Curfew restrictions: Is it legal to leave your house?

dustymarlin10 said:Yeah.
You want to know what the real kicker is?
The fact that most people are just sheep, cheering this on and practically begging for even more restrictions on their rights.
And then there's my neighbor, who spends her entire day hovering by the window, waiting to see who steps outside just so she can call the cops on them—it's unbelievable.
The virus is definitely the smaller problem here.

So they aren't just urban legends. 🤦

I "love" neighbors who (mostly "who" ) "know everything, hear everything, see everything," whose door handles are greasy from constant spying, and who crack the door open just a millimeter when someone walks by, then snap it shut.

As for "bans"—that’s a super slippery slope. Rules gotta be clearly defined and, like, LOGICAL, applied to everyone equally, not just "some people" who have connections or know how to play the system. And obviously, "everything according to the Constitution and the Law and all those amendments," which basically change every five minutes anyway. One amendment works yesterday, another one hits tomorrow, and suddenly everything is "legal." But what kind of values are we even using in these totally insane emergency situations? (Is this an emergency, or just crazy?) Laws aren't carved in stone, and if heaven forbid some total apocalypse actually hits, you won't even have time to read them...☕

Bottom line is—I don't know how much the "higher-ups" or whoever was involved prepared for all this, but most people didn't even think this scenario was possible until recently. I guess there's gonna be discrepancies. If they "knew," and they were the ones who could have "known," then they started acting too late. And honestly, patrols between houses don't do squat. People are out walking, biking, acting like it's a beautiful spring day. ☕

#getoutside - #stayhome = unless I'm crazy, I'm losing it (my favorite catchphrase for certain jobs, or basically any job dealing with people and all the daily life nonsense we deal with.)

Elizabeth Lewis10 said:This isn't exactly on-topic for this thread, I know, but does anyone actually know what the drill is when it comes to heading to the ER?
My aunt has been dealing with these absolutely unbearable pains in her leg for two days now, but she keeps repeating this whole mantra about how you can't just show up at the emergency room whenever you feel like it... Honestly, I'm halfway tempted to just shove her in the car and drive us straight to the hospital.
We live in the same city, and neither of us is showing any COVID symptoms or anything like that. Can I just pull up with her without calling ahead or following some specific protocol, or is there more to it?
Thanks

If you can get a hold of them directly, maybe just ask? Explain the situation and they'll tell you what to do, hopefully. If you can't reach them, just show up with her and try to see "what can be done" on the spot. I don't really know what the rules are right now, just speaking generally.

Joseph Taylor11 said:I'm not being sarcastic. 🙂 🙂
If you look back at my previous posts, you'll see where my head is at... but this whole situation with how they're issuing tickets? That takes the absurdity to a whole new level.

I saw the "direction," but honestly, if you're skimming or if too many posts just melt together in your brain, you lose track of what you were even thinking. 🙂

If I were calling the shots, I’d ban anyone coming from out of town from attending the Easter festivities at our local community center. Honestly, if we locals aren't even gathering given how things currently stand, then what possible reason could there be for inviting outsiders into the mix?
I suppose I wouldn't mind making an exception for those who are genuinely struggling with unemployment and have nowhere else to turn, but for everyone else who is perfectly fine and just wants to travel to the States for the sake of it? They really don't need to be here.

Carl Morris34 said:If I were calling the shots, I’d ban anyone coming from out of town from attending the Easter festivities at our local community center. Honestly, if we locals aren't even gathering given how things currently stand, then what possible reason could there be for inviting outsiders into the mix?
I suppose I wouldn't mind making an exception for those who are genuinely struggling with unemployment and have nowhere else to turn, but for everyone else who is perfectly fine and just wants to travel to the States for the sake of it? They really don't need to be here.

Look, you can't just bar your own citizens from entering their own country.

Instead, just toss everyone into a 14-day quarantine and test them every single day. Let 'em come. Then, when they head back, they can deal with another 14 days of isolation in whatever state they're traveling to.

Jack Cook7 said:Look, you can't just bar your own citizens from entering their own country.

Instead, just toss everyone into a 14-day quarantine and test them every single day. Let 'em come. Then, when they head back, they can deal with another 14 days of isolation in whatever state they're traveling to.

And maybe don't count them in the official stats if they test positive ☕ ... because at this rate of counting, we’ll never actually make it out of quarantine... 😛

Otherwise—they really should be in isolation regardless.
That said, I honestly wonder if people will even be able to return home normally after all that? 🤔

They’ll be allowed back eventually—but they have to go into self-isolation first
so that basically means two rounds of isolation

Jack Cook7 said:Look, you can't just bar your own citizens from entering their own country.

