nk15

I agree, but does this mean that all air traffic in the US and abroad will stop? How about metros and buses in big cities? How would people get to work if they don't have cars? (not that big cities can accommodate everyone driving anyway).

How would people do social distancing in big cities? Have you seen people crossing the loop bridges in Chicago during rush hour? Tens of thousands of them, an endless sea of people walking together, streaming in and out of downtown, like in a demonstration, lol...

invisible

I believe that there are whole industries which can be mostly switched via remote/reduced office presence operating mode. Heck I am sitting here in Singapore for last 2 weeks working from home and suddenly everyone release that it is possible to do - before that 'work from home' existed in employee handbook but not in this Asian realities. However thanks to corona, now we started to using it. And the company is one of the largest in software industry...

bocastephen

I am curious by what scientific method folks are using to assume the virus is 'cold weather' friendly and might be suppressed once the spring and summer arrive - how do we know for sure that it isn't cold weather suppressed and warm/hot weather friendly, and might explode in cases as warmer weather arrives?

bocastephen

I've worked remote/telecommute for years - and all of my friends in Asia were absolutely astounded that such as thing was allowed - how can I work without a superior standing over me, watching everything I do, constantly micro-managing and measuring efficiency? It's just not done in Asia, such a concept is totally alien to companies there, especially in Japan - until now. I see a transition occurring the longer this lasts, as companies are liable to see an improvement in productivity and work quality once workers are released from their office bondage and allowed to manage their own time and work like responsible adults, and not like children in a classroom. It's already been proven with years of data that telecommuting (for responsible employees, not slackers), self-managed work hours, and compressed schedules dramatically improve efficiency, job satisfaction and retention.

Maybe a new way of doing work in Asia might stick around after this all hopefully clears up.

nk15

Airlines may have to re-organize and go bankrupt, and Uber/ridesharing and taxis may get more expensive and profitable.

invisible

I can talk from Singapore realities and people can tell stories from HK and Beijing.

In Singapore life/business is as usual with the following exceptions: at entrances of all malls/cinemas/metro/MRT stations/office buildings there is a temp control - you are scanned either via automatic scanner or manually. If you are entering an office building, you are given small color sticker you put on your shirt and after that you can bypass entry temp checks again. Obviously there are no stickers at malls and MRT stations and there are no temp checks at buses - simply not possible. Also there are hand sanitizes everywhere - at the entrance of buildings, our condo put it at every elevator.

Some, but not all people are wearing masks (well, let's put effectiveness of them aside). Large/very large public gatherings (concerts, stadium events, halls with several hundred/thousand attendants) are canceled. Movies theaters are open, but how long they will stay open will depends on how fast is the spread.

So far above is working when spread of infection is low. Obviously if we are having Wuhan/Korea/Italy situation then reality will be different. How different - another matter. What is clear that this virus spread very fast and very well in closed quarters - churches in Singapore and Korea, hotel conference (Singapore), a bar full with people (Italy), army barracks (Korea), Wuhan Princess (well, you know) - all these are such examples.

How we can implement mitigation to reduce the spread - I don't know yet. Wuhan style quarantine worldwide is non-starter.

notquiteaff

I have worked from home for years, and so has most of my team, except for those in India. I wonder if this will change work patterns/policies for companies beyond this event.

There are, however, lots of jobs that require a physical presence. Store employees, restaurant workers, healthcare workers, ... Some of them may find their services aren’t needed (if social distancing reduces shoppers and diners, businesses will eventually shut down at least temporarily).

nk15

There are a lot of studies on various coronaviruses and how long they survive on surfaces. They live longer in AC environments and room temperatures, but shorter as temperatures go up.

invisible

This situation gave a lot of boost to local supermarkets, restaurants and retailers with online delivery. Again, if supermarket is stocked and open, you do not need to go there if you can order online delivery. The same applies to retail. So Amazon's, Hulu's, Netflix profit/revenue will go up.

Obviously there are industries where physical presence at workplace is required just have job done. But, there will be quite few such industries where workers must show up at work and not use a computer during work. In reality - anything which can be done interacting with a computer/smartphone can be done remotely.

nk15

This is helpful info, thanks. It would be interesting to see how things would look with more widespread infections, and for much longer periods of time (months or years).

bocastephen

Perhaps - but has this specific one been studied? I would hope this type of test is something the so-called 'scientists' have already completed and verified.

STS-134

I would not get in a rideshare/taxi with a driver who has been exposed to multiple passengers in this type of scenario. It's either a rental car, my own car, or I don't go.

invisible

It always starts with panic and panic buying - empty toilet paper, rice and instant noodle shelves in supermarkets. Once people release that shelves are restocked and now they have use 200 rolls of toilet paper and 100kg of rice they stocked for doomsday, they start to calm down. Then the adjustment period comes when people give away (at least temporarily) old habits and behavior (like no handshakes and kissing, sitting 1m apart from each other, etc) to deal with new reality. Then, if new reality persists, it will become a new norm.

nk15

This makes sense, for relatively predictable and manageable situations.

nk15

Or minimally vehicles would need to be aired regularly and perhaps somehow decontaminated in some way between rides, which may not be practical.