Curfew restrictions: Is it legal to leave your house?

positivax said:Seriously though...🙄
Why can't we just ban everyone in quarantine from going anywhere? Absolutely anywhere except maybe an ER if it’s a life-or-death thing. Threaten them with jail time and massive fines. You catch someone out of their house, they head straight to a strict quarantine and face $2667 penalties?
Just drop off all their groceries once a week based on a list and tell them to stay put.
It's easy enough to organize. Just go address by address.
I don't get why we can't just restrict those thousand people so they aren't wandering around with their families, strolling about, driving cross-country, or hanging out at CVS, grocery stores, or gas stations.

Honestly, it might be better if they just killed us all. That would definitely stop the virus from spreading.

I really don't get you people. My city has been a ghost town for days; there isn't a soul in sight.

What other "brilliant" measures are you guys planning to roll out?

Fitzgerald said:I’d love to see some actual fines handed out. Maybe then people would finally realize how many local municipalities have popped up lately—it feels like every tiny little town thinks it’s its own kingdom now.

The other issue is the lack of clarity regarding what "place of residence" actually means. Some interpret it as the municipal boundary, while others clearly think it refers to a specific street address 🙂. I highly doubt the latter was the intention; that would basically turn this into a 24-hour police state where some clerk at the IRS (most folks there are decent field agents, or should be, rather than just paper-pushers) decides whether I'm allowed to go to the grocery store.

I just printed my own pass on company letterhead and now we’re stuck waiting for official guidance. Luckily, it's snowing, so nobody's really looking to get out on the road anyway.

In my case, my PLACE OF RESIDENCE covers the ENTIRE COUNTY (Burdette). That means every single township within the county limits.
That should be the standard for all municipalities. At least, that’s what they confirmed to me in writing.

positivax said:But seriously though...🙄
Why can't they just strictly forbid anyone in isolation from going anywhere at all? ...
I don't get why these thousand people can't be restricted enough so they aren't just wandering around with their families, strolling about, driving across the country from city to city, or hanging out at pharmacies, grocery stores, and gas stations?

Why haven't they been put under a strict quarantine?

Well, they could, obviously...
Like giving them cell phones (or maybe wristbands) for tracking purposes? 🤷

They claim to be monitoring them—but this thing (the ban on leaving your residence) should be, like, easier?🤔

That was actually just a comment from a forum (suggesting it would be easier this way), though I honestly don't see how it makes any sense.

tessaa said:Over at the CZ (well, at least where I am...), they’ve actually halted the issuance of permits and certifications altogether... apparently, some new directives are trickling down from above.

It is just—honestly, it's mind-boggling.

The issue isn't that the CZ issues those certificates, but rather that they're handled by the local emergency management headquarters that every single town and municipality is required to maintain.🤔

It is such a quintessential display of how our government functions: they realize they have absolutely no way to monitor whether overtime pay is actually being issued on Sundays, so their brilliant solution is simply to ban Sunday labor altogether.
They find themselves unable to track a mere 15,000 people in quarantine, and their immediate reaction is to lock down 4,000,000 citizens instead...

I am heading out now to collect my paperwork, and leaving the city should be quite easy enough, though I suppose I should cross my fingers that I can actually manage to make it back... 👍

rustywalker42 said:Honestly, it might be better if they just killed us all. That would definitely stop the virus from spreading.

I really don't get you people. My city has been a ghost town for days; there isn't a soul in sight.

What other "brilliant" measures are you guys planning to roll out?

