Sounds like borderline anarchy. There has to be an authoritative entity that's at the very least acknowledged by the masses. Granted, it's upon the individual and those liberties and rights that they'll take to their collective graves to determine the constitutionality of wearing, in this case, a cloth mask and abiding by directives handed down by medical experts. Fear and paranoia notwithstanding.

So if we lose 100's or thousands of people to death by a pandemic but didn't compromise our rights, then all is good? We win, & that includes the ones who are six feet under. Maybe they die as martyrs or at the expense of some selfish individual's quest for no disruption of his "rights". So in a short term of few weeks or months, sacrificing lives when a little practicality, common sense, and looking out for the greater good of our fellow man is just not a consideration. We are a caring society, or at least most people are.

So if we lose 100's or thousands of people to death by a pandemic but didn't compromise our rights, then all is good? We win, & that includes the ones who are six feet under. Maybe they die as martyrs or at the expense of some selfish individual's quest for no disruption of his "rights". So in a short term of few weeks or months, sacrificing lives when a little practicality, common sense, and looking out for the greater good of our fellow man is just not a consideration. We are a caring society, or at least most people are.

We are not going to loose anywhere near that number. I challenge you to put up the real numbers here of lives lost in the USA that the CDC states are unequivocally due to Covid ...And your highlighting the word "Rights" like they are not to be taken seriously?.. I believe makes you part of the problem...

We are not going to loose anywhere near that number. I challenge you to put up the real numbers here of lives lost in the USA that the CDC states are unequivocally due to Covid ...And your highlighting the word "Rights" like they are not to be taken seriously?.. I believe makes you part of the problem...

60,000 people thus far confirmed deaths in the U.S. The reality is probably higher than what is confirmed.

And the reference to "rights" is because some rights are limited when safety is a concern, such as vacating areas during wildfires, curfews after hurricanes, yelling certain words in public spaces, etc. Parks close all of the time for maintenance and people don't get all butt hurt about it, they deal. A swing set, even a public one, is a guaranteed right.

Look, I get it, I have friends in Arizona and many don't completely understand the effect COVID-19 has wrought in hard-hit areas, but are feeling the disruption. I can understand the frustration of businesses forced to close (I've lost a lot of gigs this Spring) but I don't get the insistence on something so frugal as going to a park. Hopefully Arizona can curb the increase, especially with all of the retirees like here in FL, but the numbers there are trending upwards. Stay safe.

We are not going to loose anywhere near that number. I challenge you to put up the real numbers here of lives lost in the USA that the CDC states are unequivocally due to Covid ...And your highlighting the word "Rights" like they are not to be taken seriously?.. I believe makes you part of the problem...

60,000 people thus far confirmed deaths in the U.S. The reality is probably higher than what is confirmed.

And the reference to "rights" is because some rights are limited when safety is a concern, such as vacating areas during wildfires, curfews after hurricanes, yelling certain words in public spaces, etc. Parks close all of the time for maintenance and people don't get all butt hurt about it, they deal. A swing set, even a public one, is a guaranteed right.

Look, I get it, I have friends in Arizona and many don't completely understand the effect COVID-19 has wrought in hard-hit areas, but are feeling the disruption. I can understand the frustration of businesses forced to close (I've lost a lot of gigs this Spring) but I don't get the insistence on something so frugal as going to a park. Hopefully Arizona can curb the increase, especially with all of the retirees like here in FL, but the numbers there are trending upwards. Stay safe.

Thank you my friend and you as well. My "frustration" is with the masses who insist this is a problem with a "One size fits all" mentality and path to a solution.

