The Daily Valet. - 7/21/20, Tuesday
✔️ The Rise of Social Bubbles
Tuesday, July 21st Edition
Good news: No TikTok witches have hexed this newsletter.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s Big Story
The Rise of Social Bubbles
Flatten the curve first, then join a quaranteam
After months of lockdowns, many people in the U.S. and around the world are turning to quarantine bubbles, pandemic pods or quaranteams in an effort to balance the risks of the pandemic with the emotional and social needs of life.
According to one epidemiologist, who spoke with The Conversation, it’s the perfect example of a harm reduction strategy. Harm reduction is a pragmatic public health concept that explicitly acknowledges that all risk cannot be eliminated, so it encourages the reduction of risk. It also takes into consideration the intersection of biological, psychological and social factors that influence both health and behavior.
The idea is to widen your social horizons in a controlled way, so you’re free to touch, hug, snuggle and kiss the people in your bubble to your hearts’ content. If someone in the bubble is infected, the virus is contained within the group and the spread stops there.
After a substantial decrease in transmission rates, the governments of New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom have encouraged citizens to form these bubbles. Unfortunately for us Americans, if you live in an area where the virus is surging—most of the country—it’s not a good idea.
Social bubbles would only fuel the fire of infections. “These states need to take more drastic measures to mitigate the virus before they start talking about ways to expand,” Melissa Hawkins, an epidemiologist at American University, told Popular Science.
Of course, while they do increase the risk of transmission, it’s important to note that our wellbeing is not just physical—fatigue, depression and anxiety from isolation can inflict serious damage on people’s mental health, too. A survey conducted in April revealed that 14% of U.S. adults have reported symptoms of psychological distress, compared to only 3.9% in 2018. And things have only gotten more dire since then.
↦ FYI: Quartz provides a game plan to help you build a lower-risk COVID social bubble.
Trump Threatens to Deploy Federal Agents
Can the government send in law enforcement against a mayor’s wishes?
Homeland Security officials said Monday they are preparing to deploy federal agents to Chicago, while President Trump threatened to send U.S. law enforcement to protests in other Democratic-led cities, reports the Washington Post. “We're looking at New York” too, he said. “All run by very liberal Democrats. All run, really, by the radical left.”
Trump made the pronouncement as he defended his administration's use of force in Portland—where agents have clashed nightly with demonstrators and made arrests from unmarked cars.
Calling the unrest “worse than Afghanistan,” Trump's rhetoric escalated tensions with Democratic mayors and governors who have criticized the presence of federal agents on U.S. streets.
Can the federal government deploy law enforcement into a city or state against the wishes of local leaders? According to the Wall Street Journal, yes. Federal agents have the authority to protect federal interests, property and enforce federal law in states even over the objection of local or state leaders. But most of the time, federal authorities tend to leave public safety issues to state and local governments as part of the separation of powers.
↦ Meanwhile: President Trump said that he will resume holding coronavirus press briefings at the White House, likely starting today.
What Will Happen to the Movies?
Tenet was supposed to be the first big movie of the COVID era. Now it’s been indefinitely postponed.
It's been a hard few months for Tenet fans. The $205 million film has been sidelined for weeks, as theaters have been shut down across the country due to the ongoing pandemic. The details of the film are shrouded in secrecy, which can't be lifted until the film premieres—and the film itself can't premiere until theaters reopen.
In what would be a surprise move, Warner Bros. may release Tenet overseas before it opens in the United States. Though North America remains the biggest moviegoing market in the world, international cinemas look to be ahead of the States in their efforts to reopen. Sources at the studio tell Variety they'll have to be flexible, suggesting the film won't have a traditional rollout.
In regards to the U.S., where drive-ins are dominating the business and just over 1,000 of the nation's 5,000 theaters are open, Tenet is poised to play wherever and whenever it can—even if New York City and Los Angeles aren't back on line, reports Deadline.
I get it. I'm not currently interested in sitting in a closed room full of strangers (no matter the social distancing) for “communal viewing.” And where's the fun in going to the movies if a mask prevents me from shoveling popcorn and Junior Mints into my mouth by the handful?
↦ FYI: Cinemablend rounded up some of the funniest reactions to the news of the delay.
Lyft Introduces Plastic Partitians
The barriers can slow the spread of COVID-19
You already have to wear a mask to ride in a Lyft or Uber. Now, additional Lyft vehicles will be covering up as well, reports Cnet.
The company is going to provide thousands of plastic partitions to drivers for installation between the front and back seats. Lyft said the idea is to better protect drivers from the spread of the novel coronavirus. Frequent drivers in select cities will get the partitions for free, while others will have to buy the barriers through an online shop.
The goal is to reach about 50% coverage so that it's more likely you'll get a ride with added protection. According to Mashable, the dividers are meant to help block airflow between passengers and drivers on top of safety protocols like mask-wearing, rolling windows down and keeping passengers in the backseat away from the driver.
↦ Meanwhile: Massachusetts sued both Lyft and Uber for misclassifying drivers as contractors, following a similar move by California officials.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
+
The Hottest Device of the Pandemic
From the NBA to Vegas casinos, everyone’s clamoring for this smart ring
The Oura ring is suddenly everywhere. The $299 sleep tracking device has adorned the digits of Prince Harry, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and, since July 9, 1,000 employees at the Venetian and Palazzo casinos in Las Vegas, and most of the NBA players entering the Walt Disney World “bubble,” reports Marker.
The reason for the hype? The ring's sensors monitor users' health data, including heart rate, temperature and respiratory rate. Oura crunches this data into a daily “readiness” score, which their connected app serves up to users each morning—the score indicates how hard to push yourself that day. For example, if you've slept badly, and your score is low, maybe skip the workout.
With no vaccine in the near future, wearable tech is having a field day in the time of COVID-19. PGA golfer Nick Watney credits his Whoop watch as the reason he got tested. Duke University launched CovIdentify, asking people with a Fitbit, Garmin watch or iPhone to download their app in order to analyze their data and help predict infection or severity.
According to Forbes, the ring has also been utilized by users to help detect the early signs of the flu. “Every flu season, every cold season, we've had users come to us and say 'hey, my data was off one or two days, or even more sometimes, before I felt sick,'” said Harpreet Singh Rai, Oura's CEO.
↦ FYI: The NBA has purchased, with the blessing of the league's players association and at no cost to teams or players, more than 2,000 of these $300 rings for its players and staff.
Sales We’re Eyeing
If you haven't heard, Gap is shutting down Hill City. It's a damn shame, if you ask us. The high-performance menswear label—founded by former Major League Soccer player Noah Palmer—specialized in technical clothes that didn't feel overly sporty. The pieces are cool and minimal with all the performance specs you could want. But on the bright side, everything is now 30% off. Even the stuff on sale.
Cooling run tights, $88 / $61.60; Train tee, $38 / $21; Hybrid fleece shorts, $48 / $33.60
Canvas backpack $138 / $67.90
Performance sock $14 / $9.80
Packable shirt jacket $118 / $82.60
↦ Shop the Sale at Hill City
Today’s Deals
Expires 7/21
Expires 7/22
Ongoing Sale
↦ Want More? See all 68 sales
Morning Motto
Grab for what you want ... even the things that feel out of reach.
↦ Follow: @werenotreallystrangers
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