What kind of restrictions are we talking about—not being allowed to step off your porch if you're stuck in isolation and suspected of having COVID?
How are you all behaving on the I-95, or when you're playing tag by driving from one city to another with three other people crammed in the car, or even just hanging out in pharmacies?
And what's the deal with how everyone is acting at gas stations and grocery stores? Why can't they just deliver groceries to us? Just enough to let the infection levels settle down a bit? It's only two weeks of isolation.
Clearly, people either can't or won't follow the rules; apparently, they should have implemented strict controls and checkpoints at the pharmacies because, God forbid, you have to stay inside for a measly two or three weeks. No, we absolutely have to wander around, grab coffee with the neighbors, visit our elderly relatives, and host backyard BBQs.
Does everyone here live completely alone? Give me a break.🙄

Henry Lopez10 said:But seriously though...🙄
Why can't we just implement a total lockdown on everyone in isolation? Just a blanket ban on leaving your house for absolutely any reason, except maybe an emergency trip to the ER? We could enforce it with the threat of jail time and massive fines. If anyone gets caught wandering outside, they get hauled straight to a detention center for strict quarantine and $2667 penalties?
They should just have groceries delivered once a week based on a strict list, and then they shouldn't move an inch.

Of course it’s possible. That’s exactly how they handle it in Mexico—you go straight to prison if you're caught breaking quarantine.
But here, we’re all too busy clinging to our precious "human rights."🤦

rustywalker42 said:Honestly, it might be better if they just killed us all. That would definitely stop the virus from spreading.

I really don't get you people. My city has been a ghost town for days; there isn't a soul in sight.

What other "brilliant" measures are you guys planning to roll out?

I honestly think we should be arresting anyone who keeps flouting quarantine rules or ignoring the ban on gathering in public spaces. If they get caught up in this nonsense again, they should face at least a month behind bars.

And, if someone decides to get reckless or actually tries to bolt while being checked by authorities, let's just give the officers the green light to use lethal force.

Jonathan Smith12 said:The issue isn't that the CZ issues those certificates, but rather that they're handled by the local emergency management headquarters that every single town and municipality is required to maintain.🤔

So—is it the FEMA headquarters? Or is it something else entirely?

I mean, you have people out there actually hunting down paperwork to try and claim some plot of land out in the rural area that doesn't even exist, when they could probably be doing something much more productive, like planting potatoes or whatever, or maybe just telling a landlord, "Look, my spouse and I are both working, so could we just get a verification for my aunt who’s coming over to help us watch the kids..."

Honestly, what kind of people are we dealing with? It’s a miracle the government hasn't completely lost its mind yet given this behavior.

Here’s another thing those idiots are conveniently leaving out of the conversation...
Does this mean we need some kind of sign-off from the local FEMA headquarters or the city council?
And which specific cities or municipalities are we even talking about here?

Joseph Taylor11 said:So—is it the FEMA headquarters? Or is it something else entirely?

Well, you see, it usually works like this—every local sheriff or department head basically picks their own command center, which ends up being run by a doctor, or perhaps a firefighter, or just some official from the city hall... honestly, there are so many different theories floating around out there, you can hardly keep track of them all.🙏

darkotter35 said:Here’s another thing those idiots are conveniently leaving out of the conversation...
Does this mean we need some kind of sign-off from the local FEMA headquarters or the city council?
And which specific cities or municipalities are we even talking about here?

Honestly, why even be surprised? For thirty years, they’ve been churning out laws and regulations designed to be vague enough that anyone can twist them—all just so the government can grab more power than they actually deserve.

Now that there's an actual crisis and we need clear, precise directives, it turns out there isn't a single competent soul left who can actually get the job done.

Quincy:

Patrick Cook As if I could ever say enough about this particular subject without wandering off into a dozen different side quests, but here we go again! It’s funny, really, how certain things just stick in your mind like a catchy song you can't shake, even when you know you should probably be focusing on something more productive, though my productivity levels have always been a bit... let's call them "subjective." Anyway, what was I getting at? Oh, right—what was being said. I mean, honestly, why is everyone acting so shocked by this? Over the last thirty years, they’ve been churning out laws and regulations at such a relentless pace that you can practically hear the ink drying, all designed so that anyone can interpret them however they damn well please just to ensure the government maintains an even tighter grip on everything than it already does. Now that we’ve found ourselves staring down the barrel of a genuine crisis, where we desperately need someone to step up and draft some clear, precise, and actually functional regulations, I can't help but feel a profound sense of skepticism because, frankly, it seems like there isn't a single soul left with the actual competence required to pull off such a monumental task.

