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posted by martyb on Sunday May 03 2020, @08:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the FOMO dept.

Florida sheriff refuses to stop Americans from witnessing historic manned space launch as NASA urges everyone to watch it online:

Sheriff Wayne Ivey of Brevard County – where the launch site is located – insisted that anyone who wanted to witness the event at the Kennedy Space Center should do so without worry, despite advice from NASA to watch remotely.

"We are not going to keep the great Americans that want to come watch that from coming here," Ivey said on Friday, calling on people to "come here just like you have for all the other beautiful launches we've had. And enjoy it."

If NASA is telling people to not come here and watch the launch, that's on them. I'm telling people what I believe as an American. And so NASA has got their guidelines, and I got mine.

Ivey – an ally of US President Donald Trump, who has also questioned Covid-19 containment measures in some states – didn't entirely dismiss fears of the lethal virus, however, advising that launch-watchers should practice "family social distancing" and remain in small groups.

[...] NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a news conference earlier on Friday that "we don't want an outbreak," voicing concerns that hundreds of thousands of spectators could flock to the space center to see the launch, risking further spread of the coronavirus.

"The challenge that we're up against right now is we want to keep everybody safe," Bridenstine said. "And so we're asking people not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center, and I will tell you that makes me sad to even say it. Boy, I wish we could make this into something really spectacular."

Gwynne Shotwell, the president of SpaceX – which partnered with NASA for the mission, providing its Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rockets to bring two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) – said much the same, asking people to "be there for the ride with us," but "in spirit more so than in physical space."

So, the Sheriff wouldn't arrest you, but there are other law enforcement organizations that might look at things differently. Being in a jail cell in close quarters with others compounds the risk of coming down with COVID-19. And, even if you were not arrested, you could still get infected (or be an asymptomatic carrier yourself) and transmit it to others who would return to who-knows-where.


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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday May 03 2020, @09:49PM (2 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday May 03 2020, @09:49PM (#989927) Homepage

    We just opened up our beaches last week, fucking nobody is wearing a mask (if they do they have it around their neck or on their heads like me in case they need to go into a store). Since the beaches opened the places have all been crawling with cops fucking everywhere and the cops don't give a flying fuck how close people are bunches or who is and isn't wearing a mask. The only things they are actually enforcing now are (1) sitting in place, like if you sit on the grass picnic-style, then they'll tell you to get up and walk. But you can go out to the cliffs and stand still gawking at the ocean next to others and they don't care; and (2) no parking in the beach parking lots just yet, although you are free to walk through the parking lots and the cops are cool bullshitting with people.

    Since I am a respectful upstanding citizen I will don my mask if I have to pass somebody else closeby, and if they have a mask at the ready they will do the same and we will both nod. I call this the "mask salute." I feel bad for the cops, for PR reasons they have to wear masks in sunny beach weather while nobody else does. They have to wear masks because too many people who can't mind their own business were bitching about them "not setting good examples."

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2020, @12:57AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 04 2020, @12:57AM (#989997)

    Your place seems to be on the side of G-D.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:30PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 05 2020, @07:30PM (#990837)

      Is that a wing in the Sharp Mesa Vista psychiatric hospital? I'm surprised they do field trips.