Covid-19 Season

Yes, it’s Covid-19 Season. Yes, we are all trying to figure out what’s going on. Yes, bowlers are arguing about ‘should’ and ‘required’. But here’s what we know.

A. According to NY state law, if you show up in a hot spot state, you MUST quarantine for 14 days.

B. According to NJ state law, if you show up in a hot spot state, you ARE EXPECTED TO quarantine for 14 days.

C. Many bowlers who have been to hot spot states have been flagrantly ignoring A and B.

Bowlers have their own reasons of why they are not listening to A and B, mostly for the big money that tournaments are offering. Some of the reasons are…silly. Someone who was in a hot spot 2 weeks ago and saying that they got their negative results a week ago means the bowler sort of forgot days 8-14 of the incubation period. Many people have seen social media video proving that the bowlers are not exactly doing their due diligence in some alleys when it comes to keeping the mask on.

I personally equate someone saying they are exempt from quarantining due to (fill in the reason here) is the equivalent of Homer Simpson being allowed into an alley with a block of plutonium because he’s wearing different pants than the people being quarantined. Ok you’re exempt, but you’re STILL CARRYING PLUTONIUM. Plutonium doesn’t care what type of pants you’re wearing, and corona virus won’t care what sort of exemption from the government you have.

At the same time, you have alleys that desperately need money from the bowlers. A number of houses have closed (and of this publishing, Van Nest is part of the casualty list) due to the alleys staying closed or lack of people coming in to the ones that are open. You have other houses not opening until there’s more than 25% capacity allowed, pointing to restaurants and other places that are ignoring capacity limits.

So what’s the answer? If you want to go to an alley, then go. The alleys could very well use the business. HOWEVER, MAKE SURE that YOU follow the rules and you see others comply with the rules. If they aren’t, inform the alley. If you’re in a tournament and you see issues with the enforcement before the tournament, ask for a refund. Remember those sex speeches you got from your parents that you assume everyone has some sort of STD and you need to protect yourself? Same rules apply here – assume everyone is an asymptomatic carrier and protect yourself here also. Because the life / alley / livelihood you save may be your own.