Well, if you ask me, we’d probably need something like four million police officers to keep pace with four million citizens—though, heaven help us, it would only work if they were actually honest people, which feels like quite the tall order these days. If we could somehow manage to recruit a force that wasn't looking for a kickback at every turn, then maybe, just maybe, our regulations wouldn't be such a complete and utter mess.

It’s been about twenty days of this crisis now, and honestly, the way they’ve rolled out the measures has been somewhat manageable, allowing us all to adjust gradually without losing our minds entirely. Most employers and government agencies have handled the transitions quite smoothly, which is a relief, really. But, oh boy, there’s just one glaring issue that the decision-makers in Washington, D.C. seem to completely overlook in their grand calculations. They act as if life just pauses perfectly when a new mandate drops, failing to realize that on the very first day a regulation hits, Matthew might be stuck driving his sick mother all the way to Chicago, or perhaps Steve suddenly finds himself without a babysitter for the kids, or even Mary has to scramble because she already committed to a wedding date months ago. Life doesn't just stop being complicated just because a new rule is signed into law.

I honestly feel like people just had nothing better to do during the lockdown, because the second that official mandate dropped, everyone absolutely lost their minds. It was like a stampede toward the local CVS or Target, with folks frantically scrambling to hoard everything from face masks and hand sanitizer to those little portable spray bottles, all because they suddenly had far too much free time on their hands.

Henry Lopez10 said:What kind of restrictions are we talking about—not being allowed to step off your porch if you're stuck in isolation and suspected of having COVID?
How are you all behaving on the I-95, or when you're playing tag by driving from one city to another with three other people crammed in the car, or even just hanging out in pharmacies?
And what's the deal with how everyone is acting at gas stations and grocery stores? Why can't they just deliver groceries to us? Just enough to let the infection levels settle down a bit? It's only two weeks of isolation.
Clearly, people either can't or won't follow the rules; apparently, they should have implemented strict controls and checkpoints at the pharmacies because, God forbid, you have to stay inside for a measly two or three weeks. No, we absolutely have to wander around, grab coffee with the neighbors, visit our elderly relatives, and host backyard BBQs.
Does everyone here live completely alone? Give me a break.🙄

I'm not in isolation, nor am I under suspicion. This past Saturday, I was driving home on I-95 from Washington, D.C., and over the next 168 miles I saw maybe 7 or 8 cars total.

I don't wander through stores; my tank is full.

I don't drink coffee, I don't smoke, and I don't touch alcohol. I don't go to bars or anything.

So tell me, why should I suffer because of a handful of morons from Washington, D.C. or Florida?

Besides, my county still hasn't seen any cases.

restlessmason54 said:I honestly think we should be arresting anyone who keeps flouting quarantine rules or ignoring the ban on gathering in public spaces. If they get caught up in this nonsense again, they should face at least a month behind bars.

And, if someone decides to get reckless or actually tries to bolt while being checked by authorities, let's just give the officers the green light to use lethal force.

🙏🙏🙏

It's not a revolution, but you know a revolution eats its own children, right?

Decisions like these? They eat their own children too.

Jonathan Smith12 said:I mean, you have people out there actually hunting down paperwork to try and claim some plot of land out in the rural area that doesn't even exist, when they could probably be doing something much more productive, like planting potatoes or whatever, or maybe just telling a landlord, "Look, my spouse and I are both working, so could we just get a verification for my aunt who’s coming over to help us watch the kids..."

Honestly, what kind of people are we dealing with? It’s a miracle the government hasn't completely lost its mind yet given this behavior.

And honestly, what's stopping him? If he's living alone and isn't bothering anyone, why not?
At least he'll have something to eat come fall.
Unlike the rest of us who don't own any land.
(Or at least don't have a patch of dirt suitable for growing potatoes).

