty much closed. Except the pharmacy which had a long, socially distanced queue outside. We actually have two pharmacies and the other one (which is our usual one) was closed. Makes me wonder if they’ve decided to pool their resources. Well, the village shop had milk so we were able to get enough to last the week and, indeed, a couple of other things that didnt come from the supermarket.
Or perhaps you’re getting way too caught up in abstract theoretical models your imagination is conjuring up…
I am somewhat desensitized to ambient noise - right now my neighborhood is even quieter than it is on Yom Kippur (which believe me is really saying something) and it feels almost eery - but I’m not so desensitized that I “don’t see” people standing within a radius of a few feet of me… when they’re there.
I’m thinking about actual personal experience in the cities, towns, and villages I listed. Neither abstract nor theoretical. Numerical models based on empirical data are the foundation of science.
Even in my suburban neighborhood people have already ‘recovered’ from initial concern. On my way in this morning there was a group of 20 adults and children clumped up on a walk. State guidance here in Maryland is groups no greater than 10. I don’t really want to be near anyone other than my wife.
I can’t speak to your experience - and that is certainly as disturbing as it is inadvisable. Maybe because NYC turns out to have massively more reported confirmed cases than anyone was suggesting was likely until they actually started testing, people seem to be being much more careful here. When I go out (which isn’t often), I see a few people - literally a few - within a couple of blocks. A few nights ago, I saw a group of maybe 6 teenagers standing around close together being idiots (more idiotic than usual for male teenagers, which I assumed accounted for the inadvisable behavior) and contrary to being desensitized, the sight really stuck out because it was so unusual in context. (And fwiw, they weren’t there half an hour later on my way back, so I guess they weren’t total idiots.) Apart from them, I haven’t seen any “groups” of people congregating anywhere except on grocery store lines, and even there, no one’s standing around just “chatting” as they usually do… There have been very few other people on the buses and subway (which I have to take at least one way to get to my closest supermarket - we’re not at a point where I’m willing to wheel a shopping cart 2.5 miles on foot - and those few have been spacing themselves out as far as possible.
California’s governor has been very visible on TV setting limits on numbers and distances. 12 feet is the norm here, both recommendation and what i see on the street.
Marin County was bombarded last weekend by people seeking recreational apace. They put out a statement: IF YOU CAN WALK OR BIKE HERE, YOU ARE WELCOME. IF YOU NEED OR PLAN TO TAKE A CAR, STAY HOME. WE DON’T WANT YOU! A good rule of thumb everywhere.
I was freaked out by an inconsiderate, middle- aged male cyclist, who got within a foot of me, as he rode his bike on a sidewalk, coming from behind me, not honking his horn or ringing his bell if he has one, when there was almost no traffic on a 2 lane road in the midsized city where I’m staying. No one over the age of 8 should be riding a bike on a sidewalk, let alone sneaking up behind a pedestrian. Thank goodness he was only near me for a second or 2.
I’ve been backing up at grocery stores as people get into my space. Ignorant, clueless and self-absorbed.
And you know that stereotype of nice Canadians? Nice Canadian snowbirds returning from Florida, since their 3rd party coverage doesn’t work there for Covid, have been putting the stay at home Canadians at risk through their selfish and reckless behavior.
My friend overheard this at a grocery store in a 3500 person town in Ontario.
I think I’ve written upthread but we notice many people veering off sidewalks to walk in bike lanes of the street in order to maintain distances. I also notice more conversation audible from the street as people talk from some feet apart or to hands free cell phones when walking alone.
New neighbors moved in a few weeks ago. I didn’t want to bother them during their transition, Then Covid19 happened . . . so we had our introductory conversation shouting at some yards apart . We may actually meet some day, but at least we exchanged names and ascertained we’ll all be friendly/neighborly and thanks to the yelling, a few other neighbors got the info as well.
So we’ve now learned our two week shutdown is more likely to be four weeks
I did a quick trip to our pharmacy (which has a grocery section) and meat market . . . both across the street from each other and less than a 1/4 mile away from home. Mom and I reassessed. We had some great fresh NY strip steaks last night (sadly no mushrooms for the sauce) and put another in the freezer. Cheeseburgers tonight with the rest of the freshly ground beef already transformed into a meatloaf and a half dozen meatballs. Chicken breasts (from pre-crisis times, and so next to be cooked). Frozen ravioli. A pack of frozen hot dogs. So we have another week’s worth of dinners which we can augment with delivery.
Two dozen eggs, two pounds of bacon, a pound of scrapple, juices, bread and muffins. So we have breakfast for a good two weeks.
Soups, cheeses, cookies and crackers round out the in-betweens (I’m on a Rx that mandates being taken with food or milk, so I’m all about the in-betweens).
Still 3 bottles of whiskey and 1-1/2 of vodka left.
If it is just another two weeks we’ll survive on the 2-1/2 rolls of TP.
ETA: No tuna and no litter. I am going to have one very unhappy cat.
Husband went to stores again today to get what was missing yesterday, he bought more fish and shelf fish. I heard on news that many fishermen have decided to stop due to the lack of demand. Looks like fresh fish would be a luxury soon. He tried to get some food for the neighbour as well.
We learn that our next door neighbour has some symptoms, I hope that is only false alarm. Problem is the lack of test and doctors. She could only talk to her doctor on phone and nothing can be done. Another friend’s uncle is in hospital now.
On the news, we heard a large number of elderly passed away in retirement homes without any medical help, nor could they saw their love ones one last time. Many of the places have up to 9 - 13 death, very horrifying. Things are indeed not going on well in the country.
But it does make sense even if it’s a formality. Just having to write down your “plan” and carry it with you helps bring home the seriousness of moving around outside, and means you can’t just “make something up” on the spur of the moment if the police stop you. All of which suggests it’s aimed primarilyat younger people who, at least from what I’ve seen in various news reports, have often not been taking things as seriously as they should, or paying it lip service - “well, I know I shouldn’t be, but I’ll stop going out after this one last time…” sorta thing.