OK, here we go.
1) The woman and her children did not wear any protective gear-masks or gloves.
2) They were in an area closed to the public. Reason for being closed to the public? Because there are people out there that would sue the local government if they had the thought that their child got sick because they were at the playground. Doesn't matter if they got it from another child or from contaminated equipment-slide, monkey bars, swings, etc.
3) Mother did not have anything to clean behind her children to prevent others from possibly getting sick from where her children had touched playground equipment.
4) The playground was closed because little children don't understand the importance of keeping distance during this crisis.
5) She chose to go through a police line into a park that was closed, showed no concern for the welfare of her children (possible child abuse charges there?), nor did she show concern for the rest of the public by not trying to disinfect areas her children had been (possible threat to public health charges there).

I am a FIRM believer in personal rights as laid out in the Constitution. There are times when sacrificing some personal liberties are called for. During a health crisis you need to follow guidelines given by the health department. Those are not only for your good, but for the well being of the community.

Since this disease is so far known to be spread by contact, guidelines have been established to limit contact with others. We have not yet, and I hope never, gotten to the point where total Quarantine is needed to slow or stop it's spread. As that most pandemics come in three separate waves, it may eventually come to that.

Small "demonstrations" like hers can cause a large number of infections. The spread could cause entire streets to be under total lock down. No outside exposure at all. it could spread to entire towns.
Then you would have to declare Marshal law and completely close off the town. Nothing comes in, nothing comes out. No traffic, no food deliveries. You would get your meals from a National Guard soldier dressed in full MOPPs gear (MREs do not make a good long term diet).

Why all this? Because one person felt that their personal wishes outweighed the health and well being of everyone else.

Going to a playground is not a right, it is a privilege. Her privileges have been restricted during this crisis, but not her rights.

Since this disease is so far known to be spread by contact, guidelines have been established to limit contact with others. We have not yet, and I hope never, gotten to the point where total Quarantine is needed to slow or stop it's spread. As that most pandemics come in three separate waves, it may eventually come to that.

Small "demonstrations" like hers can cause a large number of infections. The spread could cause entire streets to be under total lock down. No outside exposure at all. it could spread to entire towns.
Then you would have to declare Marshal law and completely close off the town. Nothing comes in, nothing comes out. No traffic, no food deliveries. You would get your meals from a National Guard soldier dressed in full MOPPs gear (MREs do not make a good long term diet).

Fair enough and a well thought out and expressed viewpoint. A lot of this hypothesis is based on possibility and the words, if, could, possibly and suppose. So, the inference here is that we, knowing what we do, have attempted to to the best we can, I get it and fully understand that this is the only logical way we could have gone about this thing. But, if this "thing" is as serious and deadly contagious as the media and the experts would all have us believe, why are we not seeing an increase in infections and deaths among the people who are providing "essential" necessities outside of the highly appreciated healthcare industry?...Who has more contact with a possible carrier? A Healthcare professional?..or a clerk in a Grocery store?...( Grocery store clerks handle $$, items that have been touched by scores of people, are in close proximity to hundreds hourly and I've not heard of one case) Where are the death totals for this group? Would not ONE death or case in this group call for the immediate closure of that store? And if there is a second wave of this virus after a slow attempt at returning to life as we remember it and the National Guard does indeed have to be called in to implement martial law, one might ask why this wasn't done in the first place? So please as much as I respect your contributions to this board, don't come at others with the "rights" vs. privilege argument when nothing is being applied with any type of consistency anywhere in the country. As long as one person is restricted in travel and arrested in front of a crowd (as you stated, NONE of whom were wearing a mask or practicing social distancing -Why didn't they arrest them all? - they were ALL in a closed park) for standing up for what she believes to be important while others golf and visit the hardware store ( for that 'necessary' paint brush) I will continue to label this thing in anyway I see fit, way overblown.

. . .nothing is being applied with any type of consistency anywhere in the country.

Point here? No one knows what to do, meaning people in NYC are in no position to say "Follow our lead; the latest results from China are encouraging"...These same people then scratch their heads and wonder why everyone is not on their wavelength...