Instead, just toss everyone into a 14-day quarantine and test them every single day. Let 'em come. Then, when they head back, they can deal with another 14 days of isolation in whatever state they're traveling to.

A local politician once famously remarked, "In America, anything is possible."

granitecyclist said:I was thinking that we should perhaps start gradually introducing "virus-free zones." For instance, if a place like Savannah, Des Moines, or maybe even a smaller town like Napa hasn't seen any active cases for more than two or three weeks, then I guess we could slowly start normalizing life there. Of course, my thought is that people from neighboring areas should still be restricted from entering those specific spots until those nearby locations have also cleared a reasonable quarantine period. That way, we might be able to steadily expand these healthy zones.☕

I was just reading somewhere that they might be loosening up some of the restrictions in places like California soon—it sounds like things are finally starting to open up! Honestly, where we are right now, it feels like we're almost completely corona-free already.
Guess what? The farmers' market is opening up again—and honestly, it looks like they've finally loosened up those traffic restrictions around the area! It’s about time, right? I guess it'll be much easier to get in and out now—fingers crossed!
It looks like things are mostly fine around our area—I mean, most of the impact seems concentrated right near things like Napa, though even then, it’s really not a huge number of people. Plus, since everyone is staying home and keeping to themselves, and we all pretty much know who's who here, it's easier to track. The rest of the region seems totally clear! So, I guess the idea that things might actually start getting back to normal by May 1st—at least for us—isn't as crazy as it sounds. Maybe we'll actually see some progress!

Joshua Gray75 said:But what does this actually look like in practice—and more importantly, who does it affect? I mean, which specific townships or municipalities are we talking about merging here? Is it based on total land area, population density, or perhaps even infection rates from recent health crises? Is this just some preliminary announcement to stir the pot... or has something definitive already been drafted somewhere in the bureaucracy?

It’s officially in effect starting today! Basically, they’ve split up the region into seven different zones—which sort of overlap with the old county lines. You can move around freely within your own zone, though. So, for instance, since I'm in a place like San Diego, I could probably head over to somewhere like Fresno or even San Bernardino without a hitch, but I wouldn't be able to make it to Los Angeles or San Francisco right now.

Carl Morris34 said:A local politician once famously remarked, "In America, anything is possible."

Man, that guy knew exactly what he was talking about.

Jack Cook7 said:Look, you can't just bar your own citizens from entering their own country.

Instead, just toss everyone into a 14-day quarantine and test them every single day. Let 'em come. Then, when they head back, they can deal with another 14 days of isolation in whatever state they're traveling to.

Exactly. It’s just as absurd as trying to tell Americans they aren't allowed to drive from New York to Los Angeles.🤔

Lawrence Reed3 said:It’s officially in effect starting today! Basically, they’ve split up the region into seven different zones—which sort of overlap with the old county lines. You can move around freely within your own zone, though. So, for instance, since I'm in a place like San Diego, I could probably head over to somewhere like Fresno or even San Bernardino without a hitch, but I wouldn't be able to make it to Los Angeles or San Francisco right now.

And what about the rest of America... does that just not matter? 🙄

It seems quite clear that this whole business of "grouping municipalities" into these exclusive zones isn't happening anywhere else in the States... perhaps? 🤔

Are the citizens in the other regions simply second-class residents now? Are we not all meant to be equal under the Constitution?

Is there a legal expert out there who can make sense of this logic—or does everything truly just depend on the whims of local power brokers...?? 🤔

Melissa Collins3 said:Exactly. It’s just as absurd as trying to tell Americans they aren't allowed to drive from New York to Los Angeles.🤔

So, the idea is that you can lift such a restriction—entirely—but only for a select few...? 🤔

Joshua Gray75 said:And what about the rest of America... does that just not matter? 🙄

It seems quite clear that this whole business of "grouping municipalities" into these exclusive zones isn't happening anywhere else in the States... perhaps? 🤔

Are the citizens in the other regions simply second-class residents now? Are we not all meant to be equal under the Constitution?

Is there a legal expert out there who can make sense of this logic—or does everything truly just depend on the whims of local power brokers...?? 🤔

So, the idea is that you can lift such a restriction—entirely—but only for a select few...? 🤔

Honestly, so much of what's been happening over the last few days hasn't even been constitutional.

Joshua Gray75 said:And what about the rest of America... does that just not matter? 🙄

It seems quite clear that this whole business of "grouping municipalities" into these exclusive zones isn't happening anywhere else in the States... perhaps? 🤔

Are the citizens in the other regions simply second-class residents now? Are we not all meant to be equal under the Constitution?