So, if they’re actually trying to stop people from heading out to the coast or their vacation homes, I don't get it... because I'm looking out my window right now and cars are flying down the highway. It seems like you can zip anywhere within Washington, D.C., whether it's from Brooklyn over to Suburban Atlanta, or even from a Gladiator up to the Plains... but apparently, if you want to drive from a Rural area into work in a Rural area, you suddenly need a mountain of paperwork?!?

Doesn't that seem a little ridiculous? 🤔

rustywalker42 said:I'm not in isolation, nor am I under suspicion. This past Saturday, I was driving home on I-95 from Washington, D.C., and over the next 168 miles I saw maybe 7 or 8 cars total.

I don't wander through stores; my tank is full.

I don't drink coffee, I don't smoke, and I don't touch alcohol. I don't go to bars or anything.

So tell me, why should I suffer because of a handful of morons from Washington, D.C. or Florida?

Besides, my county still hasn't seen any cases.

🙏🙏🙏

It's not a revolution, but you know a revolution eats its own children, right?

Decisions like these? They eat their own children too.

Sorry, I didn't actually mean you personally, but your question definitely got under my skin.😉

As for everything else... you really need to find a wife. You don't drink, you don't smoke, you aren't shady... you're basically a saint.😁

Maybe we're all being a bit paranoid, but when I hear about some lunatic getting infected just because they went over to a neighbor's place for a quick coffee while wearing a mask—only for their son to come home from abroad carrying COVID... ugh.
I'd implement a strict 24-hour curfew immediately.😠
Some people might feel relaxed thinking they're invincible or too young to care, but based on all the stories coming out of Italy, COVID doesn't just target the elderly. Looking at these infection and age statistics here in the USA... it’s pretty grim, and honestly, we should all just stay home.
Sure, some people can't stay put because of work, but those who can have absolutely no reason to be out on the streets. Instead, they wander around aimlessly.
They insist on going to the grocery store today, tomorrow, and the day after simply because they "have to," and since the local markets haven't closed down, they end up wandering through the aisles, bumping into each other while poking at the produce and breathing all over the fruit.
Half of them don't even bother with hand sanitizer.
People are just reckless and careless.
I have this retired neighbor who, right up until this snow hit, was heading out every single day—every single day—to the store or the market, followed by a little stroll around the neighborhood. No mask, and his commitment to washing his hands was honestly laughable.
Get what I'm saying?
I wouldn't even want to just lock him in his house; I'd rather lock him in the basement, tied up, just to keep him from wandering. That's how I feel.

My own immune system isn't the strongest, I have someone close to me with asthma, and two grandmothers—one of whom barely survived cancer and still has concerning lab results—so... yeah, I'm a little stricter when it comes to citizens running around like idiots.

mellowseal1 said:So, if they’re actually trying to stop people from heading out to the coast or their vacation homes, I don't get it... because I'm looking out my window right now and cars are flying down the highway. It seems like you can zip anywhere within Washington, D.C., whether it's from Brooklyn over to Suburban Atlanta, or even from a Gladiator up to the Plains... but apparently, if you want to drive from a Rural area into work in a Rural area, you suddenly need a mountain of paperwork?!?

Doesn't that seem a little ridiculous? 🤔

A bit? 😉

If they’re going to restrict movement, they need to be crystal clear about it: why, how, and for how long.

Does anyone actually have an answer to any of those questions?

I'm still sitting here waiting to hear or read exactly how long this measure is supposed to last.

☕

Joseph Taylor11 said:A bit? 😉

If they’re going to restrict movement, they need to be crystal clear about it: why, how, and for how long.

Does anyone actually have an answer to any of those questions?

I'm still sitting here waiting to hear or read exactly how long this measure is supposed to last.

☕

That’s exactly what I asked, and I didn't get a single answer from anyone.
Apparently, it stays in effect as long as the authorities feel like it.
So now you're just stuck wondering if you'll be cooped up for one month, two, or three. Honestly, I think we're all gonna lose our minds from the stress before we even catch the virus.