My "frustration" is with the masses who insist this is a problem with a "One size fits all" mentality

^ Right. So things are more strict in NYC than in Bumf*ck Egypt. Situations differ all over, as do responses. So your complaints about inconsistency and one-size-fits-all-sheeplethink are in direct conflict with each other.

How would you describe, Meridian, Idaho?..Where police applied a NYC type of solution?

I am sure Meridian Idaho, like the rest of the Northwest, is much more relaxed than NYC.

Then why was a NYC solution applied?

But, if this "thing" is as serious and deadly contagious as the media and the experts would all have us believe, why are we not seeing an increase in infections and deaths among the people who are providing "essential" necessities outside of the highly appreciated healthcare industry?...Who has more contact with a possible carrier? A Healthcare professional?..or a clerk in a Grocery store?...( Grocery store clerks handle $$, items that have been touched by scores of people, are in close proximity to hundreds hourly and I've not heard of one case)

So you need dead grocery clerks in order to take this seriously? Fine, here:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/14/coronavirus-claims-lives-30-grocery-store-workers-union-says/2987754001/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/06/supermarket-workers-deaths-coronavirus-/
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2020/04/20/dozens-of-grocery-store-workers-have-died-heres-what-workers-say-their-employers-did-wrong

Just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't mean it hasn't happened - look it up. Grocery stores here in Florida were quick to suit up in masks and gloves, also installed plexi-glass at the checkout. You also don't necessarily get it from exchanging money unless it's been coughed on or something. I'm not sure how close you are getting to the produce stockers, but stop breathing on their necks. This is the opposite of understanding it.

I am sure Meridian Idaho, like the rest of the Northwest, is much more relaxed than NYC.

Then why was a NYC solution applied?

Prevention. It's a COVID solution. Remember this is also for the sake of park employees, not just to keep kids from drooling on the slide.

But, if this "thing" is as serious and deadly contagious as the media and the experts would all have us believe, why are we not seeing an increase in infections and deaths among the people who are providing "essential" necessities outside of the highly appreciated healthcare industry?...Who has more contact with a possible carrier? A Healthcare professional?..or a clerk in a Grocery store?...( Grocery store clerks handle $$, items that have been touched by scores of people, are in close proximity to hundreds hourly and I've not heard of one case)

So you need dead grocery clerks in order to take this seriously? Fine, here:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/14/coronavirus-claims-lives-30-grocery-store-workers-union-says/2987754001/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/06/supermarket-workers-deaths-coronavirus-/
https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2020/04/20/dozens-of-grocery-store-workers-have-died-heres-what-workers-say-their-employers-did-wrong

Just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't mean it hasn't happened - look it up. Grocery stores here in Florida were quick to suit up in masks and gloves, also installed plexi-glass at the checkout. You also don't necessarily get it from exchanging money unless it's been coughed on or something. I'm not sure how close you are getting to the produce stockers, but stop breathing on their necks. This is the opposite of understanding it.

Thanks for the links. Are the stores where the workers were infected or showing symptoms and spreading this virus, still open? Restaurants are closed because people are not allowed to be in confined spaces, so they offer take-out. If Stopping this virus is at the crux of this issue, should not Grocery Stores and all other essential outlets be delivering to the curb?

"Do you know how much that would cost"? Will more than likely be the response?

How important to you is killing this virus?

Thanks for the links. Are the stores where the workers were infected or showing symptoms and spreading this virus, still open? Restaurants are closed because people are not allowed to be in confined spaces, so they offer take-out. If Stopping this virus is at the crux of this issue, should not Grocery Stores and all other essential outlets be delivering to the curb?

"Do you know how much that would cost"? Will more than likely be the response?

How important to you is killing this virus?

Many grocery stores are doing delivery and curbside pickup. But, if you're going to have someone pick out your groceries, why not just get them delivered at that point and stay home? I don't think stores have the staff to shop for everyone, I think it's more resources than cost. Most grocery stores are relatively large spaces, I think you weigh the potential risk to the necessity, and people need food. Masks help minimize the danger.