Is there a legal expert out there who can make sense of this logic—or does everything truly just depend on the whims of local power brokers...?? 🤔

So, the idea is that you can lift such a restriction—entirely—but only for a select few...? 🤔

There you go. It’s clear that local big shots can actually do their jobs, listen to the people, and follow through on sensible proposals they've hashed out with the headquarters to get permission, yeah...

From what I've gathered, things work similarly over in parts of the Midwest; municipalities are basically annexed to the larger cities. You end up falling under whichever precinct covers the area, rather than being governed by your own town hall.

Same here. We locals are just practicing strict discipline on our website instead of some pointless municipal merger.

Even in rural areas like upstate New York, we maintain the freedom to move quite naturally within our former municipal boundaries.

Joshua Gray75 said:And what about the rest of America... does that just not matter? 🙄

It seems quite clear that this whole business of "grouping municipalities" into these exclusive zones isn't happening anywhere else in the States... perhaps? 🤔

Are the citizens in the other regions simply second-class residents now? Are we not all meant to be equal under the Constitution?

Is there a legal expert out there who can make sense of this logic—or does everything truly just depend on the whims of local power brokers...?? 🤔

So, the idea is that you can lift such a restriction—entirely—but only for a select few...? 🤔

I actually stumbled upon this in an article
"Dino Kozlevac, head of the regional Emergency Management headquarters, confirmed in [City Name] on Tuesday that the National Emergency Command approved their request. This includes requests from the county, several cities, and municipalities to allow residents to move freely within the areas of former municipalities without needing passes.

The decision covers the areas of the former municipalities of [City A], [City B], [City C], [City D], [City E], and [City F] along with their neighboring towns. For the cities of [City G], [City H], and [City I], as well as the towns of [Town A], [Town B], and [Town C], the changes will kick in after Easter since that area was hit hardest by the infection, Kozlevac noted during an emergency press conference this afternoon.

He added that the county basically 'utilized' Section 18 of the Emergency Management Act, which lets multiple units coordinate their operations together.

He highlighted that the freedom of movement was made possible by activating mutual coordination agreements signed by local mayors and officials in those former municipal areas, which the National Emergency Command then gave the green light.

"I'm glad the National Command listened and approved our request; it’s going to make life so much easier for people here. So many residents here rely on the neighboring town or city for their livelihood, and given the headaches with the central e-pass system, the Command's decision is definitely the right call," Kozlevac said, thanking the National Command members for their understanding.

He also mentioned that "only through mutual coordination, listening to folks on the ground, and respecting local info can we successfully wrap this whole situation up." He also announced that markets in [City Name] would reopen Wednesday, though he warned they'd be shut down immediately if they don't follow the rules.

I think they were looking into something similar for [City J], too.
Looking back at the previous posts, it seems like this stuff is starting to apply to the rest of the US as well. Whatever.

nimbleharbor10 said:It is truly pathetic to witness how Americans react with such intense hostility toward anyone perceived as a potential threat to their safety or their way of life, showing zero foresight regarding the fact that they could easily find themselves in that exact same position. There is this irrational mindset where if someone is deemed "infected," they must be crushed, eliminated, or completely destroyed, yet when the tide turns and they fall ill themselves, they will be the ones whimpering for help.

They would go as far as trying to shut down borders—not just national ones, but state lines and county lines too. They’d try to prevent fellow citizens from even returning home. People would spend all their energy spinning conspiracy theories about who infected whom, using those lies to justify violence against the very people they’ve branded as the source of the contagion. All while, quite ironically, they let their children out to play in the local parks with other kids.

Where exactly are you seeing hostility here? If we’ve all been stuck in our own homes for three weeks now, I don't see why there's an issue with letting people who traveled stay at the border for a bit—say, a 14-day quarantine in a facility near the coast. It would actually lower the risk of spreading things to more people, which could help us wrap this whole thing up sooner. Nobody is trying to stop these folks from coming home.

Dennis Cooper3 said:Even in rural areas like upstate New York, we maintain the freedom to move quite naturally within our former municipal boundaries.

Not in places like the Deep South, though. It makes sense—that’s just the kind of politicians we deal with here.

James Phillips92 said:Not in places like the Deep South, though. It makes sense—that’s just the kind of politicians we deal with here.

We can't, sure, but the crooks? They have no problem at all:

https://www.nytimes.com/news/cigarettes-and-drinks

Honestly, this whole thing is just a total mess. Like, if some massive organization like the NFL can basically let people move around wherever they want without a permit, then what's stopping some local bureaucrat in a small town from doing the same? It’s all just one big circle of permission—everyone's giving everyone else the green light, even though none of them actually have the legal authority to pull it off in the first place